UToledo
Grad FundingJoin us

Our demands

What we’re asking for.

Pay that meets the university’s own budget. Fees and health coverage that recognize the work. A complete offer before anyone accepts.

Core material demands

  1. 01

    Remit the fees.

    Extend the Fellows’ fee waiver to graduate assistants.

    Stop taking back stipend pay through recurring mandatory student fees required to keep the assistantship. Remit those fees as part of the appointment. UToledo already knows how to waive fees for selected doctoral fellows; graduate workers need that protection too.

    Annual cost · assumed headcount

    $0.94M–$2.17M

    0.08%–0.18% of UToledo’s approximately $1.2B announced FY2026–27 financial plan.

    $1,889.10 per assistant × 500–1,150 assistants. The headcount is assumed; see what the scenarios assume.

    Existing UToledo fellowships waive fees with named exceptions. Ohio State authorizes specified fees, and Colorado State funds mandatory fees while preserving services. The scenario below models the opening NSM fee package; costs differ by enrollment and college.

    How we know· 5 sources
  2. 02

    Cover the health premium.

    Restore university support. Cover the health premium.

    Make individual health coverage part of graduate assistant compensation, with full university support for the student premium as the campaign goal. Coverage should not consume a large share of a modest stipend. Clearly disclose deductibles, care costs and any dependent premiums that remain.

    Annual cost · assumed headcount

    $1.30M–$2.99M

    0.11%–0.25% of UToledo’s approximately $1.2B announced FY2026–27 financial plan.

    $2,600.00 per assistant × 500–1,150 assistants. The headcount is assumed; see what the scenarios assume.

    UToledo’s older handbook documents a subsidy, though its amount and end date are unknown. Ohio State and eligible Cincinnati awards support the full individual premium. The scenario below assumes every modeled assistant needs the university plan with no existing contribution.

    How we know· 5 sources
  3. 03

    Pay at least UToledo’s own budget.

    Peg stipends to the real cost of attendance.

    Minimum gross Graduate Assistant stipends, before any deduction, must meet UToledo’s published non-tuition graduate cost of attendance for the relevant appointment period and automatically rise whenever that benchmark changes. Tuition and fees separately remitted by the assistantship do not count as cash compensation. Graduate assistants should not be paid less than the university’s own estimate of what it takes to study and live here.

    In our example

    +$7,122 / appointment

    to reach UToledo’s fall + spring non-tuition budget. A university-wide cost needs UToledo’s assistantship pay data.

    How the benchmark is defined ↗

    Tennessee Knoxville shows that a graduate living-expense benchmark can guide the minimum. UToledo’s actual total cost requires verified appointment counts, periods and current stipend distributions; those data are not yet available.

    How we know· 3 sources

Changes that can begin now

Four fixes that can start now.

These change policy and practice rather than pay scales. Staff time and any revenue effects have not been costed yet.

  1. 04

    Honest offer letters. The whole package, up front.

    Every offer should show the stipend and payment period, covered tuition, uncovered mandatory fees, health premiums and contributions, expected hours or appointment fraction, and other recurring required charges before acceptance. A student should not discover the real price of ‘funded’ after moving to Toledo.

    Standardized disclosure is administrative work, not a new stipend or insurance outlay.

    How we know· 2 sources
  2. 05

    No late fees before the first paycheck.

    Stop penalizing new graduate assistants because the university’s bill arrives before the university’s pay. Defer required charges or provide a workable payment arrangement until assistantship pay begins.

    A payment-timing policy, not a new recurring benefit.

  3. 06

    Pre-tax parking. The same practical options as staff.

    Graduate assistants required to park for assigned campus work should have practical payment options, including payroll deduction where feasible and pre-tax treatment where eligible. Do not require a lump-sum permit payment before wages arrive.

    UToledo already offers faculty and staff a pre-tax payroll option. Extend it to graduate workers, subject to tax and payroll eligibility.

    How we know· 1 source
  4. 07

    Graduate assistants are not stand-in staff.

    Assistantships must provide meaningful teaching, research, quantitative, academic or professional-development experience. Generic low-cost staffing should not be the primary purpose. Put appropriate duties and schedules in writing, with a practical way to challenge an assignment that undermines graduate training.

    UToledo’s own administrative-assistantship description expects learning related to a degree or future professional role. Adopt and enforce that standard.

    How we know· 1 source

What it would cost

The receipt, answered.

A graduate assistant pays the university back in fees and premiums. Here is what it would take for the university to stop charging its own workers.

What the scenarios assume

Fee scenario assumes every modeled assistant takes nine NSM credits each term with no existing remission. Health scenario assumes every modeled assistant needs the full university premium with no existing contribution. Neither is an audited cost estimate. Consolidated financial plan is not unrestricted academic spending.

Budget shares use the approximately $1.2 billion announced FY2026–27 financial plan. This shows scale; hospital, restricted and committed funds are not automatically available for assistantships. No verified GA headcount or current stipend distribution is available yet.

How we know· 2 sources

Fund the work. Keep the positions.These improvements must not be paid for by cutting assistantships, reducing existing stipends or stripping away the services fees support.

COST ESTIMATE

TO: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO

RE: DEM-001 FEE REMISSION + DEM-002 HEALTH PREMIUM

Recurring fees remitted, per assistant
$1,889.10
Individual health premium, per assistant
$2,600.00
Per assistant, per year
$4,489.10
If 500 assistants
$2,244,550
If 1,150 assistants
$5,162,465

Share of UToledo’s ~$1.2B FY2026–27 plan

0.19%–0.43%

Headcounts are assumptions, not an audited count. Costs vary by college and existing coverage. The plan total shows scale; not all of it is free to spend. Stipend floor (DEM-003): not costed until we have UToledo’s assistantship headcount and pay data.

How we know· 2 sourcesSee the calculation

Fair questions

Ask hard questions. Expect clear answers.

Doesn’t the tuition scholarship count for something?

Yes. It has real educational value. It also cannot pay rent or buy groceries. We show the tuition benefit separately from cash pay and ask whether the stipend covers the costs left to the worker.

How we know· 1 source
Is this what every graduate assistant earns?

No. The opening example uses the stipend currently displayed by Mathematics and Statistics. Its funding paragraph references an older year. Offers vary by discipline, rank and appointment. The calculator accepts your own stipend.

How we know· 2 sources
What if I waive the university health plan?

Select other coverage and enter your own premium for the selected period, including an explicit zero if you pay nothing. A waiver does not necessarily mean health care is free. Deductibles and treatment costs are separate from premiums.

How we know· 1 source
Are you counting optional charges as mandatory fees?

No. The recurring fee example includes the general, miscellaneous service, college technology and course fees. Optional charges, first-term charges, penalties, health premiums and parking appear separately in the calculator.

How we know· 1 source
Is the cost-of-attendance figure a bill?

No. It is the university’s published planning estimate. Our non-tuition benchmark includes housing and food, personal expenses, transportation, and books and supplies. Actual needs vary. We exclude separately remitted tuition and fees to avoid counting them twice.

How we know· 1 source
Would covering fees mean losing the services they fund?

The campaign asks the university to fund those costs as part of an assistantship. Colorado State’s published plan explicitly preserves services while covering eligible graduate assistants’ mandatory fees through other budgets.

How we know· 1 source
Are calculator entries or messages anonymous?

Calculator entries stay in this page and are not submitted or saved by the calculator. Email reveals your address and may include other metadata. Email is not anonymous. Share only what you are comfortable sending; ask about consent before sharing testimony.

Next step

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