A Guide for Graduate Students in Mathematics:
Other Academic Information
Tax Status of Salaries
The income tax liability of students is determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the State of Illinois Department of Revenue (IDR) and not by the University. The information provided in the remainder of this subsection is based on the present understanding of the tax code. However, some rules may be interpreted differently in the future by the IRS or IDR. The University may also change the policies stated below regarding the reporting of income and withholding of taxes.
Assistantship salaries are taxable income to the recipient. The value of any tuition and fee waiver associated with the assistantship is not taxable income. The University withholds taxes on assistantship salaries and reports the taxable income (and the tax withheld) to the IRS and IDR. For most assistants, the amount of tax withheld satisfies the statutory requirements described later in this section.
Fellowship stipends are taxable income to the recipient. The value of any tuition and fee waivers associated with the fellowship is not taxable income. At this time, the University does not withhold income taxes on fellowship stipends unless the University Payroll Office is explicitly requested to do so. Also, it does not report fellowship stipends as income to the IRS or IDR. It is the fellow's responsibility to declare the fellowship stipend as taxable income on the appropriate income tax returns, and to make arrangements for paying any taxes due on this income.
Student assistants on non-immigrant visas are taxed as non-residents (and thus somewhat differently from U.S. residents). The U.S. also has tax treaties with many countries, and these treaties affect the tax liabilities of fellows or assistants who are citizens of these countries. In such cases, the assistant may arrange with the Payroll Office for increased (or reduced) withholding that will more closely approximate the estimated tax liability.
Summer Support
Summer appointments can by no means be taken for granted. The department is able to support only a small number of students as classroom teachers and paper graders during the Summer session. There are usually a limited number of research assistantships and summer fellowships available. While exceptions in individual cases must sometimes be made, it is the policy of the department to give priority in matters of summer employment to students who are the most advanced and who are making the most rapid progress toward their degree objective.
Each student who has an appointment as a TA or RA during the academic year, at levels between 25% and 67%, has a tuition and fee waiver that covers not only the academic year of his/her appointment, but, in addition, covers the following Summer session as well.
Normal Course Loads
The Graduate College sets a limit on the number of hours that a Graduate Teaching Assistant may take per semester.
| Percent Appointment | Maximum Registration |
| 25% | 16 1/2 hours |
| 26-40% | 16 hours |
| 41-60% | 12 1/2 hours |
| 61-67% | 12 hours |
The Department of Mathematics also sets minimums. We expect Graduate Teaching Assistants to carry a minimum of 3 courses per semester and we expect fellows to carry 4 courses. All international students are required to carry a minimum of twelve hours. See the Office of International Student Affairs for the credit given for language courses.
Our minimum load requirement is not imposed without exception. Occasionally, there are reasons for a student to enroll with an underload. Illness or other serious conditions not under the student's control may justify a reduced load. It may also happen that a course in which a student has enrolled turns out to be inappropriate. In such cases the Director of Graduate Studies may approve a reduced load and recommend that the course be dropped. Students should consult the Director of Graduate Studies at the earliest suggestion that there is a problem with a course and should be aware of the drop deadline.
Appeal and Grievance Procedures
The two main mechanisms for problem solving are petitions and grievance procedures. Petitions are used to request exceptions for good cause from the rules and regulations stated in this Guide or in the Graduate College Handbook. Grievance procedures are used in problems involving academic or research work, assistantship duties, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
Petitions must include a justification for the request, and must be endorsed by the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. A petition involving Departmental rules only may be submitted in the form of a letter addressed to the Graduate Affairs Committee. However, petitions involving Graduate College regulations must be prepared on standard Graduate College petition forms which are available in the Department of Mathematics Graduate Office.
Appeals may be made by graduate students for any departmental decision concerning them as follows:
The Informal Procedure
(This must be attempted before the formal procedure described below.) If the student's appeal or grievance relates to the student's responsibilities as an assistant the student should begin by consulting with the Associate Chair. If the student's appeal or grievance relates to an academic matter the student should begin by consulting with the Director of Graduate Studies. If the appeal is a request for an exception to the examination or continuing support rules, the Director of Graduate Affairs may decide in an emergency. Otherwise he will refer the matter to the Graduate Affairs Committee for action.
The Formal Procedure
What follows is a brief description of the formal procedure. Complete details can be found in the Policy and Procedures on Grievances by Graduate Students in the Department of Mathematics. You may also request a hardcopy of this document from the Director of Graduate Studies.
If informal procedures do not resolve a problem to the student's satisfaction then that student may make a formal appeal. This appeal should be in the form of a letter to the Chair of the Department containing a full description of the problem, and the remedy sought. The Chair will refer the matter to the Graduate Affairs Committee, or in exceptional circumstances to some other committee which must include student representation. The Graduate Affairs (or other) Committee will consider the matter, allowing the student to present his case, and will make a decision. The committee will then inform the student of its decision and report its findings and decision to the Chair of the Department.
If the student is not satisfied with the action of the committee that hears his case he may appeal again to the Chair of the Department. This appeal, also in the form of a letter to the Chair, must be made within ten days of the student's notification of the committee's decision.
A student dissatisfied with the departmental decision may appeal it to the Graduate College Grievance Committee as set forth in the Graduate College Handbook. The student may also seek advice from the dean in the Graduate College who handles grievances.
Campus and Graduate College rules reporting the settlement of complaints and grievances are given in: