Clarifying the Graduate Student Financial Support Requests

Gaps gaps at triumf.ca
Thu Oct 26 15:56:24 PDT 2023 

Dear Grads (and postdocs who know grads),

Hopefully you all received an email from Sanjeev last Thursday about how the new Graduate Student Policy will be implemented. We understand the email caused some confusion, but the intent is for all resident grad students to fill out the attached form, get it approved by your supervisor, and submit it to Monika Stachura at mstachura at triumf.ca by 5pm on Monday November 6, 2023.

All students should submit the form, because TRIUMF wants to collect data to support the new policy, even if you are already above the minimum.
All students who want to receive money under this policy (because you currently don't meet the minimums—see below) need to sign and submit the attached form to receive this money before Christmas.

Finally, just to reiterate, the new minimums for graduate NET (ie take-home) pay are $25,000 for MSc and $30,000 for PhD students.
You can find a brief FAQ at the bottom of this email, and a copy of the original, but please come to the info session next week if you have more questions (Nov 1st, 11am in the Auditorium).

Hooray for better wages!
Your GAPS

--------------------------------------------------
FAQ:

  *   Refer to the Graduate Student Program (Document-171510<https://documents.triumf.ca/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-171510/Graduate%20Student%20Program%20Procedures.pdf>) for full details on what the line items are.
  *   Management knows that exact dollar amounts are hard to get, especially for stuff like fees. Please try to put down your best estimate.
  *   The line "Other competitive awards" is supposed to reference big, cost-of-living scholarships like CGS D, PGS D, or UBC's 4YF.
  *   Student loans are in there because this was how the policy was approved. We are discussing with Management exactly how loans will be used (or not used ideally) in this calculation. But currently, Management is interested only in student loans that are actively supporting your current degree (ie not undergrad loans, the policy has quite a broad definition).
  *   The transit pass lines are because BC students are forced to pay for a U-pass in their fees, whilst TRIUMF supports non-BC students (who aren't eligible for U-pass) with the cost of a transit pass.
  *   The BC MSP line is to support international students who have to pay $75 per month for MSP, so only international students should fill that in.

--------------------------------------------------

Good afternoon,



TRIUMF’s Graduate Student Policy (Document-169622<https://documents.triumf.ca/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-169622/Graduate%20Student%20Policy.pdf>) and accompanying Graduate Student Program Procedure (Document-171510)<https://documents.triumf.ca/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-171510/Graduate%20Student%20Program%20Procedures.pdf> <https://documents.triumf.ca/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-171510/Graduate%20Student%20Program%20Procedures.pdf> were recently revised, and took effect on October 1, 2023. The Policy defines two different types of Resident Graduate Students hosted at TRIUMF:

•       a Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) has their financial assistance administered by TRIUMF payroll, and

•       a Graduate Student Visitors (GSV) does not have a payroll arrangement with TRIUMF.



The revised Policy also establishes a net minimum level of financial assistance from all sources for GSRAs, while GSVs are eligible for specific financial supports.



To support the immediate implementation of the new financial assistance levels (see below), Supervisors are expected to fund this commitment through existing approved grants pro-rated to October 1, 2023.



Supervisors who are unable to meet the financial commitment will have an opportunity to request supplemental funding from TRIUMF for this transition year (academic year starting September 1, 2023). Going forward, the stipulated financial commitment to students must be included in all requests for research grants.



To request supplemental financial assistance for the current academic year , eligible Resident Graduate Students and their TRIUMF Supervisor must complete and sign the attached form and submit it to Monika Stachura at mstachura at triumf.ca<mailto:mstachura at triumf.ca> by 5pm on Monday November 6, 2023. Failure to meet this deadline may result in a delay in the financial assistance decision. The attached form should include best estimated funds and expenses for the current academic year.



The data collected from these forms will inform the implementation of the Policy in this transition year, and future revisions to the Policy and Procedures.



Two Q&A sessions regarding the Policy and completing the form will take place over the next two weeks in the Auditorium and remotely on:

•       Wednesday, October 25, 3:30pm – 4:30pm, and

•       Wednesday, November 1, 11am – 12pm.



TRIUMF management will review and assess requests, aiming to confirm supplemental financial assistance by December 15, 2023.



If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Monika Stachura r earliest convenience.



Best regards,

Sanjeev



n.b.



Below are funding assistance guidelines that are detailed in the Procedure. Please refer to the Procedure document for details:



Graduate Student Research Assistants (GSRA) net minimum funding levels as per

•       Master’s Degree (or equivalent):              C$25,000

•       Doctoral Degree (or equivalent):              C$30,000



Maximum reimbursement amounts for mandatory school fees and expenses for GSRAs for FY23/24:

•       Master’s Degree (or equivalent):              C$9,000

•       Doctoral Degree (or equivalent):              C$9,000



Eligible financial assistantship for Resident Graduate Students at TRIUMF for FY23/24:

•       Local transportation:                                 C$1650

•       BC MSP for international students:          C$900

•       TRIUMF Extended Health Plan:                 C$650

•       Local living support (GSV only)   C$3000





Sanjeev Dewett (he/his/him)
Chief Administrative Officer



Office 604.222.7576​ | Email sdewett at triumf.ca<mailto:sdewett at triumf.ca>



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