Graduate workers provide essential labor for the core functioning of the university. Both as teaching and research assistants, we serve as important members of the Colorado State University (CSU) community. Grad work in these roles makes the university a competitive R1 research institution. Graduate student labor is undervalued by CSU. Grad workers are forced to deal with excessive financial strain on top of our studies and our voices are only marginally represented. Grad Workers are calling on President Joyce McConnell and the Board of Governors to commit to the “Aspirational” student compensation scenario presented by Mary Stromberger, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School and Colleen Webb, Ph.D. Associate Dean of the Graduate School — with the additional condition that it include immediate coverage of the $125 per semester Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) fees required of international graduate student workers.

The “Aspirational” compensation scenario will:
-Begin with the proposed ‘stopgap’ program that includes full coverage of fees and up to 5 credits of GRA tuition return for graduate student workers.
-Create higher minimum stipends
-Provide summer salaries for 9-month appointees.

With the inclusion of immediate coverage of the $125 per semester SEVIS fees for international students, grad workers feel this is a step in the right direction for meeting our pressing material needs and compensating us competitively amongst our peers at other similarly situated institutions.

Grad workers are currently underpaid relative to our peers at other comparative institutions. Their current effective income, as measured by the mean minimum stipend of graduate student workers at CSU, is more than 15% lower than the mean of our peers, and more than 20% lower than the mean of our aspirational peers, as reported by Dean Stromberger and Associate Dean Webb.

In addition, and by far the most pressing immediate financial concern, CSU’s student fees amount to nothing short of a ‘pay-to-work’ system. For graduate student workers, the $880 in general fees consume well over 50% of the first month’s paycheck each semester. Fees are higher than every other comparable school, as reported by Dean Stromberger and Associate Dean Webb. Furthermore, the above figure does not even include miscellaneous fees (facility fees, technology fees, etc) that amount to an additional $350+ per semester. This forces students to make tough decisions between food, medicine, housing, and further debt accumulation. For international students, fees are even higher, and the limits of student visas and university policies produce few options to sufficiently meet one’s financial needs. The financial strain created by these fees affects each graduate student worker differently, but grads are in agreement that a waiver of these fees will alleviate grad struggle and improve their ability to teach, conduct research, and support undergraduate students.

Graduate student workers also bear the brunt of the continual threat of COVID-19 exposure because they often teach freshman classes and labs that are in person and hybridized. Furthermore, the bleak job market created by the pandemic only further exacerbates our financial struggles and extends them beyond our time at CSU.

We commend Dean Stromberger and Associate Dean Webb for their support in providing proper compensation for the essential labor we do as graduate students. We look forward to the financial relief the proposed “Aspirational” compensation program will give grad workers and future graduate student workers. Fulfilling these requests will not only help financially by taking unnecessary weight off of grad shoulders so they can continue to produce quality research and faculty assistance, it will also make CSU a more competitive research institution by continuing to attract quality graduate student workers.

We, the undersigned, support graduate student workers at CSU. We request that the university compensate graduate student workers fairly by meeting the “Aspirational” scenario and by immediately covering prohibitive fees, including the SEVIS fees.

Sincerely,