BLOOMINGTON — Indiana University graduate students holding part-time teaching or research appointments will see a raise in minimum stipend pay starting July 1.
The minimum stipend will now be $24,000, according to a news release about the raise.
Student academic appointees work 20 hours per week for 10 months of the year and receive some benefits like health and dental insurance.
Since 2021, the minimum stipend for SAAs at IU Bloomington has increased by 60%., according to IU.
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“We value the important contributions of our graduate students who teach or conduct research while pursuing their degrees,” IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav said. “This increase ensures we remain highly competitive with our peers for minimum stipends, which is crucial for recruiting the best students to IU’s flagship campus.”
The Indiana Grad Workers Coalition, who wrote a letter to IU President Pamela Whitten in November, responded to the raise, writing in a statement on X: “We continue to fight for recognition and a living wage. Tuition and tax money belongs in classrooms and in research, not lining admin’s pockets.”
The MIT Living Wage Calculator says the living wage for one adult with no children in Monroe County is roughly $20 per hour. With a $24,000 stipend, the hourly pay rate for SAAs would be roughly $30 per hour.
IU, however, did not hint at any possibility the university would recognize the union; something IGWC has pushed for since its founding in 2019.
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The university did tout new positions aimed to benefit graduate students, including the creation of a graduate ombudsperson, who provides resource navigation and coaching, as well as a director of graduate career coaching, who provides career support.
