Benefits

As a student employee of the university, you may be eligible for certain kinds of benefits. The charts on this page outline some of the benefits that may be available to you, depending on your student job title. Additional eligibility requirements, such as those explained in the notes to the charts, may apply. If you’re not sure what your job title is, ask your supervisor or the HR representative in the department where you work.

Tuition Reduction Benefit

If you are employed as a teaching assistant (TA), assistant instructor (AI), or graduate research assistants (GRA), you are eligible for a tax-exempt Tuition Reduction Benefit related to your student academic employment. 

The TRB does not pay out directly to the student, but instead is applied to the student’s tuition bills. If a student has paid their tuition bill prior to the application of the TRB to their tuition bill, a refund will be issued in the amount of the TRB. Refunds are processed approximately 1 to 2 weeks after the 12th class day (fall/spring), and 1 to 2 weeks after the 4th class day (summer).

To claim your tuition reduction benefit, log onto the Tuition Bill Waivers sight, located here: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/acct/fb/waivers/rte_request.WBX to request your waiver and confirm your attendance. If you have any issues, please reach out to tuition@austin.utexas.edu or Victoria Obioma. 

Insurance

If you’re a graduate student academic employee who qualifies for the university’s employee insurance benefits, more information is available on the Insurance and Benefits page.

An AGS employee is benefits eligible if expected to work in one or a combination of the following AGS job titles for at least 20 scheduled weekly hours (SWH) and for at least 4.5 months (135 calendar days):

• G0045 Assistant Instructor
• G0061 Teaching Assistant (SI)
• G0062 Teaching Assistant-NSC
• G0063 Teaching Assistant
• G0064 Graduate Tutor
• G0065 Academic Assistant
• G0071 Graduate Assistant
• G0090 Graduate Research Assistant

The University of Texas at Austin offers multiple high-quality insurance options to its student employee populations.  Eligibility to participate in these some of these plans will depend on your job profile, the length of your employment period, and your scheduled weekly hours. As a currently-registered UT student, student employees also have access to University Health Services (UHS) even if they do not have health insurance. For more information, please refer to the eligibility to use UHS webpage.

Insurance for Graduate Student Fellows

Graduate Student Fellows have multiple options when it comes to healthcare coverage for themselves and their eligible dependents.  For information about insurance for Graduate Student Fellows, please visit the Insurance for Graduate Student Fellows webpage.

Newly benefits eligible AGS employees will be automatically enrolled in a health plan based upon their scheduled weekly hours (SWH).

• New part-time (20-29 SWH) AGS employees will be automatically enrolled in AcademicBlue SHIP and the Premium Sharing Credit plan.
• New full-time (30+ SWH) AGS employees will be automatically enrolled in UT Select. 

New AGS employees have 31 calendar days from the hire date to make additional insurance elections, including:

• Waiving automatic coverage (AcademicBlue SHIP or UT Select);
• Enrolling in the other UT health plan options;
• Adding dependents; and
• Adding other plans such as dental, vision, and voluntary AD&D.

To enroll in the university's employee insurance plans, you must submit a Graduate Student Fellow Insurance Enrollment Request (Online) within 31 days of the start of your fellowship. When submitting your request, you will be asked to upload documentation verifying your eligibility for coverage that shows your name, the name or type of your fellowship, the annual value of your fellowship, and your fellowship's begin and end dates. Once you submit your request, it will route through the following workflow:

• Your form will be forwarded to Human Resources - Benefits.
• HR Benefits will review your request and ensure that your fellowship is eligible to participate in the employee group insurance plans.
  • If your fellowship is not eligible to participate, you will be notified via email.
• If your fellowship is eligible for coverage, then HR Benefits will validate that you have a Graduate Student Fellow (GSF) job in Workday. 
  • If you do not have a GSF job in Workday, then HR Benefits will contact your sponsoring department and ask them to create one for you.
  • You will be copied on the request to your department.
• Once your GSF job has been final approved, HR Benefits will ensure that you have completed onboarding.
  • To complete onboarding, log into Workday, click on your Inbox in the upper right hand corner, and complete any assigned tasks. For assistance with onboarding, please reach out to your sponsoring department's HR contact.
• Once you have completed onboarding, HR Benefits will add your eligibility to enroll in insurance, and you will receive an email inviting you to do so through My UT Benefits.

The initial enrollment period is defined below, based on the standard academic employment hire dates.

* Insurance will not be activated until the January 16 hire date or later, depending upon when the hire process and required onboarding tasks are completed.

To calculate your initial enrollment period if your benefits eligible employment starts on a different date, add 31 calendar days to your hire date.

AcademicBlue SHIP is designed and priced for students, so premiums are lower than UT Select, and for services at University Health Services, benefits are paid at 100% of the allowable amount for covered expenses. 

Learn more about the plan by reviewing the documents below, along with other resources available on the AcademicBlue SHIP website.