Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) Program
URA Student Employment Template (click here to access the template)
URA Student Employment PAF (click on the link here below):
http://www.smu.edu/controller/restricted/download/forms/Payroll/Undergraduate_PAF.xls (this requires an SMU username and password)
The AY 2006-2007 Program: General Information
The URA program provides SMU undergraduate students with work-based awards tied to faculty-directed research activities. During fall/spring terms, students must be enrolled full-time (i.e., 12 or more SCHs); during the summer, enrollment in classes is not required, but eligible students must not have transferred or graduated. A total of $50,000 is being provided by the Office of Financial Aid this Academic Year -- which means that the overall URA program could devote up to $100,000 toward involving excellent undergraduate students in faculty research efforts. These URA positions are not intended to be "make work" slots, but real research jobs. For AY 2006-2007, the URA program will be limited to Dedman College academic departments and their full-time faculty members. Students receiving URA awards may come from any School or major at SMU.
Each URA award is funded 50% (up to $1,500) by the Financial Aid department and 50% (up to $1,500) from the participating academic department. Students eligible for the Federal Work Study program are funded 25% from departmental (or faculty) funds, 25% from the Financial Aid department, and 50% through the F ederal Work Study p rogram. Note: Federal Work Study funds are not available during the summer months.
When making a URA award, academic departments must designate the source of their matching contribution (e.g., the departmental operating budget or restricted account, a faculty member’s research grant/contract account or restricted account). Departments (and faculty members) ultimately are responsible for setting appropriate pay rates for specific URA student assignments. For AY 2006-2007, participating departments have agreed on a “standard” pay rate for URA students of $10.00/hour, although higher wages may be established for specialized assignments involving unusual skills. At $10.00/hour up to ten hours/week, students can earn up to $3,000 during the 30 weeks of the fall/spring terms. At $10.00/hour up to thirty hours/week, students can earn up to $3,000 for the summer.
A special URA Student Employment template must be submitted along with the standard PAF for student employees. On this PAF, please use code 6163 for URA non-Work Study students and code 6168 for URA Work Study students. If you have any questions, contact Mary Beard (214-768-2414; email: mbeard@smu.edu).
Dates for URA employment dates for AY 2006-2007 will be:
Academic Year – August 5, 2006 through May 11, 2007;
Fall only – August 5, 2006 through December 8, 2006;
Spring only – January 6, 2007 through May 11, 2007.
Note: employment dates for summer 2007 have not been determined.
At the end of each semester, AY, or summer period, students and professors should write a brief report about their experiences with the URA program. These reports should be sent to Van Kemper (Anthropology), who serves as chair of the oversight group for the current year. Please send reports as email attachments to rkemper@smu.edu.