Your Concerns, Our Advocacy — Here's What GAAC Has Been Working On

Graduate Assistants here's a quick update on what your GAAC committee has been doing and where things stand on the issues you raised.

What We Heard From You Through our Fall 2025 Town Hall and the Meet & Confer Input Survey, GAs across COEIT, CNMS, CAHSS, and other programs raised concerns around funding continuity and late contract renewals, health insurance coverage during breaks and contract gaps, rising mandatory fees with flat stipends, payroll delays and pay interruptions, and unclear grievance and retaliation reporting pathways.

What We Did GAAC escalated these concerns directly to campus leadership — including the Provost, Vice Provost Dr. Porter, and VP of Student Affairs Dr. Kersh — at the Fall 2025 Meet & Confer on December 12, 2025. We also joined the GA Lifecycle Working Group to map end-to-end appointment and payroll processes, and engaged Student Affairs and RIH on insurance eligibility guidance.

Where Things Stand Some issues are actively in progress the Working Group is mapping GA contract and payroll workflows, and insurance eligibility discussions are ongoing. Others, including fee relief, stipend review, and standardized grievance procedures, remain open and will be on the agenda for the Spring 2026 Meet & Confer in April.

Want the Full Details? We have attached the Fall 2025 GAAC Report  It includes a detailed breakdown of every topic discussed, actions taken, current status, and next steps for each issue. We encourage you to give it a read — this is your roadmap for what's being worked on on your behalf.

What's Coming Next

• GA Town Hall — March 2026
• Spring Meet & Confer — May 2026

💬 Questions or Concerns? If anything in the report resonates with your experience, or if you have questions about a specific topic, please don't hesitate to reach out. You can contact us through the GAAC contact page on MyUMBC or send us a message at our shared email gsagaac@umbc.edu