Graduate assistants who maintain at least a half-time (20 hrs. /wk.) assistantship appointment are eligible for a waiver of the operating and building fees. Students appointed a quarter-time assistantship (10 hrs./wk.) are eligible for a half waiver of the operating fee. Assistantships with late starts are subject to a prorated tuition waiver.
| Job Profile | FD001/FD076/FD080 | FD043/FD044/FD085+ | FD043/FD044/FD085+ | Various |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9901 - Teaching Assistant | OBW [NR] | - | - | NR |
| 9903 - Research Assistant | OBW [NR] | QTR-OB [NR] GSC [NR] | ABD [NR] | NR |
| 9904 - Project Assistant | - | - | - | NR Blank |
| 9905 - Staff Assistant | OBW [NR] | QTR-OB [NR] GSC [NR] | - | NR |
| 9906 - Veterinary Assistant | OBW [NR] | QTR-OB [NR] GSC [NR] | ABD [NR] | NR |
Blank grad waivers can only be used for 9904 job profiles, except in cases of exceptions to policy requiring prorated tuition waivers.
Qualified Tuition Reduction – Operating & Building Fee (QTR-OB)
The student receives a waiver of the operating fee and building fee portion of tuition as a fringe benefit. The employing unit pays for the operating fee and the building fee as an employer-paid benefit through the positions’ costing allocation. In financial budget reports, this expense is coded as SC000345. Tuition revenue is collected and dispersed to the college.
Graduate School Commitment (GSC)
Effective 08/16/2026, a new grad waiver code has been established to replace flex tuition waivers provided to assistantships through an approved Graduate School commitment request. The Graduate School Commitment (GSC) grad waiver is available to use in Workday with an approved #GSxxxx number, rather than submitting a Sponsored Graduate Student Support Memo in myWSU to apply the tuition waiver. Available only for 50% FTE assistantships.
Operating And Building Fee Waiver (OBW)
Waives the operating fee and building fee portion of tuition for the student. No tuition revenue is collected or dispersed to colleges.
All But Dissertation (ABD)
ASEs assigned to a research assistantship funded by grants may claim an ABD tuition waiver, with an approved ABD waiver application. Eligibility consists of passing the prelim and completing all graded coursework in their Program of Study.
Nonresident Tuition Waiver
Newly admitted students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, but not Washington State residents, are eligible to receive a nonresident tuition waiver, for up to one year, when appointed to a graduate assistantship position. To avoid nonresident tuition costs, graduate students are responsible for taking all necessary steps to establish legal residency in the state of Washington. International students are provided a nonresident tuition waiver throughout their academic career when appointed to an assistantship position.