The minimum amount that Indiana University graduate student workers make will be $1,000 more per year starting July 1, the university announced Friday.
Stipends have increased by $9,000 since 2022
The increase to $24,000 for a standard 10-month contract marks the second stipend increase for Student Academic Appointees (SAAs) since 2022, when IU raised minimum pay from $15,000 to $22,000. Since 2021, graduate worker stipends at IU have increased more than 60%.
“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,” Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav said in a statement Friday.
IU administration created a task force in 2022 to benchmark the university’s graduate worker stipends against Big 10 peers every two years, with the goal of staying in the top half of the now 18 schools. SAAs work 20 hours per week in addition to taking classes and often being involved in research and thesis work.
Demonstrators march outside of Ballentine Hall on campus during the graduate student worker strike on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Graduate workers union argues for higher “living wage”
The $24,000 stipend is still about $10,000 short of the “living wage” necessary for a single, full-time worker in Bloomington, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. IU’s graduate worker union, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC), has argued since last January that a “living wage” ought to be the benchmark for student stipends as it accounts for cost of living factors.
Indiana University undergraduate student Mia Holtzman, left, and graduate student Joe Simmons, right, hold a sign outside of Ballentine Hall on campus during the graduate student worker strike on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
IU also announced Friday that Carissa Ciampaglia will join the Task Force on Graduate Education as ombudsman for addressing graduate student concerns. Ciampaglia formerly served as ombudsman for Hopics, a Los Angeles homeless shelter.
The press release credited the task force for stipend increases, and did not mention the IGWC, last spring’s three-day strike nor a 4-week strike in 2022 as students demanded union recognition and a living wage.
David Garner, IGWC’s communication chair, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at @brianwritesnews.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana University graduate student pay increases to 24000 a year