GAGE funds appointment and payment procedures

Grants to Advance Graduate Education (GAGE) funds are intended to help identify and implement effective diversity initiatives. “Diversity” in this instance is the inclusion of individuals with differing backgrounds and experiences derived from, e.g., different ethnicities, gender identities, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, veteran status, and/or disabilities.

CSE distributes GAGE funds in two portions. The first portion is allocated to programs that have proposed initiatives specifically for diversity reasons. The second portion of the allocation distributes the remaining funds according to an algorithm that takes into account doctoral program size, as well as recent success rates of programs in terms of supporting their students through external sources of funding (e.g. number of RAs and fellowships). The algorithm includes percentage caps on budget fluctuations in either direction and a floor on the minimum allocation to a program, so there are no drastic changes for that portion compared with the previous year’s allocation.

Use of funds

The funds should be aimed at recruiting and providing more opportunities to students that are historically underrepresented in individual fields. Possible uses of GAGE funds include (but are not limited to) initiatives designed to:

  • increase the number of applications from underrepresented populations,
  • improve admissions procedures to minimize bias,
  • improve offers and offer procedures to increase matriculation rates of students from underrepresented populations,
  • improve advising/mentoring practices to make graduate programs more welcoming, 
  • create a collegiate community that provides a network for students from underrepresented populations who are in graduate programs with minimal diversity, 
  • provide professional development opportunities that prepare students from underrepresented populations for the careers they aspire to pursue, and
  • direct student support (e.g. stipend, tuition, health insurance, travel awards).

Appointment and stipend payments

Students supported on these funds may be appointed as fellows or graduate assistants in the HR/Payroll system. (Note that if the individual is required to perform service as a condition of receiving the funds, they must be classified as an employee). Expenses for graduate assistants (account codes 700300, 710300, and 710310) should be incurred on 1000-DEPTID-20096 while expenses for fellows (account codes 710601, 800101, 800102, 800103, 800104, and 800601) should be incurred on 1000-DEPTID-20563. The allocations are transferred in the fall to programs using the 1000-DEPTID-20563 chartstring in each department. Departments may then transfer funds to cover the graduate assistant costs in 1000-DEPTID-20096. (Only enough funds to cover the graduate assistants should be covered; the remaining funds should stay in 1000-DEPTID-20563.)

Smaller stipend payments and one-time travel grants can be paid through the Scholarship Automation process using the chartstring 1000-DEPTID-20563 and the designated account value 800102 (grants) or 800103 (travel grants). Instructions on how to get access and use the online process can be found on the Academic Support Resources website.

Payment of tuition, health insurance, and collegiate fee

Programs are responsible for processing tuition, health insurance, and the CSE collegiate fee payments for graduate fellows and for students supported by Quality Assessment funds.

Tuition payments

  • Or, send a request on letterhead to Third Party Billing, 169 Fraser Hall. Include the student’s name, ID#, dollar amount authorized for tuition, semester(s) of authorization, and chartfield string
  • Do not use this form to authorize insurance coverage for the Graduate Assistant Health Plan, see below

Resident tuition rates

To request resident tuition rates for non-resident fellows, send the following to the Graduate School Fellowship Office, 314 Johnston: copies of the award letters with a cover letter listing student names, ID#s, and the semester(s) of coverage. Non-residents are eligible for resident tuition rates if they receive a departmental fellowship stipend that is equivalent to a 25% graduate assistantship salary.

Health insurance coverage

  • Complete the Department Authorization Form available on the Graduate Assistant Health Plan website.
  • Please request payment for fall, spring, and summer semesters. This will ensure that you only have to complete the authorization request once during the year.
  • Submit the form to the Office of Student Health Benefits. Questions regarding payment procedures should be directed to umshbo@umn.edu or 612-624-0627.

CSE collegiate fee

CSE will cover the collegiate fee for students with fellowships that qualify them for tuition benefits. To request payment, submit the Internal Billing Authorization form and use chartfield string 1026-11061-20438 as the source of funds. For fellowship students who have a partial RA or TA appointment, the collegiate fee is automatically covered in full due to the RA/TA appointment and the internal billing form is not necessary. You may use the same chartfield string to cover the collegiate fee for Doctoral Dissertation Fellows.

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