On Sept. 8, the Office of Undergraduate Research announced that changes would be made to the Student Assistantship model. Instead of receiving payment a full month in arrears, students will be required to submit their timesheets between the 12th and 14th of every month. These timesheets will include hours worked from the 13th of the previous month to the 12th of the current month. Supervisors will then have from the 15th to the 17th to approve the timesheets, and payments will be made at the end of the month.

On Sept. 10, it was further announced that effective Sept. 1, the hourly wage would increase from 30 to 35 AED.

Sobha Gadi, Class of 2021, welcomed these changes: “Obviously from where we started, this is a good thing ... We’re getting more money, we’re getting paid on time and there has been a commitment once the pandemic is over ... to increase the number of Student Assistantship opportunities that are available.”

Gadi had previously drafted a petition signed by over 350 students demanding a list of changes to the Student Assistantship program, including more work opportunities, an hourly wage increase from 8.17 USD to 15 USD in alignment with NYU New York, wages to be paid at the end of each month and a commitment to making payments in cash rather than Campus Dirhams.

“Firstly, it's important to remember that these demands were made in light of changes to the stipend disbursement method which cut many students off from the financial safety net that NYU Abu Dhabi had promised them upon enrollment,” Gadi explained. “Secondly, these demands were made in order to make sure that NYUAD students received the same compensation that their peers at NYUNY received for an hour of work, and that they received that compensation in a timely manner.”

“Every point outlined in that letter was reviewed by the leadership, by us and we took active steps to implement changes where possible,” said Farhana Goha, Assistant Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Regarding the demand of being paid twice a month as per NYUNY policy, Goha explained: “[NYUNY’s] systems work differently [...] [Their system] allows for multiple [payment] cycles to take place. For various reasons, the payroll team [at NYUAD] uses another system ... and that’s custom run for only one student cycle each month.”

While Gadi believed that the expedition in paying students should be commended, he remained skeptical of what he termed the “miniscule wage increase” which corresponds roughly to 9.53 USD, falling short of the 15 USD asked.

“The question remains: is an NYUAD student's time and effort less valuable than an NYUNY student?” Gadi asked.

In response to this, Goha shared, “NYUAD regularly reviews pay scales in relation to other forms of student support, both at NYU globally but also ... at other universities within the UAE.”

Additionally, Goha highlighted that there has been a steady increase in the number of Student Assistantship opportunities available, from 532 positions in the Academic Year 2016-17 to 1004 in 2019-20. She reiterated the administration’s commitment to addressing student concerns and remained confident in the continual growth of the Student Assistantship program.

Gadi has received his cash payment for work done in August and September on September 30 as promised. But he expressed, “The wage increase doesn't even begin to cover the hole blown in students’ finances by the changes to the stipend program.”