Teaching Assistantships are typically given to students with an advanced understanding of the subject matter and the qualities of a course ambassador. There is a strong level of trust, confidence, and respect between the course instructor and the TA. These appointments are not strictly practical; they are also considered honorific.
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Student teaching assistants are appointed to assist course instructors in various ways. Their responsibilities may include the following:
- Attend class lectures, seminars, labs, studios, or conference sections
- Research and/or prepare course materials
- Manage and lead review sessions
- Hold office hours for students to provide academic support
- Monitor and outfit classrooms, studios, performance spaces, and/or labs for safety, organization, and instructional presentation
- Assist and/or lead lab sections and fieldwork. Help organize course-related events or projects, such as guest speakers, field trips, demonstrations, etc.
- Some grading or scoring is appropriate, but TAs should never be used to grade examinations or quizzes where the evaluation is subjective or borders on the subjective. Even where the evaluation is objective (or could better be described as scoring), the instructor should prepare a detailed answer key or rubric for TAs to consult. The use of TAs for grading should be minimized, and the portion of the grading for which they are responsible should never constitute more than 15% of the final grade. A TA should never serve as a grader in the same course for which they are enrolled for credit.
In all cases, instructors should make a conscious effort to convey to the students in their courses that the TAs, whatever their duties are assigned, are working under close faculty supervision and have been given very little room to exercise their own discretion. Enrolled students should understand that the course instructor – and not the TAs – is entirely in charge of the assignment of grades.
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While individual instructors may nominate appropriate candidates, the academic unit chair is responsible for coordinating the selection of TAs – after a review of all eligible candidates.
- In most cases, only sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to hold TA positions. First-semester first-year students and foreign visiting exchange students are not eligible.
- In some rare cases, first-year second-semester students can serve as TAs. However, before recommending a first-year student for a second-semester TA position, the department or program chair must provide the Dean of the College with its rationale and receive authorization for the hire. Authorization forms are available here.
- Students from the Graduate Program in the History of Art are eligible to serve as TAs for courses in the Art Department.
- Whether graduates or undergraduates, the same policies apply regarding appointment procedures and uses of TAs for undergraduate courses.
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The hiring of the teaching assistants will be done by the department/program administrators via the HR System’s Manager Self-Service module only after a recommendation by the department or program chair.
- Academic units may hire TAs through the HR system when the TA is selected. TAs may be selected before the start of a semester or after it has begun.
- TAs need to be hired/rehired each semester. At the end of each semester, the HR department will inactivate TA positions.
- TAs are not hired during the summer months or the Winter Study term (except by special arrangements for the intensive Winter Study courses).
- For instructional quality and equity in job distribution, students are not permitted to undertake TA responsibilities for more than 10 hours per week in a given semester.
- A single student can work as a TA for two classes in a single semester, but again, not for more than 10 hours per week between the two.
- Each academic unit has a unique billing code (account) for hiring TAs and can track employment expenses within the college’s financial database. The accounts are managed within the Dean of the Faculty’s office, so the expense of employing TAs does not accrue to department or program budgets.
- Please note that when hiring a spring semester TA who is a first-year student, the unit chair must first obtain signed approval from the Dean of the College (Gretchen Long) and submit the signature form to the Manager of Student Employment (Janine Burt) between December 1 and January 15. See the form here.
- TAs may take on additional employment on campus, but they cannot exceed 10 hours per week as TAs or more than 20 hours per week between all positions.
- Those who manage TA hiring should check the Student Employment Inquiry in the HR System for other positions a TA may have.
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The College commits significant financial resources to its financial aid program, which has recently been enhanced, including removing student work requirements. Therefore, using the TA program as a form of financial aid is inappropriate. Student TAs should only be hired when necessary and for the necessary number of weekly hours.
- TAs are paid hourly at a rate established by the Office of Student Employment. This information is available on their website here.
- Ten hours per week is the maximum, although five is usually sufficient. Some instructors hire TAs for fewer than five hours per week.
- Please be precise when setting expectations for TAs regarding how many hours they are expected to work each week.
- Students working as TAs must record their hours worked each pay period in the HR System. Each unit’s administrator will review and approve these hours.
- Please be judicious in making TA appointments. Though this program is free to the academic units, TA spending falls within the Dean of the Faculty’s budget area. Therefore, unnecessary spending does put pressure on the financial resources available to the academic units and to individual faculty members.