Guidelines on TA Responsibilities
1. Teaching Assistants are assigned as "grad ers" or as "discussion leaders." Graders normally will have responsibility for no more than 90 students. Discussion leaders normally will have responsibility for no more than 55 students but with correspondingly increased duties. Faculty members may redefine the duties of Teaching Assistants to meet the special circumstances of their courses as long as the actual duties are commensurate with these guidelines.
2. Responsibilities of Graders. Graders are expected to attend lectures, do assigned course readings, hold office hours, and grade course work. Two one hour exams, two short papers, and a final exam may be viewed as a typical and reasonable work load.
3. Responsibilities of Discussion Leaders. Discussion leaders are expected to attend lectures, do assigned course readings, hold office hours, lead discussion sections (as often as weekly), and grade course work for students in those sections.
4. Teaching Assistants should not be expected to devote more than an average of fifteen hours weekly to their duties (course readings not included) over a sixteen‑week term. Because actual practice in the designation of duties will vary according to the needs of each course, it is imperative that this hourly guideline be observed. Instructors and Teaching Assistants should trade‑off responsibilities to remain within this hourly limit. Normally in courses with only one or two Teaching Assistants leading discussions, Instructors will carry at least one discussion section.
5. It is the Instructor's responsibility to discuss with the Teaching Assistant all elements of the course (including, for example, the amount of grading, the number and character of quizzes, exams, and papers, lecturing, provisions for office hours and review sessions, and responsibility, if any, for audio‑visual materials and equipment). It is particularly important that an understanding be reached about the Teaching Assistant's part in the grading of the final examination. This should anticipate and accommodate the Teaching Assistant's own schedule as a graduate student. This conference should occur preferably before the end of the first week of classes. The Instructor should also advise the Teaching Assistant on a regular basis as to how class preparations and grading may be done most effectively and efficiently. Finally, the Instructor is responsible for supplying each TA copies of all assigned materials, including books.
6. Where a Teaching Assistant serves as a discussion leader, the Instructor should attend a discussion section early in the semester to observe the Teaching Assistant's work in the classroom. A follow‑up critique should convey to the Teaching Assistant his or her strengths and weaknesses as a discussion leader. This critique might be written or oral but in any event offers a valuable occasion for enhancing the teaching ability of the graduate student.
7. Under normal circumstances a Teaching Assistant should not be assigned to the same course and Instructor for more than two semesters consecutively.
8. Each semester the Graduate Studies Committee will ask Teaching Assistants and Instructors to evaluate in writing their work relationship. Evaluations will be submitted at the end of the semester. Evaluations by Instructors will be put on file with a copy provided the student evaluated. Evaluations by Teaching Assistants will be submitted directly to either the Chair of the Committee on Teaching or the Director of Graduate Studies and will be treated as confidential.
9. When Teaching Assistants believe that they are being asked to perform duties beyond those specified above or when Teaching Assistants or Instructors are experiencing unusual difficulties in the work relationship, they should consult the Director of Graduate Studies. Such talks will be informal and confidential. When indicated, the Director will seek a mediated resolution. Should these discussions not result in a satisfactory solution, any and all participants may refer the matter to the Chair of the Department.