Priorities for TA Allocation

The College’s budget for teaching assistants is not sufficient to meet all needs departments may identify. The College places high priority on support of lab and discussion sections in faculty-taught courses; staffing of instructional labs, computer facilities, or studios where use of equipment must be supervised; and staffing of courses where small-enrollment classes are the ideal pedagogical format. The College also considers requests for teaching assistance in preparation, grading, and tutoring, and for other instructional support. In making requests for teaching assistants, departments should keep in mind the College’s guidelines for uses of the TA allocation.

Departments may also consider whether undergraduate teaching interns can fulfill some of the functions listed above.

Notification to the Department of TA and RA Allocations

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recognizes that early offers of graduate assistantships are necessary to attract the best graduate students. DEOs therefore receive a tentative allocation of funds for the subsequent academic year at the end of the fall semester.

Departments receive an allocation of teaching assistant funds from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, expressed as the number of HTE positions authorized.

Posting Information on Assistantships Available for Graduate Students

Each semester, the department must post information on graduate assistantships available in the subsequent semester. The information must be posted by March 1 for summer session and fall appointments, and by October 1 for spring appointments. This posting requirement applies to assistantships available in all departmental courses, including those which may be sponsored by the Center for Credit Programs.

The posting must include a deadline for applying, the process for applying, and the name of the person who should receive the application. It must also include a description of the anticipated duties, course titles for teaching assignments, probable number of positions, percentage of appointment, and necessary qualifications (see the UE/COGS collective bargaining agreement, Article VI.2).

Summer Session Teaching Assistantships

The Director of Summer Session, 111 Jessup Hall, must authorize TA appointments for summer session. (The College allocates teaching assistantships for the academic year only.) Summer session appointments are governed by the UE/COGS collective bargaining agreement (see Article IX.2d-e for levels of appointment and minimum salary).