Graduate Student Teaching
Graduate Council
Current Policy
• Graduate Student Teaching
• Students working toward graduate certificates or advanced degrees are not
permitted to teach graduate courses.
• http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=38#Section1814
• Issues with current policy
• Multiple definitions of “teach graduate courses”
• If a GTA grades the work of a peer, is that “teaching”?
Proposed Change
• Focus on removing all potential conflicts of interest
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Graduate students A and B are peers
Student A is TA for course X
Student B is TA for course Y
Student A is enrolled in course Y, student B is enrolled in course X
• There is a potential conflict of interest.
Scenario 1 – Instructor of Record
• For a graduate student to be appointed as the Instructor of Record for
a graduate course (including the 500-level component of a slash
course):
• The unit/program of employment must be separate and distinct from the
unit/program of enrollment.
• The instructor must be appointed to the graduate faculty based on their
academic/professional qualification by the unit/program of employment.
• OAR 580-020-0005 specifies that one may not simultaneously be an OUS faculty member
and an OUS graduate student
• In the event that graduate students from the instructor’s unit/program of
enrollment are enrolled in the course, alternative arrangements must be
made for evaluating the work of those graduate students.
Scenario 2: TA for Graduate Course
• For a graduate student to be appointed as the Teaching Assistant for a
graduate course (including the 500-level component of a slash
course), the Director of the Graduate Program must ensure that
potential conflicts of interest are avoided to the maximum extent
possible. This may include:
• Making alternative arrangements to evaluate the work of graduate students
from the same unit/program as the Teaching Assistant, OR
• Ensuring that the Teaching Assistant has advanced to candidacy status (after
prelims) and all graduate students in the class have not advanced to
candidacy
• If neither of these criteria are met, the program must have a conflict
of interest plan approved by the Graduate School.
Why?
• Intent is to provide guidelines to programs
• Many programs will be able to operate within the guidelines
• If special situations exist with a program:
• Request exception from the Graduate School
Action
• Need approval to change policy
• http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=38#Section1814