UW-L TA Policy (DRAFT)
PASSED GRADUATE COUNCIL 1-25-13
As of Fall 2013, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will offer two options for paid graduate
student positions within departments. One will be the standard graduate assistantship that has
been part of UW-L for years. The other will be a teaching assistantship (TA). The following are
university-wide guidelines for teaching assistants (guidelines for graduate assistants remain
unchanged).
Guidelines for Graduate Teaching Assistants
The title “teaching assistant” is appropriate for graduate students assigned teaching duties within
an academic program under the direct supervision of a faculty member in that program. In
general, the duties of a teaching assistantship are more demanding than those of a graduate
assistantship, and teaching assistants demonstrate a higher level of knowledge and experience in
their field than students serving as graduate assistants.1 Duties of a teaching assistant include
independently teaching classes and/or facilitating course laboratories. Additionally:
1) TA appointments must be 50%.
2) The 50% workload may not be more than seven (7) contact hours/semester.
3) Courses and laboratories taught by teaching assistants are counted in the academic
workload measurements of the department.
4) Courses must taught by TA’s must be scheduled in Wings with the specific TA listed as
the instructor of record
General Eligibility Requirements
A graduate student, in order to be eligible for a teaching assistant position, must:
1) Be a currently enrolled graduate student in good academic standing
2) Be enrolled in at least 5 graduate credits, except for the student’s last semester. During
that last semester, the student need take only the credits needed for graduation. If no
credits are needed, the student must register for GRC 799.2
3) Demonstrate evidence of continuous progress toward a degree prior to and during the
assignment.
4) Not have served four semesters as either a TA or GA (i.e., a TA may have only 4
semesters of total assistantship during his/her career at UW-L). 3
1
[As defined in s. 111.81 (19m), Wisconsin Statutes.] Teaching Assistant means a graduate student enrolled in the
University of Wisconsin system who is regularly assigned teaching and related responsibilities, other than
manual or clerical responsibilities, under the supervision of a member of the faculty as defined in s. 36.05(8).
2
Students need to be aware that the number of credits for a TA position are independent of requirements for
financial aid and international student visas.
3
A GA, under special circumstances, might have more than 4 semesters total. A good example would be a GA
actively working on an external grant that requires a longer term commitment.
5) If a non-native English speaker, demonstrate proficiency in spoken English (Regent
requirement).
6) Meet all college requirements for a TA. In addition to the University requirements, each
College may, but is not required to, develop College-wide policies and requirements for
TA’s that may be more restrictive than university policy (These college-wide policies
must be on record with the Director of Graduate Studies).
General Departmental Requirements for the TA Position
Departments that utilize teaching assistants must have written policies specific to the
department’s needs and expectations. These policies must be approved by the College and sent
to the Director of Graduate Studies and contain the following information.
1) A department with TA’s must establish in writing minimum standards for selecting
teaching assistants. These standards must explain the required training and/or experience
that are to be conditions of employment. They should differentiate standards between
GA’s and TA’s. These standards must be approved by the College and provided to the
University Graduate Studies Office.
2) Teaching assistants must receive training in educational and cultural expectations for
students. This may be conducted at the departmental, college, or university level. (Regent
requirement)
3) A specific faculty member(s) must be assigned to supervise TA’s (Regent requirement)
4) Each semester, TA’s must be formally evaluated by students and by their supervising
faculty members (Regent requirement)
5) A department with TA’s must have written policies explaining the duties of teaching
assistants within the department.
6) TAs must be compensated at a rate higher than GAs due to their increased workload and
expectations (see example in appendix).
.
APPENDIX:
Example of Compensation
With greater responsibility and higher expectations of independence, compensation for TA’s will
be higher than for graduate assistants. For the 2012-2013 academic year, the pay (as compared
to a GA) is suggested to be:
Graduate Assistant
Example of
compensation
Teaching Assistant
6,648
0
6,648
N/A
N/A
N/A
10,124
0
10,124
11,605
5,835
17,440
33% Appointment
Salary
Salary to Offset Tuition
Total Compensation
50% Appointment
Salary
Salary to Offset Tuition
Total Compensation
Regent Policy Documents
SECTION 20: FACULTY, ACADEMIC STAFF, AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS
20-17 SELECTION, TRAINING, AND EVALUATION OF TEACHING ASSISTANTS
(Formerly 91-13)
I.
II.
III.
Selection of Teaching Assistants:
A. Institutions employing teaching assistants must establish minimum standards and
guidelines for selecting teaching assistants.
B. Non-native English speakers must be required to demonstrate proficiency in
spoken English before they are assigned classroom duties as teaching assistants.
C. Institutions may determine whether establishing appointment criteria are best
carried out at the departmental, college or institutional level.
Training of Teaching Assistants:
A. Institutions must require appropriate training or previous relevant experience for
new teaching assistants as a condition of employment.
B. Non-native teaching assistants shall receive training in educational and cultural
expectations for students and teaching assistants at their institutions.
C. Teaching assistants shall receive training on curricular and educational
expectations for students in their institutional units.
D. Training of teaching assistants may take place at the institutional, college or
departmental level, or some combination of these, as appropriate.
Evaluation of Teaching Assistants:
A. Institutions shall establish standards for the supervision and evaluation of teaching
assistants.
B. New teaching assistants shall be evaluated by the appropriate unit for the purpose
of teaching improvement as early in the first semester as possible.
C. All teaching assistants shall be evaluated by the appropriate unit each semester.
D. All units employing teaching assistants must establish a process for receiving and
addressing student complaints and concerns about teaching assistants. This
information should be made available in the course syllabi.
E.
Evaluation and supervision of teaching assistants may be carried out at the college
or departmental level, as appropriate.
F. Institutions must establish meaningful, appropriate accountability standards and
procedures to ensure that all units employing teaching assistants are complying
with University of Wisconsin System and institutional policies on teaching
assistants.
Institutional policies and accountability standards must be submitted to the University of
Wisconsin System for approval by June 1992. Full implementation is dependent on fiscal
implications.
History: Res. 5977 adopted 12/6/91.