PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE: MINUTES
November 13, 2013
Present:WilliamBarry,KristineBartanen,GeoffreyBlock,JenniferHastings(chair),
TiffanyAldrichMacBain,AndreasMadlung,MarkReinitz,andKurtWalls
1. ApprovalofminutesfromNovember6,2013meeting.
2. TheCommitteereturnedtodiscussionofnewguidelinesforCourse
Assistants,spendingmostofthehouronwhetherastatementaboutCourse
AssistantsandgradingshouldbeincludedintheGuidelines.(Nosuch
statementexistsinthecurrentGuidelines.)IssuesincludedwhetherCourse
Assistantsshouldbepermittedtogradeatall;iftheywerepermitted,
whethergradingshouldbelimitedtoobjectiveassessmentonly;whether
guidelinesaroundgradingshouldbeleftentirelytothediscretionofthe
department.TheCommitteeopinionconvergedaroundthefollowing
wording:"allCourseAssistantdutieswithrespecttogradingmustbelimited
toallobjectiveevaluation."TheCommitteealsodiscussedbrieflythe
supervisionofCourseAssistants,retitlingthelistofresponsibilitiesofCourse
Assistants,andtheinclusionofconfidentialityguidelinesandselection
guidelinesinthethirdparagraphofnewstatement.(Forcompleterevisions
toCourseAssistantdocument,seeattached.)
3. CommunicationfromLMISwasrelayedtotheCommitteeindicatingthat
LMISwouldforwarditsworkonconvertingtoelectronicstudentevaluations
tothePSCandalsoLMIS’judgmentthat,givenTechnologyServices’
engagementingettingPeopleSoftupandrunning,anydiscussionof
convertingtoelectronicevaluationsshouldbepostponed.Itwasagreedto
discussthisrecommendationandalsoSenatechargesattheCommittee’s
nextmeeting.
4. TheCommitteeadjournedatroughly8:50AM.NextfullmeetingofPSCis
Dec.6th.
Respectfullysubmitted,
BillBarry
InterpretationofChapterI,PartC,Section2,a.GuidelinesfortheUseof
CourseAssistants(ReporttoFacultySenateDatetobeinsertedhere):Current
DefinitionofCourseAssistants
CourseAssistantsareeitherpaidemployeesoftheuniversityorstudentsreceiving
compensationinadifferentformfortheirassistanceincoursework.
Responsibilities
TheresponsibilityforteachingandinstructionattheUniversityofPugetSound
resideswiththefacultymembers.Theuniversityrecognizes,however,thatin
specialcasesitisappropriateornecessarytoutilizetheservicesofstudentsas
courseassistants.Courseassistantsdonotreplacefullorparttimefaculty.Rather
theyextendandaugmenttheabilityofafacultymembertofulfilltheobjectivesofa
particularclass.Theuseofcourseassistantsinnowayreduces,replaces,or
eliminatestheauthorityorresponsibilityafacultymemberhasforacourseas
specifiedintheFacultyCode.
RequirementsforDepartmentalGuidelinesforCourseAssistants
Specificactivitiesforcourseassistantswillofnecessityvary(fromdepartmentto
departmentandfromcoursetocourse).Eachdepartmentmustdevelopaclear
statementforeachcourseconcerningtheuseofcourseassistants.Thestatement
shoulddiscuss,atleast,thefollowing:(1)facultysupervision;(2)theroleofcourse
assistantsintheclassroomorlaboratory;(3)thespecifictasksassignedtocourse
assistants;(4)thedegreeandtypeofinteractionbetweenthecourseassistantsand
students;(5)theroleofcourseassistantsingradingandevaluatingstudentwork;
(6)theexpectednumberofhoursofwork;(7)themethodofevaluating
performanceoftheCA;(8)howconfidentialityofsensitivematerialisensured(in
somecasescourseassistantswillhaveaccesstoconfidentialinformatione.g.,
grades,performancerecords,orevaluationsaboutthestudentsenrolledintheclass.
Thedepartmentandthesupervisormustmakeeveryefforttorestrictcourse
assistants'accesstoconfidentialinformationtoaminimum.Courseassistantsmust
bemadeawareofthesensitivenatureofsuchinformationandshouldberequired
tosignanon‐disclosureagreement.Abuseofthisprivilegeshouldbegroundsfor
dismissalofacourseassistantfromemployment.);and(9)theprocessofselection
ofcourseassistants.(Eachdepartmentmustdevelopaprocedureforselecting
courseassistants,whichisconsistentwithboththeneedsofthedepartmentand
withtheprevailinguniversitypoliciesandpractices.Selectioncriteriashould
correspondtothedepartmentalstatementsaboutthedutiesandresponsibilitiesof
thecourseassistantposition.Theprimaryconcernofthedepartmentinselecting
courseassistantsmustbetheabilityofindividualstoperformsatisfactorilythe
expectedfunctionsofacourseassistant.Totheextentpossible,departmentsshould
selectstudentswhoqualifyforuniversitymatchingfundsunderexistingwork‐study
programs.Applicationsforpositionsshouldbesolicitedfromallqualifiedstudents.
Notificationtobothselectedindividualsandunsuccessfulapplicantsshouldbein
writing.Thedepartmentshouldensurethateachselectionisbasedonrational
criteriaandproceduressothattheyarenotperceivedasarbitraryorcapricious.
Thedepartmentshouldbewillingtodiscussitsdecisionswithunsuccessful
applicants.Aftertheselectionprocessiscompletedthedepartmentisresponsible
forworkingwiththeuniversity'sOfficeofStudentEmploymenttoexecutethe
appropriatedocumentsasapplicable.).
Thisstatementshouldbemadeavailabletoallprospectivecourseassistantsand
reviewedspecificallywithallcourseassistantsatthebeginningoftheiremployment.
SupervisionandResponsibilityofCourseAssistants
Eachcourseassistantmustbeunderthedirectguidanceandsupervisionofafaculty
member.Allcourseassistantdutieswithrespecttogradingmustbelimitedto
objectiveevaluation.Itistheresponsibilityofthesupervisortoseethatthecourse
assistantsuccessfullyfulfillstherequirementsofthejob.Thesupervisorwillmeetin
atimelyfashionwiththecourseassistanttodevelopappropriatematerialforthe
courseandtoassessthecourseassistant'sperformance.
Thesupervisor,orfacultymemberresponsibleforthecourse,shouldinformthe
studentsenrolledinthecourseabouttheroleanddutiesofeachcourseassistant.
Studentsshouldalsobeinformedthattheyhavetherighttoappealdecisionsmade
byanycourseassistanttothefacultymemberorsupervisor.
RoleofProfessionalStandardsCommittee
Sincecourseassistantsperformsomeoftheactivitiesandhavesomeofthe
responsibilitiesoffacultymembers,itisintheinterestoftheuniversitytomonitor
theiruse.Thus,eachdepartmentemployingcourseassistantsshouldsubmittothe
ProfessionalStandardsCommitteeadocument,whichexplainstheduties,
responsibilities,andsupervisionofcourseassistants,andwhichshouldregularlybe
reviewedbythePSC.Thecommitteewillreviewanyreviseddepartmental
statementanddeterminewhetheritisappropriate.Whenthedepartmentobtains
committeeapprovalitmaythenemploycourseassistantsinaccordancewiththese
proceduresandthedepartmentaldocument.Currentdepartmentalstatements
regardingtheuseofCAstayineffectuntilarevisedversionisrequestedbythePSC.