DATE:
TO:
FROM:
COPIES:
SUBJECT:
April 15, 2014
Chairs of FAS Departments and Programs plus Others Using TFS
Dean Thomas Pollard, Dean Mary Miller, & Associate Dean Judith Dozier Hackman
Faculty and Staff with Entry Access to Teaching Fellow System
Teaching Assistant Allocation Requests and Appointments for Fall 2014
Fall 2014 TF Allocation
Requests and Appointments
We invite requests for fall 2014 teaching assistant allocations using TFS (Teaching Fellow
System) and provide the following Guidelines. TF Allocation Requests are due May 15, 2014.
DOWNLOADING COURSES: First, for all course that have been taught in the past (just for
fall 2014), please select courses from the history in TFS. You can then edit them for such
changes as instructor names. For new undergraduate courses (just for fall 2014), please email
Howard el-Yasin the Subject/Number/Title/Faculty for any new undergraduate course. Once he
adds a new course, you then can make allocation requests in TFS. For any new grad/prof course,
you may enter them directly in TFS. In the future, undergraduate courses must come from
CourseLeaf but for the fall that function is not available.
PROCESSING APPOINTMENTS: You may begin processing fall 2014 appointments on
June 15 in the following order and with the following deadlines.
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PRIORITY TEACHING STUDENTS: Appoint priority students first – by Aug 1.
OTHER GRADUATE STUDENTS: Then appoint other graduate students – by Aug 15.
PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS: Next appoint professional students – by Aug 15.
NONSTUDENTS: Finally, with special Provostial approval, appoint any nonstudents.
FINDING AVAILABLE TF POSITIONS:
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UNFILLED TF POSITIONS again will be posted on the CAS-ified Teaching Fellow
Program Information Board (Fall - Aug 22).
INTERDEPARTMENTAL TF POSITIONS – Graduate students may indicate their
interest by responding to the Interdepartmental TF Survey, sent to all Graduate students
before each term (Fall – May 6).
SECTION REGISTRATION OPTIONS: In response to faculty requests, we highlight two
ways to ensure that students are able to register
for sections according to faculty
preference:
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CAPPED ENROLLMENTS: For each discussion section leader, maintain the standard
TF maximums. Unless additional sections are allocated, this in effect “caps” the course.
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FLEXIBLE ENROLLMENTS: Once sections are established and 90% filled, a “safety
valve section of 99 maximum” will be created for any remaining students who cannot fit
into the regular sections. Departments will need to add new allocations for any new
sections that need to be created for students in the safety section. Unless section size
revisions have been requested and approved using TFSSM (Teaching Fellow System
Section Management), ultimately all sections will need to be no larger than standard size.
OTHER TF GUIDELINES: We ask that you keep in mind other policies governing teaching
assistants including the following key TFS Guidelines. For more detailed information go to the
Teaching Fellow System Guide, contact the Teaching Fellow Program Office
(teaching.fellows@yale or 2-2757), and/or attend a TFS workshop.
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ENGLISH PROFICIENCY: Students whose undergraduate degree is from a non-English
speaking college must demonstrate English proficiency before being appointed to any
teaching assistant position except “Graders Only” and “Language Tutors and/or
Language Graders.”
MINIMUM ENROLLMENTS:
o For courses other than labs, quantitative courses, language instruction, and/or
those with priority year TFs, the minimum enrollment is 30.
o Even for priority TFs, the minimum enrollment is 6 for a section and 9 for a
quantitative grader.
FACULTY DISCUSSION SECTION LEADERS: Faculty are expected to lead one
discussion section in their own lecture courses of 30 or more except in one or more of the
following circumstances: if the course has 4 or more Teaching Fellows whose sections
the instructor should visit; if the instructor is teaching a new lecture course; or if
discussion sections are in addition to a full, 150-minute weekly lecture schedule.
Additional guidelines relevant to allocation requests are accessible through the following links:
Graduate School Policies and Procedures, information about WR and LxC Sections, and the
Deans’ Memo: Expectations for Faculty and Teaching Fellows. To open an attachment, click
on a link. If you have problems opening an attachment, try copying the link below and pasting it
into your web browser. If you have assignment concerns for next year, we ask that you consult
with Judith Hackman (2-2757), Associate Deans Pamela Schirmeister (2-7598) or Richard
Sleight (2-2744).
cc: DGSs, DUSs, Registrars/Assistants, Julia Adams, James Antony, Emily Bakemeier, Jennifer
Brinley, Robert Burger, Allegra di Bonaventura, Howard el-Yasin, Tamar Gendler, Steven
Girvin, Joseph W. Gordon, Robert Harper-Mangels, Carl Hashimoto, Robin Ladouceur, John
Mangan, Timothy O’Connor, Gabriel Olszewski, Benjamin Polak, Frances Rosenbluth, Peter
Salovey, Pamela Schirmeister, Emily Shandley, James Slattery, Richard Sleight, Lloyd Suttle,
Daria Vander Veer
Referenced Links:
CourseLeaf
www.leepfrog.com/courseleaf/
Teaching Fellow System Program Information Board
http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/academics/tfpinfo/index.html
Teaching Fellow System Guide:
Teaching Fellow System Guide rev 4 10 12.docx
TFS (Teaching Fellow System)
https://faculty.yale.edu/tfs/
WR and LxC Sections:
https://light.its.yale.edu/messages/attachments/w1_31491_WR_and_LxC_Sections_0910.doc