Positions are contingent upon making satisfactory progress towards one's degree (see 4.2A) and teaching in accordance with the policies of the Department. Experiments in teaching, grading, etc., are to be made only with the explicit consent of the Chair or the Director of Graduate Studies.
5.2 OfficesOffices are provided by the Department for shared use by Teaching Assistants (TA's). Keys are to be returned and offices vacated upon termination of an appointment. A continuing TA may retain his office during the summer. The occupant of an office is responsible for the furniture therein. Furniture is not to be moved or removed without the permission of the Departmental Chair. A new Teaching Assistant has a right to office space as of August 15 in the year he or she is scheduled to teach and is not eligible for office space in the summer unless he or she is teaching summer courses.
5.3 Office HoursTA's should be available to students at times other than class times. They should designate regular times during each semester when they will be available to see students (between 2 and 4 hours a week) and post these on their office door.
5.4 TelephoneDepartmental phones may be used only for official business. Long distance calls may not be made without the explicit approval of the Departmental Chair. Any charge calls on personal business must be billed to a private phone number. The Department cannot undertake to pay for any such calls.
5.5 SuppliesPaper necessary for classroom instruction is available from the Departmental Secretary. In general, typing should be done by the instructor, and the Secretary will run the copy machine. Computers, one per office, are available in each office. Copying may not be charged to the Department without the explicit approval of the Departmental Chair.
5.6 Texts and Desk CopiesEach course taught by a graduate student shall have a full-time faculty member designated to act in a consultative, supervisory capacity. The faculty member shall have the responsibility for ordering the texts for the course. For graduate students teaching a course for the first year, the faculty member shall choose the texts. The faculty member shall consult with the student, if feasible. Students who have taught a course for one year may propose their own texts. They must obtain the supervising faculty member's concurrence on the texts. If a graduate student and faculty member are unable to agree on a text (or texts), they shall consult with the Departmental Chair for a means of resolving their differences.
Desk copies of textbooks for the course a TA is teaching should be obtained directly from the publisher. The Departmental Secretary will supply form letters and the appropriate postage. Until the desk copy arrives from the publisher, the TA may get a desk copy from the Bookstore. The TA should inform the clerk that it is a desk copy and sign his or her own name for it. It should not be charged to the Department. He or she is responsible for replacing it with the new copy when received from the publisher.
5.7 Course RequirementsEarly in the semester, preferably during the first class meeting, an instructor should let his or her students know what will be expected of them in the way of tests, exams, or papers (i.e., how many, what kind, and approximately when assignments will be due).
5.8 GradesThere should be some spread in the final grades given to students. A bell curve (some A's, some F's, mostly B's and C's) is the usual pattern; but TA's are not required to grade on a curve.
5.9 Final GradesAll TA's responsible for submitting final grades on line.
Where an incomplete has been given by a TA an incomplete card should be filled out indicating the reason for the "I", quality of work and attendance to the end of the term, and what is required to finish the course. Also it should be indicated what proportion of the grade the missing work counts for. This card should be turned in to the secretary.
5.10 Student Curriculum and Instruction SurveyAll student instructors should administer the Department's Student Evaluation Form to their classes once the materials become available. The results need not be published, though one set is given to the faculty supervisor and another set to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will put them in the GTA's Personnel File (see 3.4). These results are also used by the Committee on Admissions and Awards. The results of these evaluations are summarized on the Department's "Course Data and Teaching Evaluation Summary" and kept on permanent file.
5.11 Supervising Faculty MemberThe faculty member in charge of a course (usually the faculty member teaching the large lecture section) is responsible for supervising the graduate students teaching the same course. This means direction, observation, specific instruction in methods, testing, etc. The faculty member in charge of the course may visit a graduate student's class to observe his or her teaching in order to help him or her and/or be able to comment on his or her teaching in a letter of recommendation. In general a good performance is adequate evidence of capacity for good teaching; a poor performance may not be adequate evidence of a lack of ability for good teaching.
Supervising Faculty Members are responsible for (1) providing both orientation and training for GTAs under their supervision, (2) evaluating the teaching performance of their GTAs, and (3) providing annual evaluations and recommendations to the Philosophy Admissions and Awards Committee which has the responsibility for making recommendations to the Chair of the Department with respect to the renewal of GTA contracts and the awarding of merit salary increases (see section 4.5). With respect to orientation and training, Supervisors may employ a variety of methods, that will include as a minimum an initial orientation session early in the year, at least one class visitation during each semester with a follow-up discussion and/or letter to the GTA with criticisms and suggestions for improvement. With respect to evaluation, again a variety of methods may be employed, but will minimally include reviewing student course evaluations for GTAs and the class visitations noted above. The evaluation should then result in a letter written to the Department for the GTAs personnel file, with a copy to the GTA. Such evaluations are based on the performance of duties statement previously provided to each GTA (see 4.2(E)). Criteria under which GTA are evaluated and method of evaluation are not subject to grievance or appeal procedures available in the university (see section 4.6) -- unless the GTA claims that evaluation was based on factors other than performance of duties. GTAs who are in danger of non-reappointment because of poor teaching performance in the Fall Semester will be warned of this in a mid-year letter from the Chair of the Admissions and Awards Committee.
At the end of each semester, GTAs evaluate their Faculty Supervisors and submit their evaluation to the Department Chair who, in turn, will convey copies to the relevant Faculty Supervisors. The Faculty Supervisor is permitted (not required) to place his/her evaluations in his/her departmental merit file. The appropriate evaluation form for this purpose will be distributed to the GTAs near the end of each semester.
5.12 Student Grade Appeal PolicyThe following was adopted as a tentative departmental policy (November 14, 1990) dependent upon further clarification of the policy adopted by the University Council.
1. The policy governing GTA cancellation of classes must be compatible with the GTA Union contract and the University Policy on class cancellation.
2. GTAs are not free to cancel a class they are scheduled to teach based on their own unilateral decision (see exception in #6 below).
3. GTAs are under the immediate supervision of their designated Faculty Supervisors.
4. GTAs should always make good faith efforts to find a qualified replacement for any class they cannot meet. It is advisable to have pre-established arrangements with other GTAs for this purpose. GTAs should inform their Faculty Supervisor as to who is the replacement teacher.
5. If a GTA cannot identity a qualified replacement, the GTA should contact the relevant supervisor to discuss the problem of replacement, and if no replacement is available, to request authorization to cancel the class for a justifiable reason. If authorized, then (1) the GTA should notify the class in advance of the cancellation when this is possible, or (2) when the class is the very next class (no advance notice possible), the GTA should find someone to go to the class and notify the students of the cancellation. All canceled classes should be made up at a time that the students can agree upon.
6. An exception to the above procedures would be in genuine emergency (serious illness, auto accident, family crisis, etc.), where due to the time constraints or circumstances, the GTA is unable to arrange for a replacement or contact the supervisor for authorization to cancel the class. In that case, the front office should be contacted as soon as possible, and the front office staff will do their best to notify the students in time, and will also notify the relevant Faculty Supervisor.
7. Faculty supervisors have been delegated the responsibility and authority to make the relevant decisions regarding cancellation of GTA classes, etc. In the event of a serious conflict between a GTA and a Supervisor, the matter should be brought to the attention of the Chair who will advise the GTA of the availability of the appropriate grievance procedures specified in the Graduate Student Guidelines--assuming that no informal resolution of the problem occurs.5.14 GTA Personnel Files
Personnel files are maintained by the Department and are housed in the Director of Graduate Studies office. These files contain employment records, copies of offer letters, copies of evaluations by supervisors and students and any other correspondence pertaining to employment.5.15 GTA Evaluation of Supervisors
GTAs will be given the opportunity to evaluate their faculty supervisor. The Chair of the Department will distribute evaluation forms at the end of each semester. The Supervisor will receive the forms and is free to place these evaluations in her/his merit file. This policy was initiated by the GASP repesentatives in hopes that this will enable the Supervisors to improve their performance (if such improvement is needed).
