Graduate Teaching Assistant Work Guidelines

Work guidelines for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs).

Teaching duties

Your teaching assignment may involve preparation time, course delivery, grading, meetings with your immediate instructor or ASO, office hours and/or proctoring exams in other courses, depending on your course assignment. The instructor will explicitly describe your duties for the course to you at the beginning of the semester and has full authority to designate those duties. You are responsible for the consistent and successful completion of each of these tasks. While you may have other obligations during the semester (e.g., research, conferences), you must make time to deliver your courses and be available to students.
Prepare for, be present and be on time for teaching your assigned course or lab sections. Do not start classes late or routinely end classes early. Fully utilize your entire class period.
Correct, grade and return student work promptly. Be consistent and fair in grading and when assigning points for attendance, course assignments and exams.
You must be regularly available to students throughout the duration of the course. This expectation involves at least (a) replying to student emails within 48 hours whenever possible, (b) holding scheduled office hours (if required by the course) with few or no absences from the first-course meeting through the final exam, (c) grading assignments/exams in a timely manner or as indicated in the syllabus and (d) posting grades to an online grade book accessible to students within one week of assignment due date.
Keep an easily retrievable backup of student grades. If your grades are maintained online (e.g., on Canvas), maintain a current electronic (e.g., Excel file) and a paper backup. Keep accurate, current records of all points earned by students.
Your duties for the semester do not end until the final grades are submitted by the instructor for the course (i.e., after all assignments are graded, all proctoring is completed and the final exams for the lab (if applicable) and the lecture sections are given and graded). Your duties may extend beyond that time at your supervisor's discretion, up until the last day of your GTA contract assignment.

GTA absences

Meetings and office hours

You must attend scheduled meetings with the faculty supervisor/lab coordinator and be available to students (office hours and appointments) during the entirety of your contract. For fall, that means being available for meetings starting in mid-August. For winter, you must be available in early January. Late starts of any length are not acceptable unless arranged and approved ahead of time with the associate chair.

Class and exam proctoring

If you must be absent from a class for which you are responsible or an exam for which you are scheduled to proctor due to illness or other last-minute reasons, first notify the lab coordinator or instructor of your course that you will be absent. If you are teaching Bio 1050, 1500 or 1510 you should notify the department chair; if you are teaching BIO 2200, 2870 or 3070 you should notify Krystyn Purvis. Notify the course instructor for all other courses. Second, notify the graduate officer. Except for extenuating circumstances, you must arrange to have another instructor step in to cover the class or proctor the exam.

Travel

For teaching or proctoring absences due to travel to academic meetings, conferences, off-campus research or other special circumstances, you must obtain written permission (by email) from your instructor/lab coordinator and the graduate officer at least seven calendar days prior to the first day of travel. If the instructor/lab coordinator and graduate officer disagree on the permissibility of travel, the associate chair will make the decision. If the associate chair is not available, the chair will make the decision. You must also arrange for a substitute to cover your responsibilities at least seven days prior to your travel and arrange for grading and posting of grades to be done in a timely fashion during your absence. It is recommended to inform the instructor and/or lab coordinator of the arranged substitution through email while including the substitute as a cc in the email address. The university is not responsible for monetary compensation for substitutes. Both your instructor/lab coordinator and the graduate officer reserve the right to deny permission for such travel with sufficient justification.

International students

For international students who travel overseas between semesters, your scheduled date of return must be before the first scheduled organizational meeting or the first class of your course assignment. If this is not possible, you must receive the necessary permissions as specified in number nine. If your planned travel is for the purpose of or with the possibility of any immigration proceedings, you will be required to set an appointment date with the relevant U.S. immigration office or consulate. Do not schedule this appointment closer than 14 calendar days from the first class or scheduled meeting of your course assignment. To accommodate for unplanned and uncontrolled travel delays, it's highly recommended to obtain the necessary permissions prior to your travel as specified in number nine. Again, the university is not responsible for monetary compensation for substitutes.

Compliance

GTAs who fail to follow these work rules are subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the provisions of the latest collective bargaining agreement of the Graduate Employees Organizing Committee (GEOC). Disciplinary action will be determined by a work compliance committee consisting of the associate chair, the course instructor/lab coordinator and a GEOC representative.

Student cheating, plagiarism and disciplinary issues

Cheating and plagiarism are serious problems that must be handled according to WSU's Student Code of Conduct (see student conduct, support and intervention), with special attention to section 10.1. Suspected cases of cheating and plagiarism must be reported to your instructor/lab coordinator before taking any action. Your instructor/lab coordinator may work with you and the associate chair to resolve issues of student cheating or plagiarism.
Other disciplinary issues involving student behavior should be brought to the attention of the instructor/lab coordinator immediately.