Student Affairs

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

TAs

TAs are required to:

-attend all lectures;
-meet with discussion section(s), if applicable.
-hold two office hours/week. The offices available for this will be the graduate student's own office or, for undergraduate IAs and M.A. students, 1503 Mandler Hall (keys are available from Jenny Cantor);
-duplicate appropriate course work as needed (see Copying Policies above);
-proctor quizzes, exams, and finals; Instructor must remain present.
-grade as requested, and
-perform any pertinent teaching duties; full-time TAs within their first four years are responsible for one lecture. Instructor must remain present.

Make contact with your TAs prior to the beginning of the quarter. More specific information on the duties of TAs are listed in "A Guide for Teaching Assistants." See Carissa Hermosillo, Graduate Coordinator, to obtain a copy.

TA Training and Supervision When a TA is assigned to a course, the faculty member in charge of that course is expected to provide TA training and supervision. At the beginning of the quarter, the faculty member should meet with the TA to explain his/her duties and responsibilities. After the initial meeting, regular weekly meetings with the TA are highly recommended. (First year graduates are also provided a TA Mentor who will work with them through the quarter.) The professors must now evaluate TAs at the end of each quarter as a stipulation of the recent TA union contract.

Readers
Readers are typically undergraduates hired to assist in upper division classes, 195s, where available, fulfill the same function for lower division courses. Readers are only allowed to grade objective questions and scantrons. They are paid on an hourly basis for the number of hours they spend performing work.

If an instructor wishes to request a reader for a course (usually upper division), s/he has to approach the MSO to check on the availability of funds. (Eligibility: At least 90.0 units completed; grade point average of 3.0 or consent of instructor, and a grade of A in the course.)

Duties for Readers and 195s:
-Meet with instructor prior to course to establish organizational guidelines for the course
-Meet, regularly with the course instructor to ensure ongoing communication regarding progress of students and course
-Attend all class meetings
-Master course material to enable themselves to hold discussions or office hours
-Assist with course preparation (e.g. library research for articles, questions for exams, contacting Soft Reserves, etc.)
Copy course materials such as exams, syllabi, handouts
Assist with proctoring examinations
Grade only scantrons and objective questions
Hold office hours/sections a minimum of 2 hours per week

Psychology 195 - Undergraduate Instruc¬tional Apprentice (“Undergraduate IA”)
http://www-senate.ucsd.edu/committees/cep.htm
Instructors of lower division courses can offer 195s - "Undergraduate Instruc¬tional Apprentice for which students earn four units upper division credit with P/NP grading. (The Department of Psychology does count a 195 one time as part of the minimum of 12 upper division courses towards the major.) The 195 is intended to enable students to learn about teaching, i.e., attend classes, hold sections, assist with office hours, assist with course preparation, and proctor exams. Like Readers, 195s are only allowed to grade objective questions and scantrons. Duties are the same as those for Readers.

Faculty are required to soley advertise, screen, and submit the 195 applications for their classes. In those cases where one faculty member does not regularly teach a particular course, faculty may advertise the next lecturer/instructor’s course opportunities (such as PSYC 60). Applications for 195s must be turned in to the Student Services office no later than week 8 of the previous quarter.

Exceptions may be granted by CEP
CEP has granted permission to approve Psych 195s for upper division courses with large enrollment (300+). The Undergraduate Affairs Office will inform CEP of all these permissions at the end of each academic year. To be eligible, the student must be either of junior or senior standing with an overall GPA of 3.0. For Psych 60-Stats and upper division courses, the student must have taken the course beforehand with a grade of A. Applications are available from the Student Services office, 1533 Mandler Hall. All assigned duties should be clearly stated on this form.

STUDENT AFFAIRS STAFF
STUDENT SERVICES OFFICE
1533 Mandler Hall
Phone: 858.534.3001
Fax: 858.534.2324