GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS

The involvement of graduate students in the educational program of the University is a vital part of both the education of the graduate students and the productivity of the University in meeting its mission. Although not all students pursuing graduate degrees are appointed to assistantships, most have such responsibilities at some time during a course of study at NCSU. Through appointment as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and graduate research assistants (GRAs), graduate students are given specific responsibilities, generally within their academic departments. Attendance to these responsibilities both fulfills program needs in the departments and contributes to the education and training of graduate students.

In the 1992-93 academic year, 1,784 graduate assistants were appointed: 578 as GTAs and 1,206 as GRAs. GTAs generally have duties associated with undergraduate courses, either teaching courses or assisting faculty. GRAs have duties in support of one or more research activities in the department. Such research activities may or may not be associated with the area of research in which the student conducts thesis or dissertation research.

When GTAs perform faculty duties associated with the delivery of degree programs or assist faculty in performing such duties, they assume one of the roles of regular faculty, thus allowing the University to leverage faculty capabilities and capacity.

Recommendation 8.11: NCSU should increase its funding for GTAs to improve the capacity of the University to offer meaningful training in teaching while leveraging the faculty.

A major concern of faculty is the University's ability to attract and retain teaching assistants of the highest caliber. Although in-state admission is not inconsistent with getting high-caliber students, one of the strengths of the university experience is gained by the mix of students from different backgrounds. Thus, attracting outstanding out-of-state students is of great importance. At NCSU, however the ability to attract out-of-state students is hindered in some departments by a lack of funding for tuition remission for out-of-state teaching assistants.

Recommendation 8.12: NCSU should seek funding to guarantee tuition remission or to provide alternative payment or waiver for all graduate teaching assistants.

This chapter of the self-study addresses GTAs in terms of their selection, preparation, responsibilities, opportunities, and accomplishments.

Classification of Graduate Teaching Assistants

Although the Graduate School provides general guidelines for appointment of graduate assistants, they are actually appointed at the college and departmental level. After GTAs have completed eighteen hours of graduate work in the field, they may be assigned courses to teach as the teacher of record, having the complete responsibility for the course, but with the supervision of a faculty member. Before being assigned teaching duties, those students for whom English is not the first language must demonstrate adequate English proficiency. This assessment is based initially on the Test of English as a Foreign Language, and ultimately on the assessment of the appointing department. Independently of the amount of graduate work completed, GTAs may also be assigned support duties such as serving as a lab instructor or assistant, conducting weekly recitations, grading papers, and consulting with students [4.4.4.2; 4.4.4.3; 4.4.4.4].

It is the policy of the University that all graduate students with teaching duties be closely supervised by a member of the faculty. Excessive (multiple) employment at NCSU is not permitted, and any other employment that may jeopardize the student's academic progress is discouraged. The Graduate School provides guidelines as to allowable course loads for graduate assistants (The Graduate Catalog, 1992-1994, p.18). Most appointments are half-time, and students are limited to taking no more that nine hours of graduate work in any semester they are appointed as graduate assistants.

Graduate School Publications

In addition to individual department and college handbooks, the Graduate School publishes guidelines for graduate assistantship appointments. These guidelines, however, are primarily for the use of the appointing department and not for the graduate assistant. Although the Graduate Catalog publishes basic information about graduate assistants and their assistantships, new comprehensive publications should be designed for both department administrators and graduate assistants [4.4.4.2].

Recommendation 8.13: NCSU's Graduate School should develop and publish universitywide policies on the in-service training and supervision of graduate teaching assistants.

Recommendation 8.14: NCSU's Graduate School should develop and publish policies on the institutionwide administration of graduate assistantships, including criteria for appointment, remuneration, evaluation, and reappointment, as well as a statement of rights and responsibilities (as was mandated in 1987).

Recommendation 8.15: Each NCSU department should publish a handbook for teaching assistants including criteria for appointment, remuneration, evaluation, and reappointment, as well as a statement of rights and responsibilities.

The proposed handbook for teaching assistants should include information regarding grading, test security, office-hour requirements, and classroom and laboratory safety procedures. Finally, it should offer guidance regarding departmental mentoring programs and list resources available to teaching assistants that might assist them in fulfilling their teaching and research responsibilities. A copy of each department's handbook should be kept on file in the respective college's library and in the library of the Graduate School.

Supervision and Evaluation of Graduate Assistants

All graduate teaching assistants who have primary responsibility for teaching courses are directly supervised by a faculty member in the teaching field and are regularly evaluated. In many departments, each graduate assistant is assigned a teaching mentor or advisor who visits the assistant's class to evaluate and advise the graduate assistant. Moreover, assistants are evaluated by their students through the regular departmental process of student evaluation of teachers. This process of supervision and monitoring extends to all classes, whether or not the assistants are responsible for assigning final grades. Multiple-section courses are coordinated by a faculty member, who generally supervises all assistants teaching a section of the course or laboratory. The course coordinator supervises a graduate assistant's teaching a section of the course, giving special attention to ensuring that the assistant keeps on schedule, covers the necessary material, and performs other essential pedagogical functions [4.4.4.5].

Extent of Teaching by Graduate Students

Table 8.14 provides the most recent data on the distribution of student credit hours across the colleges and schools. These data are presented in raw form (total credit hours) and in percentages taught by faculty and teaching assistants. For the University as a whole, fully 93 percent of all credit hours in the fall 1992 semester were taught by faculty, and only 7 percent by GTAs. This means that of 296,774 total credit hours, 274,944 were taught by faculty and 21,830 were taught by GTAs. Overall, the data confirm that the University is in general compliance with the SACS requirement that an "institution must avoid heavy dependence on graduate teaching assistants to conduct classroom instruction" [4.4.4.1]. By department, the number of sections taught by teaching assistants compares very favorably with other research universities (see self-study library, Teaching Load Data Exchange).

Table 8.14
Distribution of student credit hours delivered among appointed faculty and graduate teaching assistants by college, fall 1992 

                                    Credit hours                     Percentage
College                               Faculty      GTA      Total     Faculty   GTA
-------                              ---------    -----    --------  ---------  ---
Agriculture and Life Sciences        27,477.1     606.0    28,083.1     98%      2%
Design                                7,059.0     122.0     7,181.0     98%      2%
Education and Psychology             17,475.7   3,549.0    21,024.7     83%     17%

Engineering                          42,440.0   3,269.0    45,709.0     93%      7%
Forest Resources                      4,160.1     105.0     4,265.1     98%     2%
Humanities and Social Sciences       83,592.6   4,038.0    87,630.6     95%     5%

Management                           20,781.3   2,334.0    23,115.3     90%    10%
Physical and Mathematical Sciences   59,087.5   7,684.5    66,772.0     88%    12%
Textiles                              5,438.0        --     5,438.0    100%     --

Veterinary Medicine                   5,929.7        --     5,929.7    100%     --
Administration                        1,502.5     123.0     1,625.5     92%     8%

Total                               274,943.5  21,830.5   296,774.0     93%     7%

As table 8.14 also shows, although there is significant variation in the proportion of student credit hours delivered by GTAs across the colleges and schools, only three exceed the overall University average. The highest is 17 percent in the College of Education and Psychology, which also has a large doctoral program. In the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, the figure is 12 percent, which is most likely affected by teaching demand due to the very large number of students taking introductory-level math and science courses. Although these two colleges should examine and monitor the use of GTAs to ensure that this use is not excessive, there is no evidence to indicate that the teaching being done by GTAs in any of these programs is not entirely acceptable. In short, all of the colleges at NCSU are generally in compliance with the SACS requirement.

The Eighteen-Hour Guideline

The requirement that teaching assistants have at least eighteen graduate semester hours in their teaching field before they may function as teachers of record has given rise to innovative ways of using teaching assistants, but only the Department of English is not in compliance of the eighteen-hour guideline [4.4.4.3]. Overall, the University has been working especially hard to ensure compliance with all SACS guidelines relative to section 4.4.4 since June 1987, at which time a memorandum from the Provost's Office was circulated universitywide, demanding that "the schools and departments put these general guidelines into effect as soon as feasible."

Recommendation 8.16: NCSU's Graduate School should continue to monitor departments to ensure that no graduate teaching assistant with fewer than eighteen graduate semester hours in his or her teaching field has primary responsibility for teaching a course.

In the Department of English, approximately 40 percent of the freshman composition courses, including English 110, 111 and 112, are taught by graduate teaching assistants, and in most cases, teaching assistants are the teacher of record. The self-study faculty committee considers this 40 percent figure to be too high, especially given the overall University average of 7 percent. At the same time, the committee acknowledges that the University's freshman composition requirement is nearly comprehensive, that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the department to service this demand without heavy reliance on GTAs, and that the Department of English has no doctoral program, from which graduate student teachers typically come.

Most GTAs in English are appointed initially in the fall semester, during which they complete ten hours of graduate work, including a course in teaching English composition. They are assigned their first teaching duties in the spring, usually teaching two sections while taking six hours of graduate work. Some of the English GTAs take additional coursework during the following summer, but others teach in the second fall of their appointment, when they typically have fewer than eighteen hours, and usually only sixteen. This means that in a typical two-year appointment, English GTAs teach in three of the four semesters, and that approximately half of those teaching at any given time have had less than the eighteen-hour minimum of graduate coursework.

Although Department of English GTAs do have responsible charge of a course as early as their second semester, they have had significant training for their teaching responsibilities during their first semester. The Department of English has a strong mentoring program and requires all newly appointed teaching assistants to take a three-credit graduate course, Teaching College Composition, before they enter the classroom. It should also be noted that no evidence exists of inadequate teaching by English GTAs, which speaks well for the efforts of the English faculty in this connection.

The self-study faculty committee views the compliance problem in the Department of English as serious, but it commends the department for the measures it has undertaken to prepare and very closely monitor and mentor GTAs while planning is underway to correct the technical violation of the eighteen-hour minimum. The Graduate School, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Department of English are currently working on a number of alternatives to ensure that the department will be in full compliance with SACS guidelines by the 1995-96 academic year (Department Heads' Questionnaire, English, item Q-10A-B).

Some of the proposals being discussed involve changes in course loads and schedules for entering graduate students, such as having them begin their coursework in the summer session before the fall semester commences. Perhaps the most innovative proposal currently being discussed focuses on the creation of a writing center, which could also be tied into the idea of an NCSU teaching and learning center (see discussion in the Undergraduate Program and Educational Support Services chapters). The teaching and learning center would provide support for faculty and graduate students interested in improving their teaching skills, and also provide support for students interested in enhancing their learning (and writing) skills. The creation of either a teaching and learning center or a writing center would involve a substantial commitment of funds and facilities, so the idea is currently under consideration and review by various academic and administrative units on the campus. It is fair to say, however, that the Department of English, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Graduate School, and indeed the University are exploring several avenues for bringing the Department of English's use of GTAs into compliance with the SACS requirement. The training and monitoring program being used by the department seems to be a reasonable compromise while the department seeks alternative arrangements.

Recommendation 8.17: NCSU's Department of English should find an alternative to using GTAs with fewer than eighteen graduate semester hours to teach courses.

Competency in Speaking English

The University is aware of the difficulties that can arise with the use of teaching assistants who are non-native speakers of English and takes precautions to ensure that assistants who teach are proficient in oral and written communication. Physics professor Dr. Karen Johnston, while serving an administrative internship in the Graduate School, has recently conducted an extensive evaluation of teaching assistantship programs across the University and is preparing a report (forthcoming) that will address ways in which the University might improve faculty/teaching assistant relations as well as the GTA experience in general. As part of her report, Dr. Johnston notes that on rare occasions non-native teaching assistants who have fulfilled requirements established by the Graduate School and individual colleges and departments do not possess a spoken proficiency of English (Interview with Karen Johnston, December 15, 1992). However, most departments take care to rely on means other than TOEFL scores to ensure oral proficiency in English of non-native speakers. Personal interviews and GRE verbal scores are typically used. Also, many departments do not assign non-native speaking teaching assistantsunder any circumstancesto instructional roles until they have been evaluated for at least a semester.

Although current practice is such that instances of problems with language proficiency are not widespread, effort should be directed at assuring that this is not a problem. In general, the University should carefully supervise non-native teaching assistants during their recruitment, placement, and in-service training in order to ensure that all teaching assistants have adequate command of both written and spoken English. Attention should be given to the provision of means to evaluate the conversational/spoken English and clarity of speaking abilities of such students. Additional orientation should be provided non-native-English speaking teaching assistants to prepare them for the cultural and educational circumstances in which they will be teaching [4.4.4.4].

Recommendation 8.18: NCSU should ensure that the English language proficiency and communicative skills of non-native-speaking teaching assistants is appropriate to their assignments.

Teacher Training

NCSU takes care generally to prepare teaching assistants to teach, and it supervises and mentors them in their efforts to become better teachers. In fact, both faculty and undergraduate students indicate widespread satisfaction with the performance level of GTAs and GRAs universitywide (Self-Study Survey of Faculty, Q-13; Self-Study Survey of Undergraduate Students, Q-5K). However, the preparation and supervision of GTAs varies according to the policies established by individual colleges and departments. Some programs have excellent teacher training and faculty mentoring programs in place, including semester-long graduate courses on teaching, faculty-supervised workshops, one-on-one mentoring programs, and periodic evaluations of teaching performance by administration and faculty (see, for example, Department Heads Questionnaire, Q-10, College of Engineering; also English; Biological and Agricultural Engineering; and Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management). Other departments have policies that are less comprehensive (see, for example, Department Heads Questionnaire, Q-10, Physics and Mathematics; see also Self-Study Survey of Faculty, Q-13) [4.4.4.2].

Efforts should be made to ensure that all University departments have selection, training, mentoring, and evaluation procedures for GTAs that are as inclusive as possible (see self-study library for a draft of Johnston report, Preparing for the Professoriate). Models within the University that are particularly strong, such as those employed by the Colleges of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Engineering, might be used for institutionwide programs. A teaching and learning center, which is currently under consideration, is certainly related to the kinds of improvements and enhancement measures that the University might undertake in this area. Also, improved interaction among those who coordinate and supervise teaching assistants could lead to creative approaches to training for teaching.

Recommendation 8.19: NCSU's Graduate School and individual departments should maintain regular in-service training and follow-up procedures for GTAs.

Recommendation 8.20: NCSU's departments and colleges should assemble their teaching-assistant coordinators periodically and provide them with a mechanism to exchange ideas and information.

In December 1993 the Administrative Board of the Graduate School recommended and the Graduate School adopted guidelines for the use of graduate teaching assistants at NCSU. Under these guidelines, beginning in spring 1994 every department will have in place an implementation plan that addresses recruitment and selection, orientation and training, supervision and communication, and the evaluation of and feedback to graduate teaching assistants. The guidelines address both procedural and substantive issues. Each department will maintain a database that contains the names of teaching assistants, their academic credentials, their course assignments, their responsibility and time commitments and their faculty mentor/supervisor. Annually, a report based on these data and the changes in departmental plans will be submitted to the Graduate School through the dean's offices of the colleges and schools.

Self-Study Table of Contents