Every regularly-enrolled student is assigned, for academic advising, to a faculty member who is known as the students faculty adviser. Academic advising responsibilities are assigned to most faculty members as a regular part of the duties for which they are appointed and upon which they are evaluated.
Curricula and courses are designed by faculty to meet specific objectives. Courses are taught by individuals who have expertise in the subject matter of each course. References to "faculty," "professor," "teacher" and "instructor" throughout this handbook denote regular, full-time, tenure track and non-tenure track faculty as well as graduate teaching assistants and those individuals who may be engaged in a part-time capacity. Graduate teaching assistants are frequently assigned teaching responsibilities in laboratories and in problem sessions of courses being taught by regular faculty. On the occasions in which graduate teaching assistants have primary responsibility for teaching courses, they do so only after having had significant graduate-level training, and they are under the direct supervision of regular faculty. To meet the needs for special expertise in various areas, appropriately-qualified individuals are engaged by the University on a part-time basis to teach certain courses.
Familiarity with the type of information contained throughout this handbook is essential to effective advising and teaching. References to "advisers" and "advising" throughout this handbook denote faculty and the engagement in the service of providing academic advice to students.