Bren
School Teaching Assistant Information
Bren School TA
Positions
The
University has provided the
Teaching
assistants are assigned to core courses and courses with a significant lab or
field component. In some cases, depending upon availability, teaching
assistants are assigned to elective classes with large enrollments or special
considerations.
Only
PhD students are eligible for Bren teaching assistantships. University rules do not allow masters
students to TA graduate level courses that are taken primarily by their peers.
Academic
Standing
To be eligible
for a TA position, PhD students must, throughout the period of their
appointment, be:
- Currently registered and enrolled in at least 8 units
- In good academic standing
Ø >= 3.0 GPA
Ø Fewer than 12 units of unfinished coursework
Ø Not on academic probation or subject to dismissal
Ø Advanced to candidacy if they have been a graduate student for 4 years
or more
Ø Within normative time
- Certified as having language proficiency in spoken English if their
native language is not English.
Generally,
TA positions are NOT awarded to Bren PhD students who are not in compliance
with the PhD guidelines.
Non-Native
English Speaking Students
Non-native
English speakers must take the locally administered English Language Placement
Examination (ELPE) prior to their first quarter of enrollment. All prospective
TAs for whom English is not the native language must
meet minimum proficiency requirements in spoken English before they can be
certified to have sole teaching responsibilities for graduate classes.
TA language evaluations of English speaking
proficiency are conducted jointly by representatives of the ESL Program and Graduate
Division and a faculty member from the academic department of the prospective
TA. If the student does not pass the evaluation, s/he cannot be certified for
sole classroom teaching responsibilities. In addition, the student will be
required to take ESL courses to improve oral proficiency. The student must
enroll in ESL classes and demonstrate sufficient progress in order to be
eligible for reevaluation. These standards are necessary to ensure quality
instruction at UCSB and the
Selection
Process
Each
winter, Bren School faculty are queried about their current and incoming PhD
students’ funding needs for the following year and whether their student(s)
should be considered for TA positions. Current PhD students are also queried
directly about their interest in TAing and what
classes they feel they are qualified to TA. This information is provided to the
RAS
assigns teaching assistantships. The following factors are considered in making
TA awards:
- Appropriate academic
preparation
- Scholastic
achievement
- Teaching
experience and past performance
- Funding need
The
most important factor is teaching qualifications. If there is evidence that a
student is not qualified to TA a specific class because of lack of knowledge,
prior experience, and/or poor past performance as a TA, they will not be
awarded the position.
In
addition to these general qualifications, the
- PhD students that have University fellowship commitments that must
be honored
- PhD students studying under Assistant Professors that have no other
source of funding
Finally, if other factors are equal, the following
considerations are taken into account in the decision-making process.
- How active the
PhD student has been at trying to secure other sources of financial
support (i.e. extramural grants)
- How much
School-based support the student has received in the past.
A
student who has prior experience TAing a particular class
is not guaranteed re-assignment if there are other
qualified candidates with priority consideration.
If
there are no qualified Bren students to TA a particular class, we seek PhD
students from other departments to fill TA positions.
Award
Notification
Once the course faculty and the RAS Committee have
confirmed the TA positions, the
Before the start of the quarter for which the
student has agreed to TA, the Payroll/Personnel will write and deliver a second
letter following the procedures mandated by the
Hiring
Process
Before the start of the quarter for which a student TAs, the student
must make an appointment with the Bren School Personnel/Payroll Assistant to
complete hiring paperwork. The Payroll
Assistant will explain TA salary and benefits, start and end dates, etc. at
this meeting.
Information on salary and benefits for Teaching Assistants, can be found at
UCSB Graduate Division website: http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/academic/handbook/financial/apprentice.shtml
Additional
Information
For
more information on the TA Development Program and an on-line version of the TA
Handbook:
http://www.id.ucsb.edu/IC/TA/index.html
A valuable resource for TAs: A Handbook for
Teaching Assistants at UCSB can be found on the Office of Instructional
Consultation website at: http://www.id.ucsb.edu/IC/index.html
Additional
information on TA policies for both the University and the
http://www.ltsc.ucsb.edu/asep/index.htm