Expectations for Teaching Assistants in ECE

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are graduate students who help faculty with the conduct and delivery of courses to meet departmental needs.

Responsibilities

TAs may perform specific job duties to support the course to which they are assigned, which may include some or all of:

• Grade or otherwise evaluate student
• Monitor and lead lab sections and discussion sessions
• Hold office hours for student
• Perform clerical tasks associated with course
• Provide feedback to the instructor about class

TAs may NOT be assigned regular classroom instruction duties. Instructors are responsible for the content of exams and all associated grading keys. TAs may assist in the creation of homework and exam questions.

TAs should be reliable and punctual. A regular weekly schedule and workload expectations should be communicated to the TA by the instructor at the beginning of the semester, e.g. as a breakdown of expected hours per week spent on attending lecture, weekly TA meetings, holding lab/recitation sessions, holding office hours, grading, etc. TAs may work up to their assigned average weekly appointment amount (e.g., 20 hours, 10 hours, etc.). TAs may NOT be assigned by the instructor to work more than their average weekly hourly allocation for a course.

ECA TAs are paid on a salaried basis according to the Cockrell School’s graduate stipend. TAs may be eligible for health insurance and tuition benefits. TAs are required to complete on boarding tasks in Workday, all required training, fully understand the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical and academic integrity. TAs do not complete timesheets. TAs are evaluated by students via electronic course-instructor surveys each semester.

Eligibility

• Currently enrolled at UT Austin as a graduate student in ECE or a related major
• Good academic standing at the time of application and semester employed and minimum 3.0
• Maintain acceptable course-instructor survey
• Proficiency in specific engineering skills as identified by the instructor for the course
• Proficiency in the English language as demonstrated by a passing score on the International Teaching Assistant Exam (international TAs only)
• Consent of faculty advisor, if applicable

Immunocompromised individuals or those living with immunocompromised dependents should submit requests for accommodations through the ADA Accommodation Process: https://equity.utexas.edu/employee-accommodations/. Persons with preapproved conditions are eligible for accommodations: https://t.e2ma.net/message/gcv8sf/g0tr1jb. All other TAs will be expected to work in person, unless otherwise noted.

Selection

Candidates must complete the application by the stated deadline to be hired as a TA each semester, regardless of past TA positions held. Although instructor preferences are weighed in the hiring and selection process, instructors do not select and hire TAs directly for an ECE course. This centralized application and selection process ensures equitable access for all graduate students to be hired into TA positions. The department assigns TAs based on many factors, including course schedules, course preferences, background and expertise, and past TA experience. While we do our best to match TAs with preferred coursework, it is expected that most TAs will need to learn or re-learn course content to fulfill their duties. This is a natural part of the teaching process.