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Teaching Assistant Work Description: Duties and Responsibilities
by Prof. M. Kostic * It is important to anticipate and be creative to resolve issues/problems timely and effectively.

See also TA Important Role

NOTE 1: Please print, file and review this page, related course syllabus, HW Assignments, HW Rules and Important TA Role in Education Process web-pages. See also: Sample Excel Grade Sheet* Resources for Graduate Teaching Assistants * Teaching Assistant Handbook * Graduate Teaching Assistant Experience at NIU

NOTE 2: At the beginning of a semester a TA has to email to his Instructor (me) his/her contact information (email, phone, address, etc), enrolled course schedule (courses' name, times and rooms), and office hours (3 days per week 1-3 hour and office-desk locations)

A qualified graduate student, appointed as a teaching assistant (TA), becomes a University employee with certain benefits and obligations. Teaching Assistantship is supposed to be an invaluable learning and teaching experience.

The main benefits are tuition waiver and a specified financial reward (salary), as well as an opportunity to review undergraduate subjects and get teaching experience. In return, a TA is expected to be in a good academic standing and make progress in his/her graduate work, and work up to 20 hours a week for the Department, usually assigned to help a professor in his university duties (mostly in teaching, but also in research and services).

A teaching assistant, as a graduate student and a University employee, has to work and behave as per the University's legal, professional, and ethical regulations and expectations. This is especially important since a TA works with students. Therefore, communication, professionalism, and confidentiality issues are important and sensitive. As new employees the TAs should learn, and if in doubt, clarify these requirements with their supervising Professors/Advisor and the Department Chair.

In General a TA is Expected:

1. To keep detailed and accurate grading records of TA work in Excel file using corse_Number_Semester_and_Year name, i.e. <NNNsmYY-TA_Grades.xls>, as well as on the Blackboard if requested. (Sample Excel Grade Sheet-UPDATED
-with %PS & LG). Every Example/Problem/Item should be graded separately, not the total HW score. If grades are recorded in Blackboard, its grade sheet should be downloaded in Excel (if chosen to be updated in Excel) and then uploaded (to preserve the Blackboard format/structure). Extra/duplicate Excel copy may be made for additional statistics, etc., if needed.
2. To be accurate and responsible for finishing all assignments on schedule. Any schedule change should be reported in advance. Any missed assignment should be justified with signed and dated written excuse (e.g., an email).
3. To be creative, self initiative, and with positive attitude.
4. To be honest, respectful and appreciative.
5. To be a positive example to the students.

The TA will have a regular meeting every week with me (TA advisor) to review his/her written brief report (to be emailed to me before the meeting) on the work performed in previous week and plan for the following week.

NOTE: If the assigned homework (HW) is graded, a TA is instructed not to solve the HW for students, nor to check accuracy of their HW. Otherwise the grading will be meaningless and students will loose the benefits of trying to solve the HW themselves; after all, there will be no one to solve exam problems for them. However, the TA and I will help students with any other problem, example or question, and with any specific and partial problem related to the HW after they try to solve it (not if coming with a blank sheet), and in entirety after the HW is graded.

The following are partial requirements and expectations from teaching assistants assigned to help Professor M. Kostic:

In Teaching, a TA has:

1. To review and be knowledgeable in the assigned subject areas in order to be able to help students with their course work and grade their home-works.
2. To attend all course activities (lectures, labs, etc.) for assigned TA-ship, until the instructor is confident that TA's experience is at the expected level to help students in these courses. Thereafter, a TA has to attend the courses only once a week on the day when home work (HW) assignments are collected and graded HW distributed back to students.
3. To collect homework assignments from students on the second lecture meeting every week, grade HW in a week's period, and return graded HW to students when the next, new HW is collected.
4. To record grades in the class roster (Excel spreadsheet and/or Blackboard as instructed), copy/scann three characteristic graded HW (an average, a ±St. deviation better and worse) for the course ABET file, before the HW is returned to students (as instructed by ME Department). Usually, 5 points are given for any assigned example and 10 points for a problem. The TA may be asked to solve HW problems or may be given the solutions by the instructor. Usually, the TA is asked to solve one or two last assigned problem(s) of every HW as a check, before the other solutions are given to him/her.
5. To post the HW solutions on Blackboard or as instructed, i.e. to provide HW solutions for students' review, at the time when graded HW is returned to students (NOT before). Review the ABET materials (copied/scanned Handouts, HW Solutions, and students samples) and grades of assignments/quizzes/exams with your instructor (me) before filing those. All ABET materials should be filed as instructed by ME Department, every week/month (after we review those together).
6. To post and maintain office hours at least 3 hour per subject per week on three different days. During the office hours the TA is supposed to work on TA's duties only. The TA will help students understand the subject matter and help with graded HWs. The TA should not solve the assigned HW problems for students, but rather help them on specific point(s) of their attempt to solve a problem. The TA may completely solve another problem, not assigned for HW, as a demonstration.
7. For some courses a TA will have to prepare lab experiments and demonstrate them to students, or to supervise students in the lab. The TA needs to learn all lab safety rules and become knowledgeable and familiar with the equipment and instruments (from instructor, technicians, lab manuals, other references, etc.) before using them alone or with students. In addition to students' supervision and personal safety, the TA is responsible and may be liable for damages to or loss of the equipment and instrumentation if any.

End-of-semester TA Duties:

All teaching and grading duties have to be finished before the Finals start on Saturday of the final week of classes/lectures.

1. By the end of the LAST lecture week at the latest, which is the last day for classes in general (usually Friday in Fall semester and Thursday in Spring semester), all samples of graded students' work has to be copied/scanned for ABET files and returned to the students. Also, the course Syllabus, HW-Assignments and other special handouts (about ethics, modern/calculation tools, contemporary issues, life-long learning, etc) should be copied/scanned for ABET file, and everything should be classified (several groups with checked ABET outcomes on the standard form).
2. All handouts and homework (HW) solutions have to be posted on Blackboard or as instructed, and all duplicate copies or a backup on another memory-drive to be kept by your if any missing item needs to be replaced with a new copy during the Final week.
3. By last Friday before final exams (may be the Reading Day), all HWs and projects grades have to be recorded in MS-Excel format file and transferred to me (files to be emailed and printed copies personally given to me). Note that the grades are confidential and are not to be exposed/posted. NOTE, if Friday is the Reading Day, i.e. no classes; students are preparing for Final exams, which start the following day on Saturday.
4. All (borrowed) references, lab manuals, lab equipment, instruments, materials, samples, etc., to be accounted for, cleaned and returned/stored in original places or returned to me. If something is broken or not in working condition TA needs to report it via email and in writing (email printout for example) in order for it to be repaired/replaced for the next semester. The Lab TA may request students who used lab and other resources to return those etc., and to get signed clearance from the TA. 
5. Teaching Assistant has to check with instructor in person that everything is completed and to be available to help conduct the final exams.

Lab Note:

Before the final exam all students are required to clean and put in original order all equipment and accessories they have used in the lab and return all lab manuals and other literature to original place or to their Lab TA.

In Research:

• To help supervising faculty in his research activities, like laboratory duties, library searches, drawing, etc.

In Other Services:

• To help supervising faculty in his university service activities, like student extracurricular activities, departmental services, and others.

Professor M. Kostic's Web Site: www.kostic.niu.edu *Usage Policy & © Copyright by M. Kostic