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Current Teaching Assistants

Serving as a Teaching Assistant helps graduate students obtain practical classroom teaching experience, as well as assist undergraduate students succeed in classroom.  Here is a list of resources to aid in your success as a teaching assistant:

Introduction

Instruction provided by Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Teaching Fellows (TFs) is an important component of UC Merced's undergraduate programs. Service by graduate students as TAs/TFs is also a valuable part of graduate education. As a TA or TF in the School of Engineering, you will be carrying out critical work that is greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with you to create a strong partnership in educating our students. 

 

TA/TF Employment Eligibility

A TA/TF must be a UC Merced (UCM) graduate student in good standing, and must meet all the following basic requirements:
  1. Enrollment: TAs or TFs must be a full-time UCM graduate student enrolled in at least 12 units during the semester of appointment. Graduate students do not need to be registered in courses during summer session; however, they must be an active UCM graduate student.
  2. Academic Standing: All students must be in good academic standing as defined in the Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook.
  3. Appointments: During any academic year, a graduate student may not be appointed in any capacity by the University of California beyond a maximum of 50.00% time.
  4. Application: Any graduate student seeking employment as a TA/TF must submit an application for a position through the UCM employment web site, AP Recruit, at https://aprecruit.ucmerced.edu/.
  5. Oral English Proficiency: International and U.S. Permanent Resident graduate students who are not citizens of countries where English is either the primary or dominant language, as approved by the UCM Graduate and Research Council, and who wish to be considered for appointment as a TA or TF, must pass an approved oral English proficiency examination. There is no exception to this requirement. Additional requirements for international students seeking employment can be found in the Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook.

 

Conditions of Employment

All TA/TF appointments are made in accordance with the University of California’s Academic Personnel Manual (APM) 410, UAW labor agreement and the UC Merced Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook.

Teaching Assistant: 
A TA is not responsible for the instructional content of a course, selection of student assignments, planning of examinations, or determining the term grade for students.  In addition, the TA is not to be assigned responsibility for instructing the entire enrollment of a course or for providing the entire instruction of a group of students enrolled in a course. The TA is responsible only for the conduct of recitation, laboratory, or quiz sections under the active direction and supervision of a regular member of the faculty to whom responsibility for the course’s entire instruction, including the performance of TAs, has been assigned.

Teaching Fellow: 
Subject to the general supervision of a faculty member designated in catalogs and published schedules as “in charge” of the course, a TF should be competent to provide the entire instruction of a lower division course to a group of students, and normally should be given such assignments.  Assignment to conduct instruction in an upper division or graduate course or course section may not be made except with the approval of the Committee on Courses of Instruction (Regulations of the Academic Senate, 750).
 

Training and Orientation

All required training and orientation shall be considered part of the workload for the term, with the exception of pedagogy courses in which a TA/TF is required to be enrolled. Said pedagogy courses and training requirements shall not be used to reduce the number of TA/TF appointments. 

The University may require, at its sole discretion, a TA/TF to satisfactorily complete required training to continue appointment as a TA/TF. The University may, at its sole discretion, require that a TA/TF who has not satisfactorily completed the required training, repeat the training without the repeated training counting toward the workload. New TAs are required to participate in Graduate and Research Orientation Week (GROW). 

Unpaid activities for which academic credit is given, or that are academic program requirements for all students in the program, or are training required to meet minimum eligibility requirements (e.g., English language tests), are not considered employment activities. 

 

Supervision and Instructional Support for TAs

Teaching Assistants are expected to work under the direction of the primary course instructor. That person should clearly outline the goals of the course and your duties, and provide you with the support you need to carry them out.

Should you feel that your duties are not adequately defined or that you are not being provided with the necessary direction or support you need to carry them out, you should first discuss the matter with your primary course instructor. If difficulties persist, please inform the School of Engineering Graduate Student Services staff at soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu and we will do our best to address the problems.

 

Workload and Responsibilities

For your current semester course assignment, please refer to your Appendix C (Description of Duties). In addition, as an Academic Student Employee, the terms and conditions of your appointment are described in the Agreement between the University of California and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), AFL-CIO and its Local Union 2865. You can find the complete text of the Agreement at: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/bx/contract.html

Most TA appointments are at 50% time. A 50% TA should expect to spend an average of about 20 hours per week on teaching duties. However, the time commitment may vary considerably from week to week, particularly in courses with a fieldwork component. The total workload should not exceed 340 hours per semester or 40 hours in any given week. TAs/TFs who believe that assigned duties require a greater time commitment should discuss the matter with the primary course instructor or if necessary soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu. 

Section Assignment Changes:

If the section that you were assigned creates a time conflict with courses you are taking, please notify the course instructor. You may be able to swap sections with another Teaching Assistant. If a swap is agreed upon by both Teaching Assistants, both TA's should email soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu to start a formal process of section assignment change. Please note: the change is not official until you receive an updated appointment letter.

Time Reporting:

TA/TF appointees are required to report absences/leaves on a monthly basis for the appointment period in the UC Merced Time Reporting System. Monthly absence/leave reporting must be completed by the 6th of the month following the pay period being reported. TA/TF appointees do not enter hours that were worked. 

 

Conflicts of interest

TAs/TFs must refrain from any activity or conduct that creates an apparent or actual conflict of interest. A TA/TF must not assign grades for, or evaluate the work of, anyone he or she is closely related to or has a financial or close personal relationship with. If you think your assignment might involve an actual or perceived conflict of interest, please discuss the matter with your primary course instructor and/or one of the Graduate Program Staff. 

TAs/TFs are allowed and encouraged to offer help to their students outside of regular class or office hours. However, such sessions should be conducted in a professional manner within the duties of the teaching assignment. A TA/TF may not request or accept any form of additional compensation from any student in the course to which he/she is assigned.

 

Absences/Leave Requests:

Academic student employees (ASE) are required to seek prior approval for leaves from their supervisor per Article 18.

Short-Term Leave Requests:

ASE's (Teaching Assistant, Teaching Fellow, Grader, Instructional Assistant) with a 50% appointment are eligible for up to three (3) days of paid short-term leave per semester. This time is commonly used for personal illness.

Long-Term Leave Requests: 

ASE's (Teaching Assistant, Teaching Fellow, Grader, Instructional Assistant) are eligible for long-term leave in accordance with Article 18. If you need to request a leave:

  1. Inform the Course Instructor and soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu via email of the request.
  2. The SOE Graduate Programs Services team will work in consultation with Academic Personnel Services on your request and will provide you with a Leave Request form.
  3. Complete the Leave Request form per instructions from Academic Personnel and the SOE Graduate Programs Services team.
  4. Return the form along with documentation required by the type of leave to soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu. The SOE Graduate Programs Services team will obtain the required approvals and will copy you on the email submitting the form to Academic Personnel.
  5. Academic Personnel will notify you once the leave request is approved or denied along with further instructions. 

 

Evaluations

Each TA will be evaluated at the end of every semester for adherence to the requirements listed above. If the work has been judged satisfactory, the TA will be eligible to be reappointed for future teaching. If there are concerns, TAs may be placed on probation for a semester until the problem is corrected or they may become ineligible for reappointment. 
  1. The evaluation will normally be performed by the primary course instructor. The primary course instructor will provide a short memo outlining his/her opinion of the TA's performance.
  2. Additional comments may be solicited from other faculty, instructors, or laboratory coordinators with whom the TA interacted.
  3. Student teaching evaluations will also be considered.
  • Teaching Commons
    • Aside from Teaching Assistant orientation, Teaching Commons provides on-going support services for TAs are available at the center throughout the year. The center offers various workshops focused on the scholarship of teaching, including topics like active learning, working with ESL students, using scoring rubrics and others.  In addition, Teaching Commons provides individual consultations for teaching assistants to provide feedback on teaching strategies.
  • English Language Institute (ELI)
    • Aside from conducting the Microteaching Language Evaluation for non-native English speakers, ELI provides semester-long workshops and coursework to enhance English proficiency in speaking and listening comprehension. 
  • SOE Instructional Support
    • Materials, printing, assignments, lab access, textbooks and more.