Students Teaching
A student teaching assistant is a TA who is a currently enrolled student at the University. All student TAs are hired at the request of the program supervisor/coordinator. Over 90 percent of student TAs are hired through the Work Study Office but some students are not eligible for work study, so they are hired through HR. They assist faculty members in course preparation, course-related activities and other clerical duties. Procedures for hiring student teaching assistants begins with the Office of Financial Aid/Work Study, as the student’s eligibility must be confirmed first. If the student is not eligible for work study, the department will be directed to hire them through Human Resources.
A student teaching assistant must:
- successfully complete the course or possess equivalent knowledge in the subject matter for which they will become a TA.
- complete all other necessary work-study paperwork prior to being hired as a TA.
- maintain good academic standing.
Responsibilities for Student TAs are limited to the following:
- Assist faculty member with course preparation such as copying course materials, collating handouts and completing other clerical duties.
- Assist with labs and techniques classes.
- Correct Scantron-based exams/quizzes/evaluations.
- Correct exams/quizzes/evaluations for which they are provided a rubric or answer key.
- Provide research support.
- Conduct out-of-class course content reviews or study groups only if time spent on those activities does not exceed the total number of hours allocated for the quarter.
Student TAs may NOT:
- grade exams, quizzes or essays/papers that are not Scantron-based or for which they do not utilize a rubric or answer key.
- assess students in lab or technique classes, case studies or break-out groups.
- teach a course in place of the instructor.
- take any gradable work off-campus, including from one campus to another. Please see the gradable materials policy located in the current Academic Policy Manual.
The school of Naturopathic Medicine does not allow for any grading by a student TA outside of scantrons.
Student Teaching Assistants (TAs) are hired on a quarterly basis. The hiring of TAs is at the discretion of the program.
All TAs must have work-study funding verified through the Financial Aid office before starting the position; any TAs that do not have financing will be paid at the program's expense. Student Teaching Assistants will be given Canvas access to the course they are hired for by the program. The duties assigned to the TA are up to the policy and needs of the course and program.
Faculty members must obtain pre-approval from their department chair or designee before hiring any TA. The number of hours a TA may work during the quarter may be limited (i.e., not cover the course's total number of credit hours). In addition, any hours over the per-credit hourly limit must be approved in advance and in writing by the department chair/or designee. The supervising faculty member is responsible for managing the TA's time accordingly.
Canvas access for a TA will be determined by the program according to the responsibilities assigned and may not exceed the authorized tasks listed below for each designation. Again, TAs may not post final student grades. In addition, TAs are not given access to e-CAMS, regardless of their designation or assigned responsibilities.
Prior to being given Canvas access, every TA will be required to do FERPA training and be approved by the University and sign the confidentiality of records agreement. Student TAs must follow the Consensual Relationship and Conflict of Interest policy. TAs must also acknowledge that they cannot work as a grader for a course if they have a close relationship with a student who is currently taking the course. Grading TAs must cease grading activity and notify the instructor immediately if a relationship develops with a student in a course for which they serve as the grader.
Program supervisors/coordinators are responsible for maintaining current TA lists for their programs.
As part of the new hire paperwork for the University, every TA will be required to sign the confidentiality of records agreement and complete the online FERPA course and pass the test before working. The Work Study Office coordinates the FERPA training. Once this is completed, the supervisor/coordinator will request a Bastyr email address for the TA if they do not currently have one to allow CANVAS access, and add student TAs to their designated courses on CANVAS as appropriate.
Program supervisors/coordinators are responsible for maintaining current TA lists for their programs and notifying both the e-Learning Specialist in Academic Support Services and the IT Help Desk of changes on a quarterly basis. If a student TA is expected to return within an acceptable time frame determined by Human Resources policy, the TA’s logon and email address may remain in place.
The full Professional and Student Teaching Assistant Policy can be found on MyBU SharePoint in the current year Academic Policy Manual.