G9.8 Guidelines for TA Course Assignments in the Language Programs

Criteria for Assigning Classes to Departmental TAs with Teaching Guarantees

Single sections

Single sections will be assigned to TAs with teaching guarantees.

Double sections

1. Double sections are not automatically granted. TAs wishing to teach a second section must submit a request to the graduate program manager and director of the language program via the designated system and by the deadline for graduate registration. Double sections are awarded based on teaching performance, which includes performance of administrative duties related to teaching. Such awards will be contingent upon the student’s academic standing in the department, scheduling compatibility, departmental needs, and the following eligibility criteria.

Students on probation cannot receive double sections. A student on probation is one who fails to maintain a cumulative 3.00 average. See G3.6 “Minimum Graduate GPA and Probation” above and the Graduate School policy on Satisfactory Progress: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1218

Students who do not consistently satisfy the minimum semester course-load requirement in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese will not receive double sections. See G3.2 “Minimum Credit Load for Residency and the Two-Course Rule” above.

2. Double sections are reserved for graduate students at the second year or above, with the following exceptions.

• Up to three double-section appointments may be reserved for recruitment purposes, for exceptional incoming students.
• First-year MA students may be eligible for double-section assignments in their second semester, provided they have taught previously in the department and that they have taken Spanish 770 Introduction to the Profession prior to or during their first semester.

3. There is a standard limit of three sections that may be assigned during the two-semester academic year. All guarantee requests up to three sections during the two-semester academic year will be filled before considering additional remaining assignments beyond this standard limit (see above).

Criteria for Assigning Remaining Classes

Once single and double sections have been assigned to students with teaching guarantees, remaining sections will be assigned as follows:

The Director of the Spanish Language Program, the chair, and associate chair (in consultation with the advisor) will independently review each individual case and request for a teaching assistant position. In case of recusal due to conflict of interest, the Director of GSC will be asked to vote.

After the review, the Director of the Spanish Language Program, chair, and associate chair will vote independently on whether to award the TA position to the requestor.

For graduate students who are beyond their financial guarantee the following process will be followed to determine their eligibility for a teaching assistant:

Graduate students beyond their guarantee who are interested in pursuing a teaching assistant position will do so by filling out the teaching survey sent each semester by the Graduate Program Manager. The survey will request additional information including (but not limited to):

• How many semesters past the guarantee the student is
• Progress towards degree completion
• Job market intentions

The Director of the Spanish Language Program, the chair, and associate chair (in consultation with the advisor) will independently review each individual case and request for a teaching assistant position. In case of recusal due to conflict of interest, the Director of GSC will be asked to vote.

After the review, the Director of the Spanish Language Program, chair, and associate chair will vote independently on whether to award the TA position to the requestor.

Review Criteria:

In reviewing requests for TA positions, the following criteria will be considered:

• Past performance and evaluations as a teaching assistant
• Departmental needs and course availability
• Contributions to the department’s academic and scholarly community

Notification of Decision:

All decisions regarding the allocation of teaching assistant positions will be communicated to the requestors in writing by the Graduate Program Manager.

Summer TAships

The guidelines outlined above for TAs will also apply to the granting of summer employment to teaching assistants. Accordingly, preference will be given to departmental graduate students with current guaranteed appointments. The chair, in consultation with the director of the language program and graduate program manager, will rank teaching assistants according to their teaching and academic excellence. These two factors being relatively equal, preference will be given to those teaching assistants who have received fewer summer appointments. Teaching assistants who are not in good academic standing at the beginning of the spring semester will be given lowest priority. No consideration will be given to teaching assistants whose teaching performance is assessed as lower than “Acceptable.” The recommended list of summer TAs (and alternates) will be approved by the Executive Committee.

Selection of Head TAs

*The current process for selecting head TAs is under revision. The below information is advisory only.

There will be one Head TA for Spanish 101/102, Spanish 203/204, and Portuguese 101/102. The Head TA will be selected according to the following guidelines:

1. Each October and March, the Language Coordination Committee will review the Head TA status for the above-listed TA-taught courses for the upcoming semester.
2. A call will go out as needed for applications for Head TA by the last week of October or the second week of April, respectively. Applications will be reviewed by December 1 or May 1, respectively, with the decision(s) to be announced shortly thereafter.
3. All applications will be evaluated by the following: the coordinator and the director of the Spanish language program (Spanish 101-204) or the Portuguese Steering Committee (Portuguese 101/102). Applicants are evaluated on administrative experience/ability as TA and teaching performance. The performance of the Head TA will be evaluated each semester, for continuation in the position for up to four consecutive semesters.