When Graduate Students work as Teaching Assistants, their assignments should be designed to contribute both to their own professional development and to the College’s undergraduate instructional mission. Here are some resources that may be useful to students working as Teaching Assistants.
- Canvas
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Non-academic help for undergrads
- Responding to Scholastic Dishonesty
- Pedagogical Resources
- TA Emergency Responsibilities
Canvas
The Faculty Innovation Center has developed Canvas training materials.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
FERPA protects student confidentiality. Briefly, FERPA prohibits the University from disclosing educational records or personally identifiable information from any student’s University records to any third party without that student’s prior consent. (This also protects you as a student.)
Some consequences of FERPA for you as a Teaching Assistant are: you may not discuss students’ academic performance with their parents, family, or friends; you should return homework and exams in a manner that preserves student confidentiality; you should communicate student grades individually using student-specific password-protected systems (e.g., Canvas), and you may never post grades publically in any manner that might identify students. If questioned about this policy, you may redirect those asking to a counselor in the CNS Student Division (nsinfo@ut.cc.utexas.edu, 512.471.4536). If you have your own questions about FERPA or other academic policies, you may request clarification from Assistant Dean Mike Raney (mike.raney@austin.utexas.edu, 512.471.4536)
Non-academic help for undergrads
If one of your students is experiencing serious non-academic problems (e.g., illness or death in the family, physical or emotional health of the student, etc.), you should refer that person to the Counseling and Mental Health Center CARE (Counselors in Academic Residence) program using this online form, and/or to counselors in the CNS Student Division, using the email address nsinfo@uts.cc.utexas.edu.
Responding to Scholastic Dishonesty
If you suspect a student may have engaged in academic misconduct, you can find information on how to proceed here.
Pedagogical Resources
The Graduate Student Development (GSD) program provides resources for graduate students working as TAs and/or preparing for careers that include college teaching. GSD is an initiative of the Provost, the Graduate School, and the Faculty Innovation Center (FIC).
TA Emergency Responsibilities
The Office of Campus Safety and Security holds a TA/AI training session each semester in which emergency responsibilities are reviewed. You can view a recent training session here.
