Resolution 17-40: AN EARLY START FOR GTA/CA’S

Number 17-40
Description UTA make GTA & CA assignments available before the first day of classes.
Authored by Love Kelly
Sponsored by Budhyant Venepalli
Date Submitted Monday, October 30, 2017
Date Considered Wednesday, January 1, 1000
General Body Vote Thursday, January 1, 1970
Committee Other
Result n/a
Remarks
Whereas Graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) and Classroom assistantship (CA) applications are made available twice a year for graduate and undergraduate students; and
Whereas Most of the departments require applicants to be available in person one week before the first day of classes, the underlying reasons being – to do paperwork, take departmental/university training and meet the professor he/she has been assigned to assist before classes begin; and
Whereas On the contrary, many departments provide their decision of GTA/CA assignments only after one or two weeks into the semester. While applicants are unaware whether they get a position or not, instructors and students enrolled in the course do not know who their GTA/CA is; and
Whereas Experiments in laboratory courses are mostly conducted by GTA’s and students taking these courses would need to wait till the GTA/CA assignments to perform an experiment; and
Whereas In other courses, homework is usually assigned in the first week of classes for which students do not get the required assistance from the GTA/CA and GTA/CAs are unaware of what has been covered in the class.
Be It Further Resolved That All the departments should make GTA/CA assignments available by the first day of classes.