Has working knowledge of the processes and forms to hire Graduate Assistants and provide them with Notice of Appointment (NOA)
For some departments the Graduate Coordinator may be the sole resource for the complete Graduate Assistant (GA) hiring process, for others there may be other staff who take care of the details of the process, in either case it is imperative that Graduate Coordinators have a comprehensive understanding of the process and forms required for GA hires. A good general starting point is the Graduate College graduate employment website: http://grad.arizona.edu/financial-resources/ua-resources/employment with its menu showing links to various resources and forms. There are many informational documents, forms, and website resources available.
Some of the mandatory requirements for teaching assistants include the satisfactory completion of the Teaching Assistant Training Online (TATO) modules http://grad.arizona.edu/financial-resources/ta/tato . In addition to this requirement, any non-native English speaking Teaching Assistants (TA) must also have their department assess and report on their English-speaking fluency and readiness to teach, International students from non-English speaking countries that score at least a 24 on the speaking subtest of the TOEFL iBT are eligible for unlimited instructional duties. Students with iBT scores of 22 or 23 may have limited instructional duties such as grading, lab prep, website support, office hours, etc. Departments will need to provide descriptions of duties before GA benefits will be applied to students’ accounts. Student with iBT scores below 22 or those who have not taken the iBT TOEFL will need to be evaluated by their hiring department and generate a proficiency reporting as follows:
- International students that must be evaluated by their departments will be given one of three possible scores:
- Pass = instructionally ready
- Pass Conditional = limited or no direct instructional duties such as grading, lab prep, website support, office hours, etc. Departments will need to provide descriptions of duties before GA benefits will be applied to students' accounts.
- Fail = Not eligible for hire as a Graduate Teaching Assistant/Associate
- Departments will report scores to the Graduate College for input into UAccess Student. Those students given either a Pass Conditional or Fail will need to be re-evaluated each semeste
In addition, completion of the Graduate Assistants in Teaching Orientation (GATO) http://grad.arizona.edu/financial-resources/ta/gato and attendance at the Office of Instruction and Learning Teaching Workshops may provide additional information for Graduate Teaching Assistants.
