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Part 12. Students
Section C. Student Academic Employees
Policy Number 12.C.2
Date Issued: July 13, 2006
Approved By: Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate StudiesASSISTANT INSTRUCTORS
A. Policy Statement
It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that individuals appointed as assistant instructors at UT Austin abide by the policies stated below.
B. Scope
This policy applies to all individuals appointed as assistant instructors at UT Austin.
C. Assistant Instructors
Assistant instructors are graduate students who serve as auxiliary teaching staff of the University. They are employed to meet instructional needs at the undergraduate level, primarily in the lower-division areas. Approval for an assistant instructor to teach an upper-division course must be obtained from the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies. The format for and content of their instructional service is established by the faculty. All duties and services of assistant instructors are to be carried out under established supervision and direction of departmental faculty.
Service as an assistant instructor does not relate to the acquisition of tenure or to membership in a faculty. Nevertheless, assistant instructors should be accorded recognition for their role in instruction and departments should encourage their participation in deliberations relating to the nature and content of courses in which they provide service.
D. Qualifications
To be eligible for appointment as an assistant instructor a nominee must:
1. be a degree-seeking graduate student without existing admissions conditions imposed by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies;
2. hold a Master's degree or have completed 30 hours of graduate coursework;
3. have satisfactorily completed one semester of a course in teaching methods (398T);
4. have completed at least one semester of service as a teaching assistant, or completed at least one year of teaching experience in an accredited college or school;
5. be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree;
6. remain registered in courses that count toward the graduate degree for at least nine semester hours during each long session semester of employment; and
7. if holding an appointment for one summer term (first six weeks, second six weeks, nine weeks or twelve weeks) must remain registered in courses that count toward the graduate degree for at least three semester hours during any term of the summer session.
E. Selection and Appointment
1. Departments shall evaluate and recommend the appointment or reappointment of assistant instructors.
a. The period of appointment shall not exceed one academic year and shall terminate at the expiration of the stated period of appointment without notification of nonrenewal.
b. If a department determines that it is to the benefit of the institution, it may nominate an assistant instructor for reappointment.
c. Notification to candidates for appointment/reappointment should be provided in accordance with the form illustrated in Attachment A to Policy Memorandum 8.106, "Rates of Pay and Notification of Proposed Employment for Assistant Instructors." ( download MS Word Viewer )
d. All appointments of assistant instructors are subject to approval of the dean of the college or school, and the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.
2. The Executive Vice President and Provost, the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, and the dean of each college or school shall periodically review the instructional role of assistant instructors and conditions relating to their appointment.
3. No person may be appointed as an assistant instructor for more than fourteen long-session academic semesters and the total combined period of service as a teaching assistant, graduate research assistant, academic assistant, assistant (graduate), and assistant instructor shall not exceed fourteen long-session academic semesters. Appointments shall not exceed twenty hours per week during the first two long-session semesters of graduate study at the University and thirty hours per week during subsequent long-session semesters. Exceptions may be permitted only upon approval of the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.
F. Duties of Assistant Instructors
1. Assistant instructors may serve as the instructor of record for assigned instructional duties including lecture classes (primarily at the lower-division level), laboratory instruction, instruction of recitation and discussion sections of classes, and other similar instructional activities.
2. In addition to instructional duties, assistant instructors may be assigned to hold office hours, to evaluate student work, and to perform other common academic duties.
3. Instructional service of an assistant instructor shall be carried out in accordance with a syllabus and other guidelines that have been prepared by and approved by the department. All other duties of assistant instructors shall be carried out in accordance with established practices and policies of the department and college/school in which they are appointed. The duties assigned to an assistant instructor and the syllabus and guidelines relating to an assistant instructor's instructional duties may be changed at any time deemed appropriate by the department.
4. All assistant instructors shall be under assigned supervision of a regular member of the faculty. The supervising faculty member shall at the close of each semester file with the department chair a written evaluation of the performance of the assistant instructor. This evaluation shall become a permanent part of the assistant instructor's personnel file.
G. Other Employment Information
1. Assistant instructors are subject to the Rules and Regulations of The University of Texas System Board of Regents, the University, the Graduate School, the college/school, and department in which they hold employment. In the performance of their duties they must abide by and adhere to the academic and instructional criteria and policies established by the department in which they render service.
2. The Responsibilities, Rights, and Welfare of Graduate Student Academic Employees Committee (a standing committee of the General Faculty) serves in an advisory capacity for institutional policy and governance relating to the affairs of assistant instructors.
3. Assistant instructors, as student academic employees, are eligible:
a. to participate in the University Group Insurance Program in accordance with the current eligibility criteria for the Program;
b. to purchase parking permits in designated areas;
c. to participate in certain other benefits in accordance with existing policy criteria, and
d. may be eligible for tuition benefits (see Policy Number 8.13 of the Original Handbook of Operating Procedures - "Request for Exemption From Non-resident Tuition on the Basis of Employment or Military Assignment").
4. Although they are not members of the faculty, assistant instructors will be expected to conform to the same standard of conduct in the performance of their academic duties as are members of the faculty and shall respect the rights and opinions of students and uphold the academic standards of the University.
5. Assistant instructor appointments do not provide for accrued vacation or sick leave entitlements or Teacher Retirement System membership. Time off due to illness or during academic breaks will be arranged in accordance with established practices of the hiring department.
H. Reappointment
A department may reappoint an assistant instructor if it is determined that reappointment is to the benefit of the institution. Prior service does not guarantee reappointment to an assistant instructor position. An assistant instructor may be considered for reappointment if:
1. he or she has, in the opinion of the chair of the employing department, provided satisfactory service; and
2. he or she meets the scholastic requirements for eligibility set by the Graduate School and is certified as being in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward the doctoral degree.
Under normal circumstances, a person appointed as an assistant instructor will not subsequently be appointed as a teaching assistant. Exceptions must be approved by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.
I. Termination of Appointment
1. Termination of an assistant instructor before the expiration of the stated period of appointment will be only for good cause shown.
2. An assistant instructor may seek redress of any grievance related to the terms and conditions of employment as provided for in the "Teaching Assistant and Assistant Instructor Grievance Procedures" (Section 4.03, Original Handbook of Operating Procedures).
For assistance: Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at 512/471-4511 or to http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/.
Source:Previous Policy - Original HOP 8.03