Teaching Assistance for Credit (1–2 credits)

A student may earn either 1 or 2 hours of elective academic credit per semester by serving as a Teaching Assistant for a full-time or part-time College of Law faculty member in connection with a skills course, or another course approved by the Associate Dean for Academics. To enroll in this course, a student must complete the Teaching Assistance for Credit Application Form, which must be approved by both the supervising faculty member and the Associate Dean for Academics. This course will be graded on the S/U scale.

Duties

A Teaching Assistant must have previously taken the course for which he or she will be assisting; however, the Teaching Assistant need not have taken the course with the supervising professor. Generally, the Teaching Assistant should have earned at least a 3.0 in the course.

A Teaching Assistant will be expected to devote between 80 and 110 hours per credit hour to the position. As part of the duties—which count toward the hours worked—a Teaching Assistant must (1) attend at least 80% of the class sessions of the course for which he or she is assisting, unless the Associate Dean for Academics has, at the supervising faculty member’s request, approved a reasonably equivalent alternative arrangement; (2) meet regularly with the supervising professor; (3) assist with in-class or out-of-class course-related exercises, assignments, and activities; (4) keep accurate time records and submit those on a regular basis to the supervising professor, who will retain them for one full academic year; and (5) before the last day of final examinations for the semester, complete and file with the Registrar a Final Certification form regarding the course.

In addition, a Teaching Assistant may be asked to communicate and work with students on exercises and assignments; prepare for and hold meetings with students; assist the professor with administrative aspects of the course; design or edit exercises or case studies; provide feedback on assignments to students; and complete other course-related duties. A Teaching Assistant may not assign grades for other students.

Eligibility

A student may serve as a Teaching Assistant for credit in only one course per semester. In addition, a student may not:

 receive more than 5 total academic credits for Teaching Assistance for Credit and/or Research Assistance for Credit in meeting the graduation requirements;  receive academic credit and pay for the same work;  work as a paid Teaching Assistant for any course while enrolled in this course;  work for the supervising faculty member in any other capacity (such as a Research Assistant for pay or credit or a Center Fellow) while enrolled in this course; or  enroll in this course while on academic or disciplinary probation.

Disclaimer Regarding Graduation Requirements

This course cannot be used to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement or the skills area requirement; in addition, it does not count toward the 65 “classroom credits” needed for graduation.

Application Form Teaching Assistance for Credit

1. Student’s Name:

2. Student’s Banner ID Number:

3. Student’s Level (e.g., 2B, 4A):

4. Student’s Campus E-mail Address:

5. Supervising Faculty Member and Course:

6. Semester Student Seeks to Enroll in Course (e.g., Fall 2011):

7. Number of Credits Sought: ___ 1 ___ 2

8. Grade student earned in the course when he or she took it, and name of course professor, if different from the proposed supervising faculty member:

9. Describe how student and professor will track the student’s time:

10. Describe the student’s duties as a Teaching Assistant for the course. Please be as a specific as possible.

11. Describe how the professor will provide feedback to the Teaching Assistant during the semester and how the professor will evaluate the Teaching Assistant’s work.

12. Please provide any other information that might be relevant to the student serving as a Teaching Assistant for credit. If the professor requests an exception to the requirement that the Teaching Assistant attend at least 80% of the class sessions, please describe the alternative proposal here. Also, if the student intends to take another course with the supervising professor while serving as a Teaching Assistant, please provide that information here. Finally, if some of the student’s work will take place outside the normal semester, please discuss that point here.

Student’s Certification

I understand and certify the following:

1. I agree to attend at least 80% of the classes in the course for which I will be serving as a Teaching Assistant, or to abide by the alternative arrangement approved by the professor and Associate Dean for Academics on the Application Form.

2. The Teaching Assistance for Credit course cannot be used to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement or the skills area requirement.

3. The Teaching Assistance for Credit course does not count as “classroom credits” needed to meet the graduation requirements. I need at least 65 classroom credits to graduate.

4. I cannot receive both pay and academic credit for the same work.

5. As a Teaching Assistant, I am likely to need access to other students’ educational records and am likely to acquire private or confidential information about other students and their academic performance. I agree to keep this information confidential and understand that a violation of this provision may result in me being removed from my position and giving a U or X for the semester.

6. As a Teaching Assistant, it is important that I remain neutral and impartial. Accordingly, I will not to serve as a Teaching Assistant for a course in which I have a close personal relationship with another student and agree not to initiate such a relationship during the course of the semester. If such a relationship does develop, I will immediately notify the supervising professor and the Associate Dean for Academics so that we may take appropriate steps regarding my work and assignments.

7. In the past 7 days, I have read the College of Law’s policies on Consensual Relations, Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination, Sexual Harassment, Conflict of Interest, and Privacy of Student Records (all available at www.law.stetson.edu/policies).

8. I will not work as a paid Teaching Assistant for any Stetson University professor during the same semester I am enrolled in the Teaching Assistance for Credit course. If qualified and selected, I may work in other on-campus positions (including a Research Assistant or Center Fellow position), but not for any professor supervising my Teaching Assistance for Credit course. I may also work in off-campus positions. Work performed as part of this course does not count under the policy on Full-Time Student Work Schedule Limitations.

9. I must pay regular tuition for this course (if applicable and appropriate under the terms of your award letter, a scholarship may apply).

10. After the normal add-drop period, I may not withdraw from this course without the permission of the Associate Dean for Academics; any withdrawal will be noted on my official transcript. I cannot increase or decrease the number of credit hours sought without the written permission of the supervising faculty member and the Associate Dean for Academics; changing the number of credit hours after the add-drop period is highly unlikely.

11. In the past 7 days, I have read the course description for Teaching Assistance for Credit.

12. I will maintain accurate time records and submit them to the professor on the basis set forth in the Application. I understand that I may fail the course, or that my grade may be reduced, if I misrepresent my time or fail to submit time records on a timely basis. I also understand that submitting inaccurate time records may result in a referral under the Academic Honor Code or the Student Code of Professionalism and Conduct.

13. I am not on academic or disciplinary probation, and am not currently the subject of an investigation under the Academic Honor Code or the Student Code of Professionalism and Conduct. If I am placed on academic or disciplinary probation, I agree to immediately notify the Associate Dean for Academics.

______Student’s signature Date

Approved:

______Supervising Professor Date

______Supervising Professor (if applicable) Date

______Associate Dean for Academics Date

The Associate Dean will submit a copy of the completed Application Form, including the Student Certification, to the Registrar’s Office.

Received by Registrar’s Office:

______Signature

______Printed Name

______Date

Final Certification Teaching Assistance for Credit

1. Student’s Name:

2. Student’s Banner ID Number:

3. Supervising Faculty Member:

I certify that I worked _____ hours during the ______semester as a Teaching Assistant for credit.

Please describe your activities as a Teaching Assistant and describe any written work product you prepared or edited. You may attach additional sheets if necessary to fully describe your activities.

______Student’s Signature Date

______Supervising Professor’s Signature Date

______Supervising Professor’s Signature Date (if applicable)

The student should file this form with the Registrar’s Office no later than the last day of final exams for the semester in which he or she was enrolled in the Teaching Assistance for Credit course.