Skip to main
University-wide Navigation
The Graduate School

TA Types & Teaching Credentials

About

The purpose of this document is to establish the University’s policy regarding the teaching credentials and support activities required for Teaching Assistants (TAs). This policy is based on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) teaching credentials guidelines for graduate teaching assistants as follows: Master’s in the teaching discipline or 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline, direct supervision by a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, regular in-service training, and planned and periodic evaluations. 

Definitions: For the purpose of this policy, primary responsibility is defined as a teaching assignment assumed by an individual who functions autonomously to carry out teaching and learning activities, evaluate student performance, and assign final grades. 

In addition to TAs with primary, independent responsibility for teaching a class (Type 1), the University uses TAs in three other major ways:

  • (Type 2) to teach a section of a course under a course coordinator who closely supervises all aspects of the teaching and learning process. Courses eligible for Type 2 TAs must be approved by The Graduate School and should be sections of a multi-section course with a faculty member serving as the course coordinator. In this type of teaching assignment, TAs deliver the course by using a common syllabus, common textbook, common exams, and common grading criteria. "Common" here means established by the course coordinator and used across the sections of the course. The TA recommends a final grade to the course coordinator who reviews the recommendation and takes responsibility for the final grades. Also required is ongoing structured support of Type 2 TAs, e.g., weekly meetings, a support course, grading calibration sessions, a series of workshops geared specifically to the course being taught, etc.
  • (Type 3) to support a primary instructor within a classroom or lab setting, such as a recitation leader or lab instructor; and
  • (Type 4) to provide out-of-classroom support to a primary instructor (behind the scenes, with minimal direct student interaction, but engaged in instructional duties such as grading).

Teaching Credentials and Support Activities:  The criteria below describe the credentials and support necessary for each TA type:

TA Types

Type 1

A Teaching Assistant who has primary responsibility for teaching a class must:

  • have an earned master’s degree in the teaching discipline or 18 graduate semester hours completed in the teaching discipline. The faculty member making a teaching assignment is responsible for ensuring a match between the TA’s educational credentials and the teaching area;
  • have an assigned faculty member who provides supervision and support;
  • participate in regular orientation and development programs and/or pedagogy courses provided by the Graduate School, CELT, and the primary college and/or department for which she/he is teaching;
  • participate in the TA Observation and End-of-Semester Evaluation process as required by the Graduate School and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan improvements
  • participate in the university-required Teacher Course Evaluation process and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan for improvements; and
  • achieve a Category 1 status (a score of 3.5 or above) on the University’s oral language screening if English is not the TA’s primary language (AR 5.3).

Type 2

A TA who teaches a class under the direct supervision of a course coordinator must:

  • be enrolled as a graduate student in the teaching area;
  • have an assigned faculty member who provides supervision of and support for all teaching activities;
  • participate in regular orientation and development programs and/or pedagogy courses provided by the Graduate School, CELT, the primary college, or the department for which she/he is teaching;
  • participate in the TA Observation and End-of-Semester Evaluation process as required by the Graduate School and SACS and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan improvements (AR 5.2);
  • participate in the university-required Teacher Course Evaluation process and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan for improvements; and
  • achieve a Category 1 status (a score of 3.5 or above) on the University’s oral language screening if English is not the TA’s primary language (AR 5.3).

Type 3

A TA who serves in a supporting classroom role to a primary instructor must:

  • be enrolled as a graduate student in the teaching area or a related teaching area;
  • have an assigned faculty member who provides supervision and support;
  • participate in regular orientation and development programs provided by the Graduate School, CELT, and the primary college and/or department for which she/he is assisting;
  • participate in the TA Observation and End-of-Semester Evaluation process as required by the Graduate School and SACS and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan improvements (AR 5.2);
  • participate in the university-required Teacher Course Evaluation process and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan for improvements; and
  • achieve at least a Category 2 status (a score of 3.0 or above) on the University’s oral language screening if English is not the TA’s primary language (AR 5.3).

Type 4

A TA who serves in a supporting educational role outside the classroom (e.g.. grader) must:

  • be enrolled as a graduate student in the teaching area or a related teaching area;
  • have an assigned faculty member who provides supervision and support;
  • participate in regular orientation and development programs provided by the Graduate School, CELT, the primary college, or the department for which she/he is teaching;
  • participate in the End-of-Semester TA Evaluation process as required by the Graduate School and have an opportunity to discuss results with the faculty supervisor in order to plan improvements; and
  • achieve at least a Category 2 status (a score of 3.0 or above) on the University’s oral language screening if English is not the TA’s primary language (AR 5.3).

Provost's Policy on Employing TAs in Graduate-level Courses

The Dean of the Graduate School must approve all cases in which TAs are to be employed in graduate-level courses.

  1. TAs must not be employed in primary-instructor roles (TA Types 1 or 2) in courses in which graduate students are enrolled. If employed in such courses, TAs must be Type 3 (e.g., lab assistant).
  2. TAs employed in a graduate-level course must have post-qualifying exam status or a master's plus 18 graduate hours completed in the discipline. Exceptions may be made in cases of established national practice in this discipline.
  3. TAs must not be in the position of assigning final course grades. TAs may assign grades on daily work, quizzes, notebooks, lab participation, but only if such grades and comments are regularly reviewed by the instructor of record.
  4. A graduate-level course in which a TA is employed must not enroll students who are within the TA’s programmatic cohort (i.e., same program and year).
  5. The DGS in the assigned discipline must see that appropriate faculty oversight of a TA employed in a graduate-level course is in place and maintained throughout the course.
Important Information
Phone 859-257-4613
Address 502 Administration Drive

University of Kentucky Graduate School
Ezra Gillis Building
502 Administration Drive
Lexington, KY 40506-0033
859-257-4613

University of Kentucky Homepage A link to return to the University of Kentucky Homepage
An Equal Opportunity University
Accreditation
Directory
Email
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Disclosures
© University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40506