Commonwealth Honors College Appointment Procedures

Graduate appointment/reappointment procedures and criteria procedure for appointing teaching associates, teaching assistants and project assistants

1. A job description will be posted in all appropriate places, per GEO contract, Article 22, Section 4.B.c.i.

2. Interested students will fill out the appropriate application form for the type of position for which they are applying (TO, TA, PA) and return the form with requested attachments by the specified date.

3. Applications will be reviewed by a Search Committee (usually consisting of the head of the division in which the position will be located* and two professional staff or faculty members), interviews will be held with the finalists, and the committee will make recommendations to the Dean.

4. The Dean will review the recommendations, may request a meeting with the finalists, and will make the final selection.

5. The appropriate division head will notify the finalists of the search outcome.

6. For Teaching Associates, final appointment will be dependent upon minimum class enrollment of 15. Prospective TO’s will be informed of class enrollment numbers at the end of Preregistration, and be kept informed of enrollment changes during the first week of Add/Drop. Execution of the contract will take place on Registration Day (the day before classes begin) if enrollment is at or above 15. If enrollment drops below 15 at a later date, the TO may be reassigned to other duties and the class cancelled, at the discretion of the Dean.

Criteria for Teaching Associates (TO)

Teaching Associates are responsible for teaching and grading an approved Gen Ed honors course.

1. Documentation of prior, related teaching experience in a college or university setting.

2. Documentation of student evaluations of teaching performance.

3. Professional references.

4. Proposed syllabus.

5. Letter of interest discussing how the proposed syllabus maintains the integrity of the existing syllabus approved by the General Education Council, how it differs from the existing syllabus, and how the applicant’s professional experience and academic qualifications support the proposed syllabus.

Criteria for Teaching Assistants (TA)

Teaching Assistants serve as Graduate Student Advisors.

1. Documentation of prior experience as a teacher or academic advisor in a college or university setting. (Note: The Search Committee will give strong preference to applicants with prior qualifying experience in a multicultural college environment who have experience with research and thesis process.)

2. Basic computer literacy.

3. Ability to learn, track and clearly explain detailed academic information.

4. Good written and verbal communication skills, both in one-on-one advising and in small group settings.

5. Professional references.

6. Strong interest in working for more than one academic year in order to ensure continuity in advising is a preference.

Criteria for Project Assistants (PA)

Project Assistants work on special projects requiring specialized skills, such as demographic surveys and statistical analysis, researching and writing reports, editing scholarly journals, computer aided design and drafting, computer programming, etc.

1. Documentation of prior related experience, training and education (varies with specific position, e.g., programming in MS Access and Oracle; or CADD, graphics design and layout; or technical writing and editing).

2. Professional references.

Reappointing teaching associates, teaching assistants and project assistants 

1. Current TO/TA/PA’s will indicate their interest in returning by written notice to the Dean and the appropriate division head by a specified date.

2. The Dean will apprise division heads who will notify current TO/TA/PA’s of their funding status per GEO contract, Article 22, Section 4.C.

3. For Teaching Associates, reappointment will also be dependent upon minimum class enrollment of 15. TO’s will be informed of class enrollment numbers at the end of Pre-Registration, and be kept informed of enrollment changes during the first week of Add/Drop. Execution of the reappointment contract will take place on Registration Day (the day before classes begin) if enrollment is at or above 15. If enrollment drops below 15 at a later date, the TO may be reassigned to other duties and the class cancelled, at the discretion of the Dean.

Criteria for Reappointment

1. Renewals for TO/TA/PA will be contingent upon performance and budget constraints. (Actual appointments are on a year-to-year basis.)

2. In addition, the initial appointment for Teaching Associates will be for one semester. Reappointment for the second semester will be contingent upon performance, with considerable weight being given to student evaluations of the instructor’s performance (SRTI – Student Response to Instruction).

3. Renewals will be a strong priority of the Dean.