Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters / 2003-2007 Contract / Article XII. Teaching Assistants/Graduate Assistants

From CGEU

A. Notification of Criteria for Appointment and Reappointment

Academic departments that have employed Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants in each of the previous three semesters shall provide notice in writing of the departmental criteria for such appointments or reappointments. Individual contract letters shall be issued to Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants upon appointment and reappointment and, pursuant to the above provision, where written criteria for appointment or reappointment exist, they shall be included with the appointment letter.

The University shall continue to encourage all departments and programs when appropriate to appoint full-time graduate students as full-time teaching and graduate assistants. The administration shall provide to the AAUP by August 15 of each year evidence of how this encouragement has been carried out during the previous academic year.

B. Notice of Reappointment

All currently employed Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants shall be notified by the University in writing of their status for the coming academic year on or before April 30 for Fall semester appointments and October 31 for Spring semester appointments. Notification shall be either a) reappointment, or b) non-reappointment, or c) waiting list, with reappointment contingent upon the availability of funding or the meeting of other previously established and announced criteria. Departments shall be encouraged to minimize the use of the waiting list option, where academically feasible. Notification of non-reappointment shall include written explanation of the reasons. Notification of waiting-list status shall indicate if reappointment is contingent upon the availability of funding or the meeting of other previously established and announced criteria that shall be specified in the notice, or both. If notification is of waiting-list status, a graduate student shall be further notified of the number of Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants employed in the department in the current year and the number of appointments already offered in the department for the coming year. The names of those individuals who receive notification of non-reappointment shall be forwarded to the AAUP within 20 working days of the notice of non-reappointment.

A graduate student who is placed on a waiting list shall be notified as soon as possible of a change in his/her status. Upon request by a graduate student on the waiting list he/she shall receive a second notification in writing from the department, on or before June 30, of the number of appointments already offered in the department for the coming year.

C. Workload

Teaching Assistants who have responsibility for a course shall normally be notified in writing at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the semester of their assignment for the coming year. All other Teaching Assistants and all Graduate Assistants normally shall be notified of their assignments at least five working days before the first day of classes. It is understood that unexpected circumstances may require modification of assignments. If a Teaching or Graduate Assistant's assignment is changed substantially subsequent to notification, the appropriate unit will provide notification in writing of the change. Graduate students may, at the time of their application for a Teaching Assistant position, indicate any preference they have with regard to teaching assignments.

The individual assignment of a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Assistant shall be consistent with the current practice of the department or program. Because of the student status of the Teaching Assistant and Graduate Assistant, and because of the variety of duties that may be assigned, consistency with the practice within a given department or program is a more reliable guide to the propriety of individual workload assignments than any strict quantitative measure or comparison with assignments in other departments or programs. Nevertheless, except for special academic circumstances--for example, an emergent situation in regard to laboratory research or intensive preparation for a performance--a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Assistant with a standard appointment works normally at the maximum rate of fifteen clock hours per week, or a prorated portion thereof if the appointment is less than standard. Individual claims that workload assignments are inconsistent with the practices of the department or program shall be brought to the attention of a designated individual in the appropriate dean's office, who shall be responsible for investigating the claims and responding to them.

D. Term of Appointment

The term of the work year for Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants with academic year appointments is from August 25 to Commencement, or an equivalent period. However, the terms of appointment for such Teaching and Graduate Assistants shall be set forth as September 1 to June 30 for payroll purposes only. The period of the work year prior to September 1 shall be used solely for orientation, training, and preparation related to the Teaching or Graduate Assistant's assignment.

The term of the work year for Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants with calendar year appointments is the entire year, with the exception of a vacation of one month.

E. Training

All Teaching Assistants shall be required, as appropriate, to participate in a teaching-effectiveness workshop or workshops. Such workshops shall be designed and conducted by the Graduate Schools and, when appropriate, by individual departments and programs that utilize teaching assistants, or by groups of related departments and programs. Such programs shall be offered at a time that is within the term of the work year.

F. Notification

The University will provide to the AAUP a list of all Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants who are on the payroll as of September 30 and February 1 of each year. Such list shall be provided within ten working days after September 30 and February 1.