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Search: NCSU CHASSpsychology

Graduate Programs

• Admissions

• Lifespan Developmental Psychology [PSD]
• Human Factors & Ergonomics [PSG]
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology [PSI]
• Psychology in the Public Interest [PSP]
• School Psychology [PSS]

• Requirements
• Steps to a Degree
• Documents and Forms for Current Students
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Information for Teaching Assistants

Other Links of Interest

• GrASP
• Psi Chi Honor Society in Psychology
• NCSU HFES Student Chapter
• Graduate School
• Wolfware
• Handbook for Advising and Teaching at NCSU
• NC State Graduate Administrative Handbook
• NCSU Graduate Catalog
• Academic Calendars
• On-Line Course Schedule
• Thesis/Dissertation Guide
• Graduate Student Support Plan
• Graduate School's Discussion of Funding
• Graduate School Rules for Appealing Grievances

Information for Teaching Assistants

Summary - Basic Duties of Teaching Assistants

TA for PSY 200 Introduction to Psychology

TA responsibilities usually include taking attendance at the lectures, setting up audio-visual equipment, assisting in the proctoring of exams, keeping grade rolls, holding some office hours, etc. Depending upon the situation and the Primary Instructor, an opportunity to present a guest lecture may be available.

Auxiliary-Support Assignments

The Coordinator for your program will be responsible for identifying your specific duties. Those duties may involve assisting a particular faculty member with a course that can use some extra help, but which does not normally have a TA, or they might involve helping the faculty member with his/her scholarly activities.

Alternatively, your assignment could involve providing short-term assistance to several different faculty members during the semester. Another possibility would be assisting with administrative work relevant to operating the program itself.

Usually, such auxiliary assignments make up no more than half of a TA's total commitment (i.e., approximately 10 hours/week), leaving the remainder of the 20 hours for handling other duties (e.g., working for a PSY 200 Instructor).

In a few cases, it may be necessary to modify an auxiliary assignment to accommodate some new or unexpected special need of the department. If such a situation should arise, all parties (TA, Program Coordinator, etc.) will be contacted as soon as possible.

Primary Instructor

Primary Instructors have full responsibility for a specific course or section. (This assignment involves more than serving as a Laboratory or Discussion TA). Although a Primary Instructor may certainly seek help from appropriate faculty members, the Primary Instructor does have the duty to organize the course, prepare the syllabus, teach the class (using whatever methods best fit the course content), hold office hours, provide evaluation procedures (e.g., exams, term papers, projects, etc.), grade student products, provide feedback, and submit final grades in a timely fashion at the end of the semester.

Primary instructors are also responsible for ordering whatever textbooks will be used in their class(es). Let the bookstore know what book(s) you wish students to buy, and approximately how many copies should be on hand at the start of the semester (After you have ordered your materials, please print a copy of the order form and provide it to Candi Jacobs in Poe 640, so that we have a record of books for all courses.)

If you need to obtain an instructor's copy/desk copy from the publisher, you can usually contact them directly (by phone or via the web). If you have not requested such desk copies previously, the publisher may call the main office to confirm your teaching status. The requested materials should then be sent directly to you. Occasionally, there is a problem receiving requested texts, but this does not happen often.

Assistance for Upper-Level Courses

PSY 307 is our undergraduate I/O Psychology course. TA responsibilities may include taking attendance at the lectures, setting up audio-visual equipment, assisting in proctoring exams, keeping grade rolls, holding some office hours, etc. For the Distance Education class, TAs often handle correspondence with students. Your specific duties will be explained in more detail by the Primary Instructor(s) for the course. Depending upon the Primary Instructor, an opportunity to present a guest lecture may be available.

PSY 311 is our undergraduate Social Psychology course. TA responsibilities may include taking attendance at the lectures, setting up audio-visual equipment, assisting in proctoring exams, keeping grade rolls, holding some office hours, etc. Your specific duties will be explained in more detail by the Primary Instructor(s) for the course. Depending upon the Primary Instructor, an opportunity to present a guest lecture may be available.

Laboratory TAs for the Stats/Methods Courses (the PSY 240-243 sequence)

TAs assigned to lab sections in the statistics/methods sequence also have a responsibility to work with the person in charge of the lecture class to which that lab is attached. This responsibility may include attendance at the lectures, assistance in proctoring exams, etc. The Primary Instructor for the main lecture has overall responsibility for the entire course, including labs. The Lab TA is primarily responsible for running her/his assigned lab section, presenting problems and answering questions, grading any homework and (often) providing a grade for student performance in the Lab.

Discussion Leaders

TAs assigned to discussion sections for the PSY 376 Human Growth and Development class also have a responsibility to work with the person in charge of the lecture to which that discussion section is attached. This responsibility may include attendance at those lectures, assistance in proctoring exams, etc. The Primary Instructor for the main lecture has overall responsibility for the entire course, including discussion sections. You will be primarily responsible for running the indicated discussion sections. Note that no separate grades are given for the Discussion Sections; students receive one overall grade for the course as a whole.

Advising Office

Assignment is to provide assistance in the Advising Office, Department of Psychology, under the supervision of Dr. Karen Young, Coordinator for Undergraduate Advising. You should discuss issues such as specific duties and the scheduling of your activities with Dr. Young. She will serve as your supervisor and will submit the usual performance evaluation to me at the end of each semester.

Orientation Class plus Advising Office

PSY 220 is our Orientation to Psychology class. TA responsibilities usually include taking attendance at the once-per-week classes, setting up audio-visual equipment, keeping grade rolls, holding some office hours, etc. The Primary Instructor will describe your specific responsibilities in more detail and will submit the usual performance evaluation to me at the end of the semester.

The second half of your assignment is to provide assistance in the Advising Office, Department of Psychology, under the supervision of Dr. Karen Young, Coordinator for Undergraduate Advising. You should discuss issues such as specific duties and the scheduling of your activities with Dr. Young. She will serve as your supervisor and will submit the usual performance evaluation to me at the end of each semester.

I anticipate that each part of your assignment will take approximately 10 hours/week, but -- within the overall 20-hour expectation -- any distribution of time is OK, as long as it best serves the needs of PSY 220, the Advising Office and Dr. Young.

Lead-TA (Experimetrix Webmaster)

The position of Lead-TA requires some modest expertise in web-based software. It also involves the ability to handle details with care, consideration and confidentiality, as the situation requires. The Lead-TA is responsible for instructing both TAs and faculty in using the system (using or revising the various instructional materials already prepared). She/he needs good communication skills, because the web-administrator must interact with several constituencies -- student and faculty researchers, instructors, course TAs and, occasionally, the people at Experimetrix.

When a new Experimetrix webmaster is appointed (usually between one academic year and the next), the current Lead-TA is expected to provide the training needed, to get that person up-to-speed in the tasks required, even if this instruction falls beyond the end of the Spring semester.

Applied Psychology Support

PSY 495 is the primary course associated with our second undergraduate major - the concentration in Applied Psychology. It provides academic credit for the variety of non-traditional activities that make the Applied Psychology option unusual. Several different duties may be involved in providing assistance to the Primary Instructor and she will describe the necessary details.

School Psychology Support

This assignment involves providing general support for the School Psychology program. The specific work schedule will be determined by mutual agreement between the TA and the supervisor - usually, the Coordinator/Director for School Psychology.

Role of the Teaching Supervisor(s)

Each TA is assigned a teaching supervisor - usually, either a faculty member who frequently has charge of the same course or a faculty member who is familiar with the course content. You should feel free to call upon your supervisor as necessary when you have questions or concerns about the course. If you have duties that place you in front of a class, to lecture or lead a discussion, etc., then your supervisor should attend at least one class during the semester (two, if this is your first semester teaching) and provide you with feedback. A standard observation form is available for this purpose.

In the event that an "assisting-TA" is assigned to help a Primary Instructor who is him/herself another graduate student, an additional supervisor will be appointed. This will be a faculty member who can serve as a mediator, should there be any dispute between the assisting-TA and the Primary Instructor. Although the day-to-day operation of a course is the responsibility of the Primary Instructor, regardless of whether that person is a faculty member or a graduate student, in the rare case of serious conflict, the faculty supervisor will make any final decisions, based upon what appears necessary for the well-being of the class.

GSSP Benefits and Notification of the University Cashier

Who gets What?

As part of the Graduate Student Support Plan (GSSP), your TA appointment may carry any or all of the following benefits:

• student health insurance
• a waiver of in-state tuition
• full coverage of the additional tuition required for non-resident students.

Notes

• Any TA earning at least a minimum stipend (e.g., $8,000 or above, per calendar year) and enrolled for at least the specified minimum course-load (see below) receives health insurance coverage under the Graduate Student Health Plan. If a TA is covered by a comparable policy (as through a spouse's employment), it is possible to waive the TA coverage.
• Generally, if the same conditions of stipend level and enrollment are met, TAs receive full-time tuition at the in-state rate for each of their initial years in the program. If a TA continues to be awarded assignments in later years, tuition coverage will eventually cease (or will decrease to coverage for a maximum of 3 hours).. In certain cases, one extra year of tuition coverage is possible, if approved by the Graduate School. Such extensions require that the student have already passed the Preliminary Qualifying Exams.
• A TA who is eligible to become a NC resident for tuition purposes is expected to perform the necessary "residentiary acts" (such as changing one's driving license, car registration, voter registration, financial institutions, etc.) immediately upon arrival, so that he/she may apply for in-state status before the second year. During the initial semesters as a non-resident, the GSSP package will include coverage of the full non-resident differential tuition, as well as the base (in-state) tuition. If a student is legally barred from becoming a NC resident, then the non-resident portion of the tuition charges will continue to be covered under the GSSP, for the same duration as coverage of the base tuition.

To be eligible to receive the teaching assistantship and the associated GSSP benefits, a TA must be registered for a full-time load — usually, at least nine credit hours each semester. One exception occurs if ALL of the requirements on the student's doctoral Plan of Work have been completed AND the student has passed Prelims. The TA is then eligible to register for three hours of PSY 899, while retaining full-time status. Please note that no other courses may be combined with this registration; enrollment must be for exactly 3 hours of PSY 899.

The above statements are summarized. To be certain of detailed rules, all TAs should be familiar with requirements outlined in the GSSP Handbook.

Telling the Cashier — Avoiding Schedule Cancellations

Prior to the start of each semester, all students receive bills from the university for the upcoming academic session. TAs should follow the procedure below, to avoid unintentional cancellation of their class schedules.

When you receive your Tuition Bill, be sure to go to the Cashier's Office website and complete the Notice of Sponsorship form by the due date shown on your semester's bill. Indicate "GSSP" as your third-party sponsor. For the third-party sponsor contact information (name, phone number and e-mail address), put "Chris Buchanan, 515-4472, and chris_buchanan@ncsu.edu." For "amount," enter the on-campus tuition rate for the total hours registered and indicate that your sponsor (GSSP) will pay for tuition only. You will also need to submit payment for your own fees; fees are not paid by the GSSP.

Information for First-Time Instructors (especially for Summer TAs)

This message is directed more toward those who will be teaching for the first time in a summer session, but there may be something useful for many other first-time instructors. Because we have not yet established a regular class or workshop on teaching, as I had hoped to have in place by the coming summer, it will still be the case that the best source for advice on teaching any specific course is one of the faculty who teach the same course during the academic year. If unsure of who normally teaches a particular class, check PackTracks for the most-recent Spring or Fall semester (or, if a class is usually taught by a TA, ask that instructor to identify his/her supervisor).

Beyond that advice, however, here are some items you may find helpful. Note that some of these sites will require your unity ID and PW to enter them. Others are open information.

• There is a general handbook Teaching Psychology at NCSU available on the Documents and Forms for Current Students page. Note that some of the specific directions at the rear of the handbook — for copying syllabi or handouts, checking out equipment, etc. — are in need of revision. Candi Jacobs is no longer with the department; we are in the process of hiring a new staff member; staff locations and responsibilities are in flux. I wish I had exact answers; please ask Veronica or Susan or Cristina in Poe 640 and they'll try to help, while our new organizational structure is developing. See Qiana Harvey in Poe 632, for information on financial issues. Send me email if I can help.
• Course Syllabus: The university has a web page describing the material that should be included in a syllabus. Again, faculty are often willing to share their syllabi, so that you can have a place to start. See the list of required syllabus content.
• A (more-full-than-you'll-want) list of academic regulations
• The Disability Services Office
• The Office of Student Conduct
• The Registrar's Portal You will be able to sign in as a faculty member ("Faculty/Staff Access" at the bottom-left), once your name has been entered in the system. This is the entrance you will use for getting your class roll, entering grades, etc.
• If you specifically want to see how grades have run in various courses in the past, you can access the grade distributions.
• The exam schedule

• Ordering Textbooks. This is often a difficult issue, because there is an unavoidable lead-time requirement to have books on the shelves for the start of classes. Yet, it can take a while before new instructors are entered into the system, so that they may order their texts. Part of the problem, especially for new instructors, is that HR requires we follow a fairly lengthy process. Some steps are required, even for continuing TAs, but for anyone entirely new, we must obtain an employee number before we can enter you into PackTracks as the primary instructor for a given class.

  For the present, you may find the following approach quicker. Try going to the older book-request page. Enter the information on your text and then submit. This page should take your request, even before you are formally listed. (The Bookstore will likely contact the department, to ask whether you are "legit," but we should be able to confirm that and all will be well.) Note, however, that this input-site may be taken off-line unexpectedly at some point in the future.

• Once you are listed in PackTracks, you should also have access to either Wolfware or Vista (see below), so that you can set up a web site for your course, if you wish. I'm sorry I have no work-around for getting this access. Keep checking in PackTracks, to see when you're listed.

  Wolfware

  You need to actually establish a "locker" for your course.

  Vista

  After logging-in with your unity ID and PW, you should be taken directly to the page for setting up your course.