Appointment and Reappointment Guidelines
Hispanic Studies Criteria for Teaching Appointments and Reappointments
Teaching Assistants (TAs) in the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies are typically appointed for nine months at 50% Full Time Equivalent (FTE), guaranteed for 2 years (MA) and 5 years (PhD) at the time of admission. After the fifth year in the PhD program, the guaranteed support ends and students must apply for TA-ship on a yearly basis. The requests for extension are contingent upon the students’ satisfactory progress towards the degree and the availability of classes.
50% FTE is defined as 20 hours per week, or two courses in one semester, either Fall or Spring, and one in another. Salaries are set through contract negotiation between university administration and the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO); the minima for graduate appointments are published on the HR website. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the salary for 50% FTE was $2,192.22 per month, or $19,730.00 annually.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) teach classes in Basic Language Program (BLP) and Heritage Language Program (HLP). Students can also be appointed as TAs in the 200-level classes either as main instructors or as assistants to classes taught by the faculty. When appointing a TA for 200-level classes, a preference is given to PhD students based on the excellence of their teaching and academic record, seniority and departmental needs. In order to be appointed as TA in Heritage Learning Program, students must first complete a workshop specially designed for TAs in that program. The department takes into account the professionalization needs of PhD students and seeks to give each student the opportunity of teaching classes at different levels or programs (BLP, HLP), including 200-level classes.
The criteria for reappointment of TAs are based on student’s academic record, evaluations of teaching performance—both those submitted by students and program supervisors or course coordinators—and availability of classes. In order to receive an appointment as TA, student has to be in good standing and fulfill the requirements for progress in the program stipulated in the program’s Handbook (Linguistics or Literature and Cultural Studies). When assigning classes, the department asks all TAs to fill out a form in which they indicate their teaching preferences (course level and schedule). Based on scheduling availability, the department takes those preferences into account whenever possible. The TAs are expected to show flexibility when submitting scheduling preferences, especially with high demand classes, such as, for example Summer appointments.
There is limited number of TA positions in BLP and HLP during the Summer term. The criteria for summer teaching in either BLP or HLP are based on course availability, seniority, previous teaching performance and experience in the specific program. Those students applying for summer teaching who have not previously taught in the program for which they are applying, must attend a workshop offered by the program coordinators.