• CA/TF: Frequently Asked Questions

Course Assistants and Teachings Fellows

Assignment of Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows

At the Kennedy School, Course Assistants (CAs) and Teaching Fellows (TFs) are assigned to courses rather than to faculty members. The initial assignment (CAs plus TFs) is made on the basis of the previous year’s course enrollment. When enrollment is uncertain, or in courses with large cadres of CAs (where it is probable that someone will drop out), CA assignments are “Standby” (SB). This means that the CA is aware that his or her assignment is provisional upon there being sufficient enrollment in the course. If the enrollment drops substantially the job will not convert to a real job. On the other hand, if there is a surge in enrollment, or if another CA has to drop out, the CA on Standby is the next in line to fill the job.

Quantitative Courses

Quantitative courses with a formal weekly review session and heavy problem set loads are normally allotted a TF for the first 20 students enrolled. A CA is added when the enrollment reaches 30 students, and an additional CA for each additional 20 students. Normally the required quantitative courses taught in sections receive this allocation for each section.

Nonquantitative Courses

Nonquantitative coursess are allotted a first CA when the enrollment reaches thirty students, a second CA at 45 students, and additional CAs for each additional 30 students enrolled. These courses rarely receive TF assistance.

Differences between CAs and TFs

Unlike most of the other Harvard schools, HKS provides two levels of teaching assistance for those courses that qualify for assistance, Course Assistants (CAs) and Teaching Fellows (TFs). The main differences between Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows are (1) the nature of their duties, including level of teaching and other administrative tasks, and (2) the compensation system. (See below for details on both.) Most CAs are HKS second-year students. While TFs are more likely to be doctoral candidates second-year students with the appropriate expertise may serve as TFs. See CAs and TFs: Overview and Duties.

Courses Qualifying for a TF

For a course to qualify for a TF (rather than a CA), it must satisfy one or more of the following conditions: (1) the course is an advanced one (e.g., a course designed for prospective PhD students); (2) the position involves a significant amount of teaching, generally in formal weekly review sessions, or (3) the course demands a substantial amount of written work that requires PhD-level experience and judgment for evaluating it.

Allocation Guidelines

The ratios and guidelines outlined below are for determining the total combined CAs or TFs per course or section. (Dean Albert Carnesale, and Associate Dean for Teaching Programs Peter Zimmerman 1995/96. Updated by Director of Teaching Support 1999).

• As a general ground rule, allocation ratios are guided by HKS enrollments only (based on the enrollment the previous year).
• The School does not support more than one teaching fellow per course (or section, for large multi-section courses such as API-101, 201, etc.) Other allocated course support slots will be staffed with Course Assistants. The only exception to this guideline is generally in the Ph.D. quantitative preparatory courses, or in some non-quantitative courses which require considerable memo writing for the students (and hence considerable grading and evaluation).
• The difference in allocation ratios between quantitative and non quantitative courses is not a reflection of the level, value, or seriousness of the course, but only a reflection of the general difference in workload for students in these two types of courses. Generally quantitative courses require students to submit more daily or weekly problem sets, and students in these courses need more one-on-one or small group tutoring to help them master the quantitative concepts.

Number of CAs or TFs	Number of Students Non Quantitative Courses (30:1)	Number of Students Quantitative Courses (20:1)
1 CA or TF	30	20
2 CAs	45	30
3 CAs	75	50
4 CAs	105	70
5 CAs	135	90

• If the course has more students than expected additional CAs and TFs will be hired as necessary. If, however, the course has a smaller enrollment than expected, CAs and TFs are dropped as appropriate to maintain the ratios below. In the case of new courses which have never been offered, the Director of Teaching Support consults with the Senior Associate Dean for Degree Programs and the Academic Dean as to the appropriate number of CAs for the course.

Jointly Listed Courses

(Associate Dean for Degree Programs Joseph McCarthy 7/21/1998)

• If there are a total of 30 students in the course (under both numbers combined) HKS will pay for half of a CA or TF.
• If there are a total 45 students total in the course (under both numbers combined) HKS will pay for an additional half CA or TF. Hence the HKS would cover one full CA or TF for a jointly listed course with 45 students.
• If the total enrollment turns out to be severely skewed so that there are 30-45 students in the course, but very few of them have registered under the HKS number, HKS will renegotiate with the other department about splitting costs. If the vast majority of the students are registered under the other school’s number the HKS will ask the other school to shoulder their share of the CA/TF costs.
• The system is designed to allocate people in support of our teaching mission, recognizing the different level of skills associated with CAs and TFs. The system is not based on dollars per course, so that the fact that some students may be on federal work study as part of their financial aid does not mean that faculty may thereby acquire additional CAs. At the same time we do try to support our own students by employing as many of them as possible who do indeed have work study funding.

The Assignment Process

All CAs and TFs are assigned by the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support in consultation with individual faculty. The assignment process seeks several goals: to staff all of the courses adequately, to distribute the talents of CAs and TFs equitably, to provide teaching experience for PhD candidates, to provide a source of financial aid for Kennedy School students, to give students their first or second choices of jobs whenever possible, and to give faculty their preferences for CAs and TFs. Because of the complexity of meeting these goals, (making about 180 job matches per semester), faculty are discouraged from making commitments for jobs to individual students. Faculty interested in specific students should make their wishes known to the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support by June 10.

The process begins in April for the following academic year. Once the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support knows what courses will be offered, and in which semester, she asks students to indicate their first through fourth choices for a CA or TF job for both the fall and spring semester. Next, faculty are mailed the lists of students interested in working with their course, including how the student ranked their desire for the job (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th choice). Faculty rank their preferences for CAs and return the list to the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support. Fall term jobs are assigned once the fall and spring schedules have been drafted (in early July) and emailed to students on or about August 1. Spring term job matches are made in October.

When Are Job Assignments Made?

The list of possible jobs that students receive in May is very tentative and will not reflect final decisions on course offerings. Some new courses will be under consideration, others may change semesters, some may be dropped. Deciding teaching assignments is a rolling process between March and mid-June. We ask students for their job preferences early so that we can be sure to hear from everyone before they leave for the summer. Fall assignments are generally sent out by email on or about August 1. At this time the fall and spring schedules are public. Students are asked to check the schedule before committing to a job so that they can be sure they will not have a conflict. Job confirmations are due no later than August 15.

Spring Assignments

Spring Assignments are generally made in late October or early November. Even though spring assignments are made later, it is really important to fill out your preferences for spring jobs when you submit your preferences in May. The information is very useful in understanding your overall interests if we can’t give you your first choice of job in the fall, or if a course you are interested in changes semester.

Eliminating CA or TF Jobs

Assignments made according to allocation guidelines based on previous years' enrollments, adjusted for enrollment expectations for the following year. (For instance, changes in the MPP or MPAID class might effect the number of CA slots available in MPP and MPAID core courses.) There are some exceptions to these guidelines, but please note that should a course enrollment drop drastically below the projected enrollment we may have to eliminate the CA or TF job. We will try to relocate you to another job, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will be conservative in our initial allocations so that we may avoid this situation.

Standby Jobs

Because of the uncertainties in enrollments, in some cases we assign “standby” jobs. This means that if the enrollments are borderline, or that at the outset there is uncertainty about how many students will be in the class. Nearly all new course jobs are initially listed as "standby" because we have no idea of how many students may enroll.“Standby” means you are next in line for a job if the enrollment warrants a CA.

Eligibility for CA or TF

The Role of Work Study

It is not required that students be on Federal Work Study to get a CA or TF job. However, if there are two equally qualified students interested in a job preference will be given to the student with Work Study funding.

Individuals Who Are Not Registered Harvard Students

Hiring individuals who are not registered students at HKS or elsewhere at Harvard is extremely rare. While these individuals are paid the same rate as registered students, because they are not students there are fringe benefit rates applied to their wages that make the cost of hiring a non-student considerably higher than hiring a Harvard student. In addition we prefer when at all possible to give jobs to Kennedy School students who need the financial aid. Non-students (including staff) are hired only in extreme cases when no Harvard student can be found who is qualified for the job.

International Students

International students may serve as CAs or TFs provided they have the proper visa status and a US Social Security number. The Harvard International Office (495-2789) handles all such matters. It is the student's responsibility to work with that office to ensure that the required paper work is in order. For additional information, see CATF Handbook.

CAs and TFs: Overview and Duties

Frequently confusion arises about the difference in responsibilities of the CAs and the Faculty Staff Assistants. Staff assistants prepare course materials, including course packets and handouts, and maintain records of exam and final grades. CAs and Staff Assistants share the tasks of communicating with students by e-mail or the class page. It is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure that all concerned understand who is responsible for what.

Differences Between a CA and a TF

The primary distinguishing feature between Teaching Fellows and Course Assistants is that TFs generally have several more years experience teaching (and with the subject matter or the specific course), than CAs have. Although it is not required, most Teaching Fellows are doctoral candidates at the HKS or another Harvard school. Not all courses qualify for Teaching Fellow assistance. To receive a TF the course must satisfy one or more of the following conditions: (1) the course is an advanced one (e.g. a course designed for prospective Ph.D. students); (2) the position involves a significant amount of teaching, generally in formal, scheduled review sessions, or (3) the course has a substantial amount of written work that requires Ph.D. level experience and judgment to evaluate.

Duties of Course Assistants

In addition to attending the class, CAs may expect to do anything from preparing materials for class to holding “office hours” for one-on-one tutoring, reviewing problem sets, doing “first reads” on written assignments, arranging for media services in the classroom and maintaining the intranet Classroom web page. Exactly what any individual CA does depends on the course, the student’s abilities, and the needs of the faculty member. In addition to the normal work during the semester CAs are responsible for administering course evaluations at the end of the term, and for proctoring the final examinations.

Duties of Teaching Fellows

The TF system at the Kennedy School is slightly different than at other schools at Harvard. TFs are not assigned “sections” in the same way as they are at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). At the Kennedy School TFs are expected to work approximately 15 hours per week. In addition to attending the class, the TFs’ primary responsibility is to run formally scheduled review sessions. Reviews at the Kennedy School are not done in “sections” of 10-15 students as they are at FAS. The review session accommodates all students from the class who care to attend. Depending on the size of the class and the number of other TFs or CAs, TFs may also expect to prepare course materials, manage the CA team, hold “office hours” for one-on-one tutoring, review problem sets, and do “first reads” on papers. Exactly what any individual TF does is dependent on the course, his or her abilities, and the needs of the faculty member. While TFs may assist faculty by grading problem sets or other materials where the faculty provides an answer sheet, or may perform “first reads” on written work, TFs do not assign grades to students. Faculty are solely responsible for assigning students’ grades in courses. In addition to the normal work during the semester TFs are responsible for administering course evaluations at the end of the term, and for proctoring the final examinations.

Note that CA and TF responsibilities begin on the first day of class and not before. Hence faculty should not rely on them to prepare course materials.

Compensation System for CAs and TFs

Kennedy School Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows are paid according to the requirements of the job, not according to their individual status as a master's or doctoral degree candidate. (In this respect the HKS system differs from that of the other Harvard schools.) Thus a master's student could become a (higher paid) Teaching Fellow, and a doctoral candidate could be hired at the (lower paid) CA rate, CAs are paid by the hour, while TFs are paid a flat rate for the course.

CAs are not paid for work done prior to the first day of class. While CAs may assist faculty with final products after the course stops meeting they are paid for any work done on the course after the due dates for grades in the relevant semester

How to Make Effective Use of CAs and TFs

Most CAs and TFs do not take these jobs solely to earn money. Some are eager for experience in teaching, whether or not they will go on to an academic career. Some want to deepen their knowledge of the subject matter through having to explain it to students for whom the material is new. Some want to develop a closer professional relationship with a faculty member in their field of interest. Moreover, it's no secret that faculty who have supervised CAs and TFs are likely prospects when it's time to ask for recommendations.

Coordinating the work of CAs, TFs, and the Faculty Staff Assistant

The courses that run the most seamlessly are those where the faculty member, the CAs and TFs, and the faculty assistant meet regularly to discuss workload, due dates for work products, and coordination of homework collection, and to confirm understandings about who is doing what. Note: CAs and TFs are not expected to begin work before the first day of class. Hence faculty should not rely on them to prepare course materials before classes start.

Training

A workshop is held at the beginning of each semester for new Cas and TFs to introduce them to administrative, pedagogical, andtechnical issues they may face. In addition, CAs and TFs will be able to handle their jobs better if instructors provide clear and specific instructions about how review sessions, CA office hours, study halls (if any), and grading of homework are to be handled. It's especially important to warn them against inadvertently getting off on the wrong foot at the start of the semester. (We'd like to develop a list of dos and don'ts along this line; suggestions will be welcomed.)

Faculty Administrative Responsibilities

CAs, TFs, the staff assistant-- all are part of the team that supports the course. Instructors are responsible for supervising their CAs and TFs, making sure that they understand their role in the team and holding them to a high professional standard. It is helpful to establish early on a dialogue about expectations, making explicit both the instructor's expectations and the CAs' and TFs' responsibilities.

Checklist For Types of Expectations and Responsibilities to be Made Explicit:

• Objectives of the course. It is especially important that CAs and TFs understand (and be able to articulate) the teaching objectives for the course and what the instructor wants the students to learn from particular classes or assignments.
• Amount of time CAs and TFs are expected to commit; see Duties in Overview.
• Crunch times: Identify them so CAs and TFs can balance their hours during these times.
• Administrative responsibilities: e.g., clearing the blackboards and checking in with the instructor before each class.
• Audio visual or computer equipment: reserving it, making sure it's working.
• Assistance with grading homework: specify kind of guidance instructor will provide.
• Responsibility for and method of returning homework.
• Expectations as to how CA/TF office hours will be conducted.
• Expectations as to how review sessions will be conducted.
• Expectations regarding assistance in grading exams.
• Responsibilities for administering course evaluations.
• Responsibilities during class; noting, e.g., who participates, who doesn't, students' evident mystification, instructor's successes and foulups.
• Feedback: what sort from them, when, in what format.
• Weekly timesheets. Faculty must be available to sign them, and may need to nudge students to submit them in a timely fashion. This is by no means a complete list; additions will be welcomed. In any case, the length of the list suggests that as much of it as possible should be in the form of a handout and/or online document.

Examples of Faculty Instructions to their CAs and TFs

Most faculty who have successfully coordinated CAs and TFs over the years have developed materials that lay out their expectations in detail. Below is an example of a Faculty Member's memo to a CA from Senior Lecturer and Associate Academic Dean Suzanne Cooper:

John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Fall 2003

Guidelines for API-121 Course Assistants

The following are guidelines to make clear your responsibilities as a course assistant for API-121 this fall:

1. Attend class. The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:10-2:30 a.m.. in L140. I expect you will be there (subject to illness or special circumstances) unless you make a prior arrangement with me. In order for you to assist the students in office hours, you need to know what has gone on in class. Even if you took the course last year, it is very helpful to see things the material a second time and to know exactly how far I have lectured on a particular topic or what examples I have used. Please do NOT read other materials (newspapers, magazines, other course materials) during class. This is distracting to the students taking the class. Also, please sit near the back.
2. Attend a weekly meeting at a time to be announced. Please give me your schedules as soon as you are fairly sure what they are so I can choose a time for the weekly meeting that is as convenient as possible for all of you. At this meeting we will discuss common questions that students have, any administrative issues (like extra office hours before an exam), and any students who are having particular difficulty with the course. All information regarding student performance is CONFIDENTIAL, for obvious reasons of protecting their privacy as well as being professional ourselves.
3. Office hours scheduling. Each assistant will be expected to have four hours of office hours per week. These need to be spread out over the week, without overlapping or conflicting with your own schedules. These times will be distributed to all students, along with your email addresses. Before exams I will ask you to schedule additional office hours to accommodate the student demand. Rescheduling of office hours is strongly discouraged since students come to expect you at particular times. If you are ever ill, please first try to find someone to cover for you (if you are not too ill to make phone calls) and then reach me to let me know of the change. Office hours should be held on the 3rd floor of the Forum. You should be very careful during office hours NOT to give out answers to problem set questions. Ask questions back (Socratically) or give alternate examples, but do not directly provide answers to the problem sets.
4. Marking problem sets. The course has 6 problem sets that are quantitative. CAs/TF will mark the students’ problem sets using the answer sheets and grading guidelines that I will provide. You are to make no subjective evaluation of the students’ work. If there is ever any question of whether an answer is correct or incorrect based on the information I provide you, bring the problem set to me to be graded. Marking must be done soon after submission of the problem set by students, and generally within 2-3 days. I will give a grading deadline for each problem set as it is handed in. Problem sets will not be returned to students, however, until all CAs have completed their portion. When you finish, please submit an alphabetical list of student names and grades to me (hard copy or email). When I have received them all, I will email you to let you know to return the problem sets to the students’ mailboxes. If you have any particular relationship with anyone in the class that might affect your objectivity, please let me know in advance since you will not be permitted to mark that person’s work.
5. Exam proctoring and discussion. The midterm exam will be given during class time on Tuesday Oct. 28. CAs/TFs should be available to help proctor the exam during that time. We will meet on Friday, Oct. 31 to discuss and analyze students’ performances on the exam (no review session that day). Lunch will be provided. All CAs/TFs must attend this meeting except during course conflicts. If you have a course conflict, let me know as soon as possible. The final exam will be administered on December 17 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and CAs/TFs will proctor the exam. We will meet that afternoon and the next day at 9:00 a.m. to discuss and analyze student performance, and lunch will be provided on both days. Please mark these dates on your calendars so you will be available.
6. Testing exams. CAs may be asked to review prototype exam questions. At no point should your office hours reflect anything you have seen of such questions.
7. Communication. CAs should bring to my attention (during weekly meetings or more urgently if necessary) any students having particular difficulty with the course or any students exhibiting inappropriate behavior (asking for problem set answers, showing evidence of having cheated in problem set or exam preparation, or even calling you at home too late at night). Do not confront students on your own. Let me know of any problems and I will do my best to deal with them without involving you. Remember, any information you have yourself or you hear in one of our meetings regarding student performance is CONFIDENTIAL.

Thanks in advance for your help this semester. I hope you find the experience not only financially rewarding, but also academically rewarding. It really is true that it takes a greater understanding to explain something to someone else than it does to do the exam or problem set yourself, so I hope you all find this a useful experience.

Using CAs and TFs for Student Feedback

CAs and TFs can provide the instructor with useful information about how a course is going, where confusion lies, where management of the course might be improved, students’ evaluation of the reading, etc. NB: This source of information works best when the CAs and TFs are confident that the instructor will never shoot the messenger.

Additional Faculty Responsibilities

Faculty should particularly note that they are responsible for ensuring that their CAs and TFs understand their professional obligations as teachers with respect to : Academic Code; Code of Conduct; Statement of Rights and Responsibilities; Sexual Harassment; Student Privacy Laws (Buckley Amendment); Identifying Students in Distress. All these policies are described in the CATF Handbook.

TFs and Review Sessions

Weekly Review Sessions

Many courses, especially quantitative or other required courses, hold regular weekly review sessions, taught by Teaching Fellows. Their schedules are set by the Office of Teaching Support as part of the scheduling process. Fridays are reserved for these review sessions. Regular course meetings are rarely held on Friday, and then only if they are most unlikely to conflict with a review session.

Who Teaches the Review Sessions

Generally the TF is in charge of the review sessions. The content -- what material is to be covered and where problems are most likely to arise -- is ultimately the responsibility of the course instructor. Instructors are expected to keep track of how the review sessions are going, and to work with the TFs to ensure their success. TFs are required to attend the classes taught by the instructors. One instructor's explanation: “…seeing how I confused the class so you know what you have to straighten out.”

Feedback From Review Sessions

TFs can provide the instructor with useful information about how a course is going, where confusion lies, where management of the course might be improved, students’ evaluation of the reading, etc. At the same time, students can provide the instructor information on how the review sessions are going. (See also LINK to Teaching Fellow Evaluations.)

Faculty Oversight of the Review Session

Occasionally a TF's review sessions leave something to be desired. If so, the instructor needs to know it, and the sooner the better. Hence it's wise to check regularly with students to get a sense for how the sessions are going.

These are ticklish situations. You want to fix the problem, yet if you approach the TF who is handling the review session, you may undermine his or her confidence, which will only make matters worse. A few observations:

• If you think there's a problem, try to do something about it immediately. The sooner you face it, the easier it is on the TF.
• Make sure you're giving the TF enough guidance on what to cover, how to prepare, how to handle sticky situations, when and how to duck. ("That question is one for the professor; I'll check it out and get back to you.")
• It's usually better to ask a colleague or another qualified person to observe a review session rather than do it yourself. The colleague can then provide suggestions to the TF and to you.
• Talk with colleagues who have faced this issue; they may be able to offer good advice, and at least you'll know you have company.

TF Evaluations

TF evaluations are administered on lien at the end of the semester, but they are separate from the standard on line course evaluation. The following TF evaluation form currently inuse was developed by doctoral candidates:

Please Circle One: Fraction of reviews/sections you have attended so far this semester:
            None    A Few    Half    Most    All

Please Rate the TF in Each of the Following Categories:

1. Familiarity with the subject matter
2. Explaining concepts clearly
3. Answering students' questions clearly and concisely
4. Encouraging student participation
5. Clarifying material covered by the professor
6. Clarifying assigned readings
7. Accessibility outside of review/section
8. Caring about how review/section is progressing
9. Sensitivity toward international students (language barriers, different educational styles, etc.)
10. What do you like best about reviews/sections? What are the TF's greatest strengths?

What do you like best about reviews/sections? What are the TF's greatest strengths?

Please comment on written feedback you have received from the TF (quality, timeliness, etc.)

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Student Teaching

Students and faculty at the Kennedy School rely heavily on the success of the Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows. In recognition of this, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Student Teaching is presented each year to outstanding CAs and TFs, who are chosen from a list of those who have been nominated by the HKS student body.

The 2006-2007 Academic Year recipients were:

Sameer Doshi, TF
Sudakar Raju, TF
Melanie Hollands, CA
Margot Crandall Hollick, TF
Shunsuke Mabuchi, TF

For additional information on the Dean's Award for Excellence in Student Teaching see the CA/TF Student Handbook.

Information for Incoming Students

Getting Help from Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows

Over the past several years we have asked Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows to tell us what advice they would pass on to students on how students can best use their help. This is a compilation of their suggestions, and is handed out to all incoming students each year, to help them understand the best way to ask for and receive help from Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows.

Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows — generally graduate students who help professors with their teaching and students with their learning — play an important role in many Kennedy School courses. You may not have encountered such teaching assistants in your previous educational experience, or you may not have found their help necessary. You will do well, however, to get to know them here and become familiar with the assistance they can provide.

Who are Course Assistants (CAs) and Teaching Fellows(TFs)?

Course Assistants are generally second-year MPP, MPAID, or Two-Year MPA students. Normally, they have taken the course for which they are a CA the previous year and have done well in it. Occasionally, they may not have taken the course, but have some background in the subject area that enables them to provide assistance. Teaching Fellows are usually (but not always) doctoral candidates at Harvard, or another university in the area, who have significant strength in the subject and often considerable teaching experience.

What do Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows do?

In addition to performing a variety of administrative tasks to help the professor run the course, CAs generally hold office hours, i.e., meet with students individually and in small groups to help them understand course material and work through assignments. TFs meet with students similarly in some courses; in others they conduct review sessions for the entire class. The professors themselves assign grades, but CAs and TFs often assist them by marking problem set and exam answers, or by reading and commenting on written assignments.
The level and kind of CA or TF support for can vary greatly from course to course. What CAs and TFs actually do depends largely on how the professor organizes the course and on how he or she prefers to teach. Very large courses with four or more CAs may be organized in a different way than a smaller course with only one CA or TF.

When to see the CA or TF

It’s a good idea to get acquainted early with your CAs and TFs — before problems arise — especially in the quantitative courses. While you may have learned well without help in earlier settings, e.g., as an undergraduate, you may find that you need some assistance working through problem sets and other assignments here. Take that in stride, and seek help: it’s intended to be part of the instruction.
Its useful to schedule individual time with CAs and TFs apart from office hours if you can, but don’t be put off if they don’t always have time for you; be patient. Schedule as far ahead as possible; don’t wait until the assignment is due.

How to Make the Most of Your Time with CAs and TFs

• Note that earlier office hours will be less crowded; you’ll get more attention by going then.
• Approach CAs and TFs with a real need, e.g. questions about a problem set or writing assignment.
• Prepare: formulate your questions in advance. Don’t be afraid to ask what seem like basic questions.
• Do the reading, and try to do the problem set or assignment by yourself first. Don’t go to office hours just to get the answer.
• Go to review sessions; they will help you get more out of office hours.
• Seek help when you need it, but don’t let getting it substitute for your own efforts to learn.

Two Important Things to Remember

CAs and TFs represent a range of experience and expertise. CAs in particular are usually only one year ahead of you. While they have taken the course or learned the subject elsewhere, they are not necessarily "whizzes" (as one of them put it). They’re eager to help you, but they’re also fallible. Be understanding, and recognize both the extent and the limitations of the assistance they can provide.

CAs and TFs are students, too, with their own academic workloads. While they are happy to help you during office hours and appointments, there are times when approaching them is off limits. When you see CAs and TFs doing their own work in the library or computer lab, let them be. If a CA or TF asks not be called at home after a specific time, or not to be called at all, you need to respect that request.
For additional information about the roles and responsibilities of CAs and TFs or to learn how to secure a CA or TF position, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

2008-2009 CA/TF Jobs

The Course Assistant/Teaching Fellows job listings will be available in late April, but will be tentative. Between the spring and the following academic year faculty may change, some courses will be added, some may switch semester, some may be dropped. Numbers of CA or TF per course are approximate and will vary according to course enrollments next year. Courses not listed generally do not have the enrollment or the format to require TF or CA assistance. Assignments are made on the basis of the previous year's course enrollment. An asterisk SB (*SB) after the course number indicates that the position is conditional upon enrollment (SB = standby). All new courses are listed as SB. Please keep this in mind as you rank your choices. Be aware that even courses without an asterisk may have a drop in enrollment which may mean that we have to drop the CA or TF assignment. All jobs are a semester long except January jobs (intensive over a short period of time, and Module jobs (F1, F2, S3, S4) which are half a semester long.

To submit a job application for a Course Assistant or Teaching Fellow position, click on this link which will be available in late April.