Monitoring Adjunct Faculty, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and Instructors or Persons of Similar Rank

March 14, 2006
Updated August 2008

1. All new GTAs are expected to attend the GTA Workshop offered each fall semester by the Graduate School. For instructors or other full time, non-tenure earning faculty or those that are first hired in other semesters, these materials are available online at http://graduate.ua.edu/events/workshop_gta.html.

2. After reviewing these materials, all GTAs and Instructors are expected to sign a form verifying that this information has been reviewed. Any questions regarding this information should be directed to the department head. In particular GTAs and Instructors need to be aware of university policies and understand their responsibilities contained in the Faculty Handbook, http://facultysenate.ua.edu/handbook/chapter-5.html, which include such matters as:

  • Performance Reviews
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Handling of Complaints
  • Privacy Rights of Students
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Evaluating Student Performance
  • Keeping Accurate Records
  • Office Hours
  • Faculty Class Attendance
  • Student Attendance
  • Syllabus Contents
  • Copyright Policy
  • Academic Honor Code
  • Reporting Grades
  • Posting Grades
  • Changing Grades
  • Student Evaluation of Teaching

3. Over the course of each semester the teaching effectiveness for all Instructors and GTAs teaching classes independently will be reviewed. These reviews may be obtained via the following methods:

All GTAs and Instructors who are teaching for the first time will be reviewed by at least one faculty member. The faculty member(s) will:

  • visit their classroom to review classroom presentations,
  • review exams and homework assignments
  • review other materials and consult with students as deemed appropriate by the faculty member(s)

For GTAs team teaching with a faculty member, that faculty member will perform the review.

For experienced GTAs and Instructors, reviews will be conducted using the same methods and criteria used for the regular faculty. When problems arise, the Department Head will appoint a faculty member to visit the class. The faculty member will report her/his assessment to the Department Head and provide assistance to the GTA or Instructor.

4. GTAs and Instructors will receive a written summary of their teaching evaluations from the Department Head. If significant deficiencies have not been observed, an annual review is sufficient. If significant deficiencies have been observed, GTAs and Instructors should be notified on a timely basis. The Department Head will apprise GTAs and Instructors of any deficiencies in their performances and of appropriate remedies for the deficiencies. The GTAs and Instructors will be provided a timeline for the remedies and a statement of the consequences should performance problems not be remedied. Consequences may include removal from teaching responsibilities, loss of assistantship or other financial support, and termination from academic programs.

5.  Full-time, non-tenure earning faculty are expected to maintain portfolios of their activities in a manner similar to tenured or tenure-earning faculty.