1. Each academic unit shall meet minimal academic
criteria required for teaching fellows/teaching assistants in the department,
in accordance with relevant accreditation standards for the University
and the unit. These criteria shall be filed with each school/college
and shall be periodically reviewed.
2. TFs who have primary responsibility for teaching
a course and/or for assigning final grades for such a course must have
earned at least 18 graduate semester hours in their teaching discipline.
"Teaching discipline" will be determined by the Dean of the
appropriate College or School within Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools criteria.
3. Transcripts and other appropriate documentation
of qualifications (including letters of recommendation, if required
by the unit) shall be obtained for all TF/TAs who are to be employed,
and shall be retained as long as the TF/TA is employed. UNT transcripts
and imaged copies of official transcripts from other universities are
located in the Office of the Registrar. Copies of transcripts from other
universities are also on file in the School of Graduate Studies. Each
academic unit will retain unofficial copies of transcripts for all TF/TA
employees in the unit.
4. Language competencies for all nonnative speakers
of English who seek teaching assistantships or teaching fellowships
must be assured. Language competency shall be given careful consideration
at the time of their selection and appointment.
a. International students should be selected as TF/TAs
only after having been in residence one long semester or both summer
sessions. Exceptions may be made only after approval of the dean of
the college. If exceptions are made, the following procedures should
be adhered to:
1. Telephone contact should be made by the department
(preferably with prior warning to the student) to obtain an indication
of the student's ability to communicate in English.
2. The letter of appointment shall contain a provision
that the student, upon arrival on campus, must demonstrate a facility
with spoken English sufficient to function in the classroom; otherwise
the letter of commitment is void. English proficiency will be determined
by the Intensive English Language Institute.
3. Close supervision shall be conducted by the
faculty coordinator within the department during the first several
weeks of the class to ensure that communication within the classroom
situation is acceptable.
b. Language competencies and communication skills
of all teaching fellows/teaching assistants, for whom English is a second
language, shall be of primary concern to the departments and should
be carefully monitored and supervised by the faculty coordinator of
teaching fellows and teaching assistants within each department.
5. Participation in school/college-wide or academic
unit orientations for TF/TAs shall be stated as a condition of employment
in the letter of appointment. Individual academic units may make additional
stipulations such as enrollment in special courses or attendance at
special seminars for TAs and TFs.
6. The institutional requirement for a minimal
load of academic work for TF/TAs in any long semester is 9 semester
credit hours (sch’s) of graduate courses (3 sch’s if thesis
or dissertation only and all other course requirements are met). The
total combined load of course enrollment and teaching assignment may
not exceed the equivalent of 18 sch’s in any long semester.
Each academic unit may specify higher minimal loads so long as the
specified loads do not exceed Coordinating Board established standards,
which specify that supported graduate students may not be required
to enroll in more than 9 sch’s of organized graduate coursework
or more than 12 sch’s total with the additional 3 sch’s
consisting of individualized or non-organized graduate coursework
such as research, practicum, special problems, etc.
7. No fellowship or assistantship is regarded as
valid until the applicant has obtained admission to the Graduate School
and to the student's academic unit. This statement shall be included
in the letter of appointment.
