Month: August 2010

University Council approved a new policy governing the additional employment of graduate assistants:

Unless specified otherwise in the assistantship agreement contract, graduate students on full assistantships are not prohibited from seeking additional employment (restrictions may apply to international students). Students should consult with their academic advisor and/or assistantship supervisor as applicable regarding the fulfillment of their assistantship and graduate study responsibilities. Students must notify the Graduate School about any additional employment, including the period of employment, name and contact of employer, and job title or short description of duties.

The Graduate School is developing an new application for students to report additional employment. In the meantime, students on graduate assistantships must notify the Graduate School by email. The email should be addressed to Dr. Karen DePauw, kpdepauw@vt.edu, and include:

• Student name
• Student ID number
• Department and academic level
• Name of assistantship supervisor
• Information about additional employment such as period of employment, name and contact of employer, and job title or short description of duties.

Since 1991, Virginia Tech has conducted the Graduate Teaching Assistant Workshop (GRAD 5004) to assist GTAs in developing as a teacher. The workshop is designed to provide recommendations and advice by experienced and dedicated faculty, staff and graduate students in topics related to being a successful university educator.

The GTA Workshop is offered in two parts:

• Phase I: Two half-day workshops, all parts mandatory
• Phase II: Twenty-eight short sessions, of which students must select and attend three.

Course communication, resources, assignments, and grading will occur via a Scholar website.  Workshop sessions will be focused on three themes:

1. Climate & Diversity: Develop appreciation of and strategies to handle different cultures, learning styles, and beliefs that you might experience in the classroom.
2. Ethics: Consider the various ethical issues you may be challenged with in the classroom and learn how to prevent or handle infractions.
3. Teaching Techniques & Skills: Presentation of and experimentation with best- practice strategies that enhance student learning.

Visit the GTA Workshop website for further details.