Policies Regarding Teaching Assistants and Graders

Should the need be present and evidenced for grading or teaching assistant support, faculty are encouraged to approach first their home unit for funding. Should unit support not prove possible, faculty are eligible to request funding support from the dean’s office. Requests will be reviewed and approved by the Dean in consultation with the Associate Deans and relevant dean’s office staff. Given the time from submission of the request to having a student hired and in place can take a couple of weeks, or more, faculty should submit their requests well in advance of the start of the academic semester when possible.

• To request a Grader – a course must have 35-40 students enrolled. An approval of grader funding covers up to 50 hours of student work. Graders can be undergraduate or graduate students. Additional hours needed will require additional review and approval.
• To request a Teaching Assistant – a course must have an enrollment of 40 or more. Teaching Assistants for undergraduate courses must be graduate students.
• Faculty interested should work with their administrator to submit the Dean’s TA/Grader request form via Adobe Sign. This form must include the title of the course in question, the current enrollment and waitlist numbers, along with a short rationale for why the need is present. This form and any further questions should be sent to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, the Senior Associate Dean of Faculty and Graduate Programs and should cc' Christy Montecillo, Director of Finance (cm207@rice.edu).

Please note: The criteria above are specific to requests for funding assistance from the dean’s office. Unit criteria and processes may vary.