<p>Wanted to get some feedback from the collective wisdom of cc. </p>
<p>Just was made aware of a situation at a highly selective LAC that claims to have no TAs at all, but has a required intro course in a very popular department (in fact a department that this LAC is "known for") with 75 students, where the students need to go through the "peer tutor" with questions before they can access the prof. </p>
<p>The peer tutor, who is a junior, also grades all the homework assignments. Students are upset about the situation, in no small part, because the peer tutor is unprofessional (lots of swearing), not effective in explanations and has already drawn attention to their position of power: "you need to be nice to me, I grade your homework!"</p>
<p>This college makes a very big deal of its undergraduate focused education, no TA's ever etc. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on potential courses of action for students or even parent feedback ? -- this is not the product the college was selling to parents when they were writing the $50,000 plus tuition check</p>
<p>Agree, a group of students and the dean is the best course of action. In general “homework” doesn’t count for much in college but if the students are not learning because they are not getting appropriate feedback on the homework or in study sessions with an aide that is cause for concern but the students should take up the concern and as a group they will have more cred. A TA that is a teaching fellow generally teaches, an aide generally grades papers, runs study groups, etc. so it’s possible a college says they do not utilize TAs was talking of teaching fellows. Mine are at small colleges and there are no TAs that “teach” per se, but there are aides who grade homework papers, run study groups etc. in the 100 level gened classes.</p>
<p>My niece, who recently graduated from a top LAC, assisted a professor in one of their freshman seminar (writing) courses. This surprised me, but apparently this practice was quite the norm. I’m sure it was also one of her duties to grade papers as well. I don’t know how many kids were in the class, but I’d venture to guess it was about 20-30, given the size of the school.</p>
<p>In terms of “thoughts” about this practice: I’d be especially annoyed with a class size of 75 kids if I had chosen that school for its small classes. I always thought that was the one nice difference between a large university and a LAC. </p>
<p>I was happy that my niece got the experience so she could pad her resume, although I knew teaching is not “her thing”.</p>
<p>If the TA is unprofessional, swearing and flaunting her power, a group complaint to the professor would be step one. The Dean would be step two. I would think the college could find someone who could use the money and still manage to actually do a good job.</p>
<p>As for the misleading sales tactics… a TA by any other name is still a TA in my book. She may not be teaching the lecture, but if you have to go thru her to get to the professor, she’s running the tutoring session AND grading homework, I’d consider that a TA.</p>
<p>Agree with steps one and two, but you can take it further up the chain. I’m a professor in a small LAC, and if I were the student, here’s what I’d do.</p>
<ol>
<li>Obtain at least two other students to sign a letter of complaint to the professor; keep a copy. Explain that you would like a resolution to the problem by the end of one week. Wait one week for resolution.</li>
<li>If no resolution, create similar letter to the dean, enclosing copy of the previous letter (documenting a paper trail). Make sure you copy the professor on the letter to the dean. Wait one week for resolution.</li>
<li>If no resolution, create similar letter to the college president. Enclose a statement of support from parents. Enclose copies of the two previous letters, and copy the professor and the dean, so they can see you are now contacting the president. Wait one week for resolution.</li>
<li>If no resolution, draft a letter to the president of the board of trustees, enclosing all copies. Copy the professor, dean, and president. Ask for a face-to-face meeting, and if you’re feeling especially angry, raise the legal issue of misrepresentation of services.</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m almost positive things would be resolved at step 3. But if you’ve gone all the way through step four and have copies of this well-documented paper trail, you could stop by a lawyer’s office next.</p>
<p>I agree that communication with the professor is the first step. A student or a group of students should contact the prof to share the concerns. If that does not help, then go to the next level.</p>
<p>In terms of TAs, not all do the same type of work. A graduate TA at a large university usually teaches a discussion section and grades some of the work. By contrast, undergraduate TAs usually do not have regular teaching duties. It sounds like this undergraduate student is a reader/grader and also serves as a kind of gatekeeper for the professor. I think a complaint would be more effective – and more likely to get a response – if it focuses on this particular situation rather than on more general concerns about TAs.</p>
<p>This is one of the drawbacks of an undergraduate only LAC, and it is nothing new. LAC’s don’t have grad students to do this type of TA work. When I took Physics and Chemistry at Pomona College back in the late 1970’s, we had undergrad sophomores, juniors and seniors serve as combination homework graders and laboratory assistants. They never “tutored” us formally, nor did they ever help us solve any problems. We got that kind of help at the professor’s weekly evening review session instead instead.</p>
<p>Back in the dark ages, I graded calculus homework my senior year at a research university that had plenty of grad students. The TA for the section that I graded homework for was technically a senior, but was getting a Masters as well. I don’t think grad student TA’s or even undergrad TA’s are necessarily a problem as long as they are very familiar with the material. (My friend had probably done Calc in 9th or 10th grade.) I think I did a good job of correcting homework, but I never had to interact with students. When I took Calc I got most of my help from a math lab that was manned by a combination of undergrad and grads. They were great.</p>
<p>In any event if the TA is a problem (and it sound like he/she is) I’d get a group of students and go directly to the professor.</p>
<p>Bullpoop. Not your fault, they have probably just convinced you this is the case.
Professors at LACs have small classes AND are not expected to do much by way of research compared to professors at research intensive universities. </p>
<p>I am a professor at the latter, with likely larger classes than my colleagues have at a LAC, I have won numerous awards for my research AND I do all my own grading and meet with students using an open door policy (no office hour limits). I know all my students by name, I write letters of recond, I have students over for dinners, I buy them lunch and so on. My students pay about $6k a year to attend our school. I’m not special at all. But I’m tired of the con job in my industry.</p>
<p>To answer your question, I would encourage you to first go, as a group, to the professor, then the department head, and so on…working your way up until you have a satisfactory resolution.</p>
<p>Message to LACs:
If you think that having an undergrad actually be a TA, or an assistant, or grade anything, is OK - please have the person paying tuition sign an agreement beforehand.
We who are paying assume that the professor is actually teaching, grading, and editing rough drafts.</p>
<p>I was floored when one of mine applied for a TA position at her Huge Fancy Name school as a sophomore. She told us lots of her friends did it. Take the class, get an A, be a TA.</p>
<p>I am shocked! Having UG student as TA and lead the lab? Grading? These “jobs” must be created under the notion of “work study”… Is that what we paying full tuition for? what a bull!!!</p>
<p>Both of my kids have been undergrad TAs (at large universities, not LACs). They graded papers and tutored students at office hours. They were not used as gatekeepers to limit access to the professors, and as far as I know, graduate TAs are not used in this way, either.</p>
<p>At the universities they attended, if you want to see the TA, you go to the TA’s office hours. If you want to contact the professor, you go to the professor’s office hours or contact the professor by e-mail.</p>
<p>What shocks me is not the use of an undergrad TA but the attempt to limit access to the professor.</p>
I’m not seeing the big deal about having undergrads grade things. It’s not exactly rocket science - especially things like math and science, where a fairly objective standard can be set up. I once had a Junior grading for me, he has a little harsher than I might have been with the points, but he did a good job overall.</p>
<p>An undergrad TA at a LAC isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many years ago I was a TA at Williams - I helped grade tests for a large lecture class (after meeting with the professor to go over the grading rubric) and in another class I demonstrated a lab technique and then supervised students as they went through the lab. I was just helping around the edges - the professors were fully accessible to the students. These were not work study jobs - TA jobs were given to those who had done very well in the class. I wouldn’t have a problem with my kids encountering a TA in similar circumstances.</p>
<p>In the case of the OP, that’s a pretty atrocious experience, and I agree the student should be following up with the professor.</p>