Overview

This page explains the staffing and scheduling process for Specialized Faculty (SF) and Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs). 

Undergraduate-level courses in the Department of English are assigned to instructors by English Department administrators based on departmental need, instructor eligibility, and instructor preference. This staffing process is designed to provide SF and GTAs with their preferred courses as often as possible while staffing the courses needed by the department. This document outlines the staffing and scheduling process for SF and GTAs in as much detail as possible. Unique situations will always arise, but this document is intended to provide standardization and transparency for all parties involved.

How to Request a Staffing or Schedule Change

Occasionally, an instructor may need to request a teaching assignment change because of a change in circumstances. Request a change by contacting the relevant Course Director and the Office Manager.

Changes cannot always be accommodated. If an instructor wants to resign from a class, for example, the department may need to first cover that class before releasing the instructor. Communicate with Course Directors about your plans and options as early as possible.

Staffing Process

Step 1: Semester Course Schedule Creation

Course schedules are created by the undergraduate studies Office Manager and the relevant course directors* based on departmental needs, enrollment, room availability, instructor qualifications, and other relevant factors as appropriate. The timing of course schedule creation is determined by Facilities and Management Services and student registration schedules, but this process generally begins about nine months prior to the beginning of a given semester.

*Course Directors

BTW: Director of Programs in Professional Writing
CW: Director and Associate Director of Creative Writing
ENGL: Associate Head of English
RHET: Director and Associate Director of the Rhetoric Program

Step 2: Gathering Eligibility, Preferences, and Needs Information

In October (for Spring courses) and March (for Fall courses), all SF and GTAs are asked to complete the Appointment and Course Request Form. The Appointment and Course Request Form is made and sent out by the office manager in consultation with the program directors. Because the English Department is responsible for all employees, everyone needs to fill this out even if they are not requesting teaching for the upcoming semester.

This form usually requests the following information:

How each person will be funded for the upcoming semester and their related appointment percentage request (33%, 50%, 66%, or 100%).
The number of classes they are requesting to teach.
What other appointments the instructor has secured or is pursuing for the upcoming semester.
The instructor’s ranked course preferences based on their eligibility.
The instructor’s teaching day and time preferences.
When they are unavailable to teach for academic (graduate course enrollment, etc.), professional (other appointments, committee conflicts), and/or (confidential) personal reasons.
Whether the instructor prefers back-to-back classes, access to specific classroom technologies, and/or specific locations.

Information on Training: All GTAs teach in the Rhetoric program for their first year of teaching. Graduate instructors participate in a teaching orientation, enroll in a teaching proseminar in the fall (ENGL 593), and participate in a year-long peer mentor program.

Information on Funding Eligibility: All English Department employees who are guaranteed funding will be staffed first (SF and GTAs in good standing). GTAs who are out of funding may request classes through the above-mentioned form and will be staffed to open classes (often BTW and RHET courses). Depending on college approval, the department may run a national SF search to cover unstaffed RHET and BTW classes.

Step 3: Staffing Creative Writing (CW) Classes

All Creative Writing classes are scheduled by the Director and Associate Director of Creative Writing. MFA students teach CW courses as a part of their progression through the MFA program. Eligible SF teach CW courses that may be open after tenure-track faculty are scheduled. The process for assigning SF to CW courses is captured in a document titled “Eligibility Criteria & Application Processes for Specialized Faculty.” Please consult the Directors for details.

Step 4: Staffing ENGL Courses in Literature and Film

The Associate Head of English makes the ENGL schedule based on English major requirements, general education requirements, and tenure-track faculty requests, in consultation with the English Department advisors and the Director of Graduate Studies. After tenure-track faculty are staffed, SF and GTAs are assigned to literature and film courses based on course availability, instructor eligibility, seniority, and preference. GTAs are prioritized for 100- and 200-level classes in order to give them a range of teaching experience and to help prepare them for the job market. Note that some SF are staffed with tenure-track faculty if they have special circumstances (partner hires, hired to teach specialized classes, etc.).

Step 4.a.: Staffing ENGL Courses with Graduate Teaching Assistants

GTAs interested in teaching literature or film courses become eligible by doing one of the following:

Completing the literature or film teaching proseminar for credit.
Serving as a TA twice for a large lecture course in English (ENGL 209 or ENGL 255) taught by a faculty member. 
Eligible GTAs interested in teaching literature and film classes are then assigned to the available classes they have requested in the following order:
TAs for the large lecture courses (ENGL 209 and ENGL 255) are assigned first. These assignments are made based on graduate instructor preferences in combination with the preferences of the faculty instructors leading those classes. TAs are encouraged to reach out to faculty directly if they would like to TA for their classes.
GTAs in their first semesters of eligibility are assigned to classes first to ensure that they get the teaching experience they will need on the job market.
GTAs are then assigned courses by seniority in the following order: 7^th year, 6^th year, 5^th year, 4^th year, 8^th year, 3^rd year, and 2^nd year.
If two GTA instructors request to teach the same class, the instructor who has not taught the class previously will be given priority.

Step 4.b.: Staffing ENGL Courses with Specialized Faculty

Specialized and higher-level ENGL classes will be available only to SF after tenure-track faculty are staffed, including 300-and 400-level classes. ENGL classes at the 100- and 200-level open after the GTA staffing process will also be assigned to SF based on qualifications and preferences. The details for these processes can be found in the document titled, “Policy for Staffing Specialized Faculty to 100-200 ENGL Courses.”

Step 4.c.: Scheduling ENGL Courses with Multiple Sections

Once the course assignments are made, instructors are assigned to the day/times of the courses previously established by the Associate Head and Office Manager. In the case of classes that offer multiple sections (ENGL 104 and ENGL 109), instructors will be assigned based on the following factors:

Instructors are assigned classes on complementary teaching days to limit their number of days on campus. (For example, if an instructor is already teaching a MWF course, they will be assigned a second MWF course.)
Instructor preferences and personal situations, including the timing of graduate coursework.
If multiple instructors have the same ranked teaching day/time preferences and availability but a limited number of sections is available, instructors will be assigned to sections based on past teaching days/times to facilitate a rotation (e.g., TR in fall, MWF in spring).