Assistant Director
Overview
This page explains the policies and procedures dictating the appointment of the Assistant Directors (ADs) to the Program in Professional Writing (PPW).
The Assistant Director (TA) provides administrative and instructional support to the Program in Professional Writing (PPW), its instructors, and students. The Assistant Director reports to the program directors and works collaboratively with all members of program staff.
It is important to note that while the Assistant Director provides valuable labor for the program, it is first and foremost a training and professional development opportunity for graduate employees.
Eligibility
Graduate employees in the Department of English are eligible to apply for the Assistant Director (TA) for the Program in Professional Writing. Applicants should meet the following criteria:
- At least two years’ experience teaching writing at the college level
- Interest in the development of the PPW program and of writing programs as academic units in the university
- Experience with and/or interest in wiki-based web publishing
- Excellent organizational and communication skills
- The ability to work both collaboratively and independently
- Demonstrable leadership and respectfulness when working with differences in students, instructors, faculty, and staff
- Experience teaching Business and/or Technical Writing (preferred, but not required)
Duties
The primary duties of the AD-TA focuses on updating current courses, recruiting new graduate instructors and advocating on their behalf, and writing the Annual Report. More specifically, the AD-TA’s primary duties include:
- Assist with the editing and redesign of the PPW wiki
- Research current trends in professional communication to support course revisions and material creation
- Construct or update master CMS page content
- Provide support to Graduate Employees in the program
- Collaborate on the writing of the PPW Annual Report
- Assist with file organization and project tracking
- Carry out other duties as assigned by the program directors
Compensation & Terms
The initial appointment for the Assistant Director is usually for 1 academic year, or 2 consecutive semesters starting in the Fall semester. There is an option for renewing this position for a second year. After that, this opportunity should be opened up to other graduate employees in the department for professional development.
Appointment dates for this position in the Fall begins August 16 and ends December 15. Appointment dates for this position in the Spring begins January 16 and ends May 15. The compensation for this position consists of, at least, a 33% appointment or equivalent of 1 course release for each semester appointed. An additional summer appointment may be associated with this position if needed and approved by the Head, which is then compensated by 67% appointment for service dates 5/16 – 7/15. A summer appointment for this position must be submitted to the departmental HR representative or Business Manager with a copy of the Head’s approval confirmed via email.
Review & Feedback
Feedback practices for the PPW should be a two-way conversation about the effectiveness of both the Assistant Director and the management the Director provides. Evaluative criteria should be discussed and agreed upon shortly after the start of the appointment followed by a period of time appropriate for assessing this criteria.
Leading up to a feedback session, the Director may solicit input from staff and instructors who have worked closely with the Assistant Director. Once feedback is collected, a review session can then take place which may vary in formality depending on the preferences of those involved. At this review session, feedback on the Assistant Director’s performance of duties and the Director’s management should be exchanged. The end of this review session should result in a list of goals for each and a review period should be agreed to. In general, 1-2 review sessions per semester is recommended in order to provide enough time to assess performance, but there it is good practice to provide informal feedback between review sessions to let each party know how they’re doing in pursuing their performance goals. Additional review sessions may be requested by either party in order to re-evaluate review criteria, negotiate pay or other conditions, and more.
Near the end of the Assistant Director’s term, a final review session should take place to reflect on the overall accomplishments of the Assistant Director and to create the basis for a formal letter of record that the graduate employee can use on the job market.
Timeline & Process
Before a search for a new Assistant Director begins, the Director should confirm with the Head that support for the position will continue. It is helpful to emphasize that the position is a continuation of one that already exists, how it has been compensated in the past, and that it represents no increase in expenditures for the department.
During the final Spring semester, either a decision to renew the current appointment for a second year should be made or a search for a new Assistant Director should begin. Ideally, the search should be concluded before staffing of Fall courses. A general guide is to email all department’s graduate student listserv an advertisement for the position by the first week of February and a new Assistant Director selected by early March.
Eligible graduate employees are usually asked to submit a CV and cover letter to apply for the position. The Director reviews the applications to determine who to offer interviews to. As a result of the interview process, an offer should be made to the top candidate based on their ability to perform the duties as advertised. Once a candidate accepts, the Director will forward the acceptance to the Undergraduate Office Manager detailing the appointment percentage to be applied to the TA/SF Assignment Spreadsheet. That sheet will eventually go to the department HR representative or Business Manager and the HR Processes and Training Coordinator so that they can be written into the graduate employee’s official department offer letter. Any offer letter regarding this position should be a Teaching Assistantship, not a Graduate Assistantship. At the course staffing meeting, it’s important to make sure the selected applicant’s course releases are correctly applied.
If an AD needs to be hired after the official department offer letter has been generated, then the Director should email the department Business Manager and HR in LAS directly who will then send the graduate employee an updated offer letter.