It is time to begin planning for the upcoming academic year. The following discusses a number of issues with which you should be concerned. It lists below some do's and don'ts and free advice, more or less as I thought of them. Some deal with issues in teaching; some are designed to help increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your work; and some are just plain rules you have to follow. I will be happy to talk to you about any of them.

 
1. Your text should be ordered as soon as possible. It should be cleared with me prior to ordering. I approve all mainstream texts. Please give your order to Ms. Hicks in the main office or submit it online.

 

 
 
 
 
 

2. I need to see and approve your syllabus before it is duplicated. You should try to get this to me as soon as possible. You should have your syllabus to me a month before classes begin. If any of you wish to have a mini-seminar on syllabus construction, I will be happy to set up a meeting.

 

 
 
 
 
 

3. Various elements of the University (the graduate school, the Center on Teaching, CLAS) have workshops on teaching during the semester. I would encourage you to attend them.

 
1. Security is a problem in our two graduate student offices. Books get stolen. Make sure to lock the door if you are the last to leave the room. If you are alone in the room, watch for visitors who may visit others' desks. Used textbook buyers will bother you over the course of the year; they should never be left alone in those rooms.

 

 
 
 
 
 

2. The Department has paper for sale, $1.00 per ream, for your use. Never under any circumstances take paper from the Xerox room. The xeroxing arrangement between Socology and Political Science is delicate and taking paper from them is not good.

 

 
 
 
 
 

3. As you perfect your teaching skills, one of the things you will need to learn is that not everyone can get an "A". Beware of grade inflation. The typical class usually has a median grade point average of around 2.7, counting only those students who complete all exams. Please see me if your average grade on any examination or major assignment is above 3.0. Finally, please place a note on your syllabus that no Incomplete grades will be given in your courses. These become a real problem down the road, for you, for the department, and for students. If students who are failing can work the system to figure out a way to drop the course, my advice is to sign off. Otherwise, just give them the grades they deserve. You need to learn to be hard-nosed yet friendly and supportive of students in academic trouble. This will be one of your most difficult tasks. A caution: many TA's have learned that offering "extra credit" work is the easiest path to grade inflation. I discourage you from offering extra credit.

 

 
 
 
 
 

4. Each of you should have three hours of office hours per week. These office hours are to be held in your office on campus, not at the Burger King, on the lawn, or wherever. If you will be late for these hours, call the main office so we can leave a note on our desk saying you will be back at X o-clock. Notes saying, "I will return in 15 minutes," do not help much; the reader does not know if you will be back one minute or fourteen minutes after reading it. In general, I advise you to limit your office hours to three per week and try very hard to keep your meetings with students confined to your official hours. Sometimes special appointments are necessary but keep them to a minimum. One of your real challenges will be to balance your teaching with your other work.

 

 
 
 
 
 

5. The Department has regular seminars (The Gerald Leslie Colloquium Series, recruitment), and your attendance is expected. This is a good way to learn.

 

 
 
 
 
 

6. You must have a professor visit your class once each semester. I recommend that you invite a member of your committee (ideally, your major professor) to do this. This can be useful when it comes time to write letters of recommendation for jobs because your professors can say, "I have seen X teach." In any case, I expect to hear from you before the midpoint of the semester with the name of the person who will visit your class and the date on which this will occur. Please do not fail to do this.

 

 
 
 
 
 

7. The Department office is happy to Xerox materials for your courses. Just drop off what you need copied and give at least 24 hours notice (more is better). There is a "T.A. Xeroxing box" in the office with a cover sheet that needs to be filled out. Please keep copying to a maximum of ten copies per enrolled student per semester (i.e., if you have 50 students, we would expect you to Xerox no more than 500 copies per semester). These limits may be raised. Alternatively, you should use off-campus Xeroxing businesses, the reserve room in the library, the web, or make copies for the students and pass around a coffee can for folks to reimburse you. And starting this semester, all syllabi and exams can be photocopied through the department.

 

 
 
 
 
 

8. Should you have athletes in your class, please see their special tutor - to be named later. Note the twelve-day rule in the undergraduate catalog: athletes can miss 12 class days each semester when they are in season. They are, however, responsible for obtaining the notes. 

 

 
 
 
 
 

9. Remember that you are not only teaching, you are learning to teach (this is true of all faculty, too, but more true for student teachers). In the mail room we have the Tables of Contents from old issues of Teaching Sociology. If you see a title there that interests you, let Professor Radelet know and one of our work-study folks will go over to the library to copy it for you. Allow some time for this to happen. In addition, the University Center for Excellence on Teaching has a lot of information, seminars, and programs that will make each and every one of us better teachers. Use these services liberally. The department will pay for copying.

 

 
 
 
 
 

10. No student should attend your course who has not paid the course fee. In past years it was not uncommon for a student (with consent) who did poorly in Semester A to audit the course in Semester B, and then have the grade from Semester A changed to the grade for Semester B. Those deals are no longer possible.

 

 
 
 
 
 

11. If you cancel a class for any reason, even if the night before Thanksgiving, the day before homecoming, or any other time, please notify me and the main office-ahead of time. If you become ill, please try to find a substitute and keep me and the front office informed about what is going on.

 

 
 
 
 
 

12. The secretaries can duplicate examinations if you submit them to Ms. Mary Robinson at least one week ahead time. Please do not go in at the last minute and ask for secretarial services. Please be polite and professional with the secretaries. Ms. Robinson will give you the latest word on her constraints (e.g., deadlines and the format required on diskettes you give her).

 

 
 
 
 
 

13. If you give multiple choice examinations, the university has a procedure that scrambles the questions and answers (Parkino), making each exam unique. It is nearly impossible to copy from one exam to another. I advise you to learn how this system works. See the Exam page for detailed instructions.

 

 
 
 
 
 

14. The University requires that all faculty and T.A.s attend a seminar on sexual harassment. You will receive more details about this event in the Fall. This will affect new TA's.

 

 
 
 
 
 

15. The Provost has asked all faculty and T.A.s not to use students' social security numbers in posting grades.

 

 
 
 
 
 

16. Please know that both Professor Radelet and I are prepared to assist you in any way we can. My direct extension is 231; Radelet's is 225. Also, please feel free to call either of us at home. Radelet's number is 375-0277 and mine is 378-1797. My email address is: lbeegh@soc.ufl.edu, Radelet's is radelet@soc.ufl.edu. I am hardly ever in the office during the summer but check for email messages several times a day.