Essential Information for Teaching Assistants
Your First Semester
Required Courses and Preparation
Once you’ve been informed of your Teaching Assignment, review the training activities for your assigned program . TAs assigned to the Composition First-Year Writing Program must enroll in ENG 511, Theory and Research in Composition, in their first year to prepare for their assistantship. You may enroll in fall or spring.
TAs assigned to teach creative writing will shadow an MFA faculty member in their first year as they prepare to teach in the second year. TAs assisting faculty in Film or Linguistics will receive information from a faculty supervisor once these assignments are finalized. No special course registration is required for these teaching assignments in other areas. TAs in all programs will attend meetings and workshops, shadow a faculty mentor, and participate in other preparatory activities throughout the year. You’ll learn more from your TA supervisor during your orientation meeting.
Course Load and Registration Requirements (MA, MFA, MS)
The standard full-time graduate course load is 9 credit hours for all programs. You are considered full-time if you are enrolled in 9 credit hours or more during your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd semesters. In your 4th and final semester, you may enroll in fewer than 9 hours if that's all you need to complete your degree (3 hours at minimum). You will still be considered full-time for GSSP purposes.
Each semester you must be registered full-time by Census date (usually the 10th day of class). If you are not registered full-time by this date, your GSSP benefits will be automatically discontinued. Unfortunately, the Graduate School cannot make any exceptions, so please make sure that you are registered correctly. This means that you need to check the number of credit hours for which you are enrolled, not just the number of classes, as some classes have variable credit hours (e.g. ENG 636, 695).
Teaching Assistants are not permitted to take more than 9 hours in a semester. The DGP may approve overloads only in special circumstances when overloading is required to maintain a student's anticipated graduation date. Course overloads for TAs require consultation with the student's teaching supervisor.
Important! 18-hr Requirement (MA, MFA, MS)
TAs must earn at least 18 hours of graduate credit in the field of English in their first year in order to be eligible to teach their own ENG classes in their second year (in composition, creative writing, or professional writing). Please be mindful of this accreditation requirement as you select courses in your first year. Courses must have an ENG prefix to count towards these hours.
Graduate Student Support Plan (GSSP) Information
Health insurance coverage and tuition remission are provided through the Graduate Student Support Plan (GSSP) for incoming and current graduate TAs. Graduate TAs are responsible for understanding the terms of the GSSP and meeting its eligibility requirements at all times as covered on the Graduate School's website.
Extent of Appointment
Teaching Assistantships are one year appointments renewable for a second year as indicated in your Terms and Conditions letter. All TAs are limited to two years by the terms of the GSSP. TAs may take summer classes, but those who do pay their own tuition. Health insurance, however, remains in force during the summer.
Workload
Teaching Assistantships at NCSU are defined by the Graduate School as one-half-time appointments. The workload in English thus averages about 20 hours per week. Depending on your teaching assignment, this workload may be somewhat lighter in the first year, when you’ll be beginning your training and assisting other instructors, and heavier in the second year, when you may be teaching classes of your own.
Constraints on Additional Employment
Please note that your appointment as a TA places some constraints on your eligibility for other employment on campus.
--- First, of course, is the workload. Your assistantship duties are designed with your full-time courseload in mind; you must maintain a 9-hour load and stay in good academic standing each semester to retain your assistantship. We do not recommend taking on additional employment lest it affect your success in one or both of these arenas.
--- A second constraint is the campus payroll system. Students on assistantship are technically permitted to work up to eight or nine extra hours per week with the approval of their departments. But if that limit is exceeded you will be ruled ineligible for your assistantship (because you'll no longer look like a full-time student). To avoid jeopardizing your TA appointment, check with the Director of Graduate Programs before you commit to any additional employment.
Ebills
Students will receive an ebill approximately one month before the beginning of each semester. For TAs, the in-state tuition charge is covered and the mandatory student health insurance fee is removed under GSSP. Tuition and the student health insurance will appear on your bill, but you may ignore those charges because they will be removed at a later date. TAs are responsible for other charges on the bill, including fees. A thorough explanation of required fees is provided at the Student Services Center page, "Explanation of Tuition and Required Fees." For more information about tuition, fees, and estimated annual expenses, please visit the Student Services Center page, "Tuition and Fees." For information regarding fee payment, with Tuition Management Systems (TMS) or financial aid, please visit the “Bills, Payments and Refunds” page at Student Services Center.
Direct Deposit
Direct Deposit is mandatory for TAs. The deadline is one week prior to your first paycheck. Please refer to the bi-weekly pay schedule to see when you will receive your first paycheck. Remember, your first day of hire is August 16th so please look at the payday for the pay period in which August 16th falls. You will want to have direct deposit completed at least one week before your first payday.
Information about enrolling in Direct Deposit can be found at the NC State Human Resources webpage entitled, "Direct Deposit Information."
Please note, even if you completed direct deposit for financial aid, you must also complete direct deposit for your role as a TA.
Health Insurance
You will be automatically enrolled in the Graduate Student Support Plan's RA-TA Health Insurance Plan if you meet the minimum requirements on the GSSP Eligibility Summary (Checklist). Under the RA-TA Health Insurance Plan, you will be automatically waived from the university's mandatory Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).
If you prefer to keep your own personal insurance, please be sure to submit two different health insurance waivers. One for the RA-TA plan and another for SHIP. These waivers must be submitted by the waiver deadline. The deadline and instructions are posted on the GSSP webpage. Please be aware, after you submit your two waivers, SHIP will require you to continue submitting waivers for future semesters. Instructions on how to waive SHIP can be found through Student Health Services.
If you choose to be automatically enrolled in the RA-TA plan, please make sure to update your home address on MyPack Portal to the location you would like to receive your health insurance card. If you would like to print out a temporary card, please visit the GSSP website for further information.
Residency
Please refer to the Residency page on the left side menu for details and instructions.
GSSP Handbook.
TA Carrels
All TAs are assigned to a carrel (cube). The carrels are located on the second floor of Tompkins. The cube assignment/directory is posted outside office T221 and the outer corners of carrels. Cube assignments are posted at the start of classes each year. You will be assigned a desk. The desks are set up to accommodate personal laptops and come with hutches for storage. Your desk and hutch may be locked as well. Please see the Graduate Services Coordinator in Tompkins Hall 246 to sign the key agreement and pick up your key.
Computers, Printers, and Copiers
Please peruse the general guidelines and instructions for computer access and printing for all students at the "Essential Information for New Graduate Students" page.
Second year TAs are given an allocation for department copiers that are to be used only for their role as TAs. Print copies are limited to brief (1-2 page) handouts for classroom use. Most teaching materials can be easily posted for students on a course Moodle site or made available through the libraries’ electronic reserve or via printed course packs. Printing and copying access will be discontinued when the department's limited printing budget is exhausted.
Mailboxes
Each TA is assigned a mailbox located in Tompkins 245 (located within the Student Services Suite T246).