All TAs are provided an appointment letter that details terms of employment. Save a copy of your appointment letter to ensure you have continuing access to this information. More information about the general terms of employment can be found from Graduate Education and Life. If you have questions about your appointment at any time, please contact the main office.

Regular teaching assistants are expected to work 20 hours per week including preparation time and office hours, in addition to class and meeting time. For the typical Physics and Astronomy TA, 8-9 hours are spent on instruction, 2 hours are spent on office hours, and the remaining time is dedicated to meetings and preparation. Some assignments, such as ASTR 106L and lecture demonstrations, will have slight adjustments to how their 20 hours are spent. Certain assignments, such as Planetarium or lecture demonstration duties, may involve minor adjustments to the allocation of these 20 hours.

Maintaining a safe and respectful campus environment is a shared responsibility. Upholding professional behavior and ethical standards is essential for all members of the university community. To ensure these expectations are clearly defined and consistently applied, TAs are expected to follow a series of policies and expectations of professionalism. All students at West Virginia University are required to follow the  Campus Student Conduct Code, as outlined by the West Virginia University Division of Student Life. 

Title IX applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education, including state and local educational agencies. WVU’s Title IX obligations touch all areas of the campus community including, recruitment, admissions, and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; sex-based harassment; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; discipline; single-sex education; and employment. WVU and members of the campus community may not retaliate against any person filing a complaint against the University or another campus community member for participating in an investigation of a complaint.  Learn more from the Office of Compliance and Prevention Education.

Professionalism can be understood through nine core pillars: communication; planning; preparation; reliability; punctuality; deportment; respect for the organization; common sense; and confidentiality. These pillars provide a framework for TAs to navigate their roles with integrity, responsibility, and respect.

• Communication
• Communicate promptly and clearly.
• Check your email multiple times a day.
• Reply to emails from your supervisor and students as soon as possible to indicate you have received the message. Provide a time that you will get the request completed.
• Always use your university email address for all communication. Remember your university email address is part of the public record, as it may be accessed by the university or through a Freedom of Information Request.
• Planning
• Prioritize your TA responsibilities alongside coursework and research.
• Anticipate changing time demands, such as grading periods and test weeks, and plan your tasks accordingly.
• Preparation
• Familiarize yourself with the syllabus, grading policies, and important dates.
• Review reading assignments, homework, and solutions in advance.
• Complete labs and exercises thoroughly before presenting them to students.
• Reliability
• Complete tasks on schedule and fulfill your responsibilities consistently.
• Remember, instructors may be managing hundreds of students, so your reliability helps them maintain order and effectiveness.
• Punctuality
• Arrive early or at least on time for all classes and labs.
• Chronic lateness or absence sets a poor example for students and reflects negatively on both you and the department.
• Deportment
• Dress appropriately, and avoid clothing that conveys unintended messages.
• Maintain good personal hygiene.
• Ensure adequate rest and avoid activities that will compromise your teaching performance.
• Respect for the Organization
• When asked for feedback, provide constructive suggestions rather than expressing dissatisfaction about courses, instructors, or fellow TAs to students.
• Maintain a professional demeanor in all interactions, both in and out of class.
• Common Sense
• Do not date students or engage in social activities that blur professional boundaries.
• Avoid discussing politics or religion in class.
• Never meet with a student one-on-one behind closed doors.
• Confidentiality 
• Do not share teaching materials, student information, or course content outside of authorized channels.
• Sign the online Code of Confidentiality upon gaining access to teaching materials on eCampus.
• Maintain the privacy of all student interactions and course-related communications.
• Remain compliant with FERPA.

What you should do...

• Arrive for your lab a minimum of 5 minutes early.
• Maintain a safe environment and retain control of your classroom.
• Enter your lab grades promptly, if required to do so.
• Maintain a good learning environment wherein students are paying attention and on task.
• Have your students return the laboratory to the neat state you found it in.
• Make sure all meters and power supplies are off, and all circuits disconnected.
• Get to know yours students' names.
• Understand emergency procedures.
• Understand how to handle mental health issues .

What you should not do...

In the event of problematic students...

• If you set clear rules and apply them consistently, it is extremely rare that you will have problems with students.
• To deal with a student who is disruptive or disengaged, give them a warning. Explain how you expect their behavior to change and that they will not receive full credit if the behavior continues.
• If the behavior continues, let them know that they will not receive full credit for the lab and that you will pass the problem on to the instructor if the behavior does not improve. The number of points removed depends on the level of the problem. 
• If the student is really causing significant problems, then contact the lead instructor at this point. Explain the situation to the lead instructor and they will take care of it. 
• Problems that you ignore, grow. Be responsive!
• During the day, the staff ( Ben Lukk and Miranda Heitz ) and the chair ( Prof. Maura McLaughlin ) can help with serious problems. Consider programming the main office phone number into your phone (304-293-3422) to quickly reach them for support. After hours, the WVU Police Department can deal with situations that get out of control (304-293-3136). 

Information about accommodations at West Virginia University can be found via the  Office of Student Accommodations (OSA). Review the  Accommodation Myths section of their website, where a few of the most common and unhelpful myths about accessibility are debunked.

If a student has chosen to report a disability to the University or in some other way qualifies for special accommodations, then you and the lecture instructor will receive an email from OSA the Office of Student Accommodations detailing the student's accommodation. Generally, accommodations involve additional time for lab quizzes or testing. 

Some students may have mobility restrictions, requirements that they are permitted to eat and/or drink during lab, or that they need frequent breaks or visits to the restroom. A student's health always comes first.

If you have a question or wish to discuss a matter related to accommodations with a student, always do so privately. Never speak about a student's accommodations publicly.

Beginning in Spring 2026, all TA office hours will be hosted in the P&A Instructional Support Center (ISC) , located in White Hall, Room 121. The following policies apply to office hours in White Hall:

• Staffing, Hours, and Availability
• All instructional Teaching Assistants (TAs) are required to work a minimum of two (2) hours per week in the Instructional Support Center (ISC). 
• In rare cases, additional hours may be offered on a voluntary basis depending on student demand, enrollment, or staffing needs.
• TAs with fewer assigned laboratory or instructional hours may be scheduled for additional ISC hours to ensure an equitable workload across the teaching team.
• Absences and Make-ups
• If you are unable to attend your office hours, you must notify your students via eCampus and email, and Ben Lukk (Academic Lab Manager II), at least 24 hours in advance.
• It is not required to find coverage for your office hours; however, you are expected to make a good-faith effort to make up missed hours within the same week, if possible.
• Schedules
• Semesterly ISC schedules will be finalized within the first two weeks of the term.
• Semesterly ISC schedules will be posted online in the Undergraduate Academic Support Hub and physically within the ISC (White Hall, Room 121).
• Any changes to scheduled office hours must be communicated to Ben Lukk (Academic Lab Manager II) within 24 hours, when possible.
• Workspace Maintenance
• At the end of each session, TAs are responsible for maintaining a clean and organized workspace.
• All whiteboard tables, boards, and shared materials must be wiped down and reset. Please ensure markers are capped and materials are returned to their designated places.
• In the event something is broken or damaged, please contact Miranda Heitz (Academic Program Assistant II).
• Professional Conduct
• TAs are expected to maintain a professional, respectful, and supportive environment in the ISC.
• Interactions with students should promote learning, uphold academic integrity, and respect the standards of the department and the University.
• Evaluation and Feedback
• Staff will periodically collect feedback from students and instructors to improve operations and resources.
• TAs are encouraged to provide input on scheduling, procedures, and student needs to support the continuous improvement of the ISC. 

On the lab wall and in the lab safety manuals located in each room's desk, you will find a collection of emergency numbers. You should have access to these numbers as you teach in the unlikely event that something happens. Some numbers shared with you are private, and should be programmed into your phone but not shared publicly.

Assembled are a few major points related to lab safety and emergency protocols:

• EHS Training: To work as a TA, you must have current EHS Hazardous Waste Training. Please contact Miranda Heitz for information about how to access the training module.
• Fire Alarm: Any time the fire alarm is activated, evacuate the building. Know where the nearest exit is located, and if that exit is blocked, the next nearest alternative. If you have a student with disabilities in your lab, take them to the nearest safe handicapped pick-up point on the floor. Never use the elevator in an emergency situation.
• First Aid & Medical Emergencies: You are not expected to bandage wounds or set broken bones. However, in extreme cases, you should be able to help until professionals arrive. Contact Emergency Services at 911 for any medical situation where you are concerned for the student's safety. Note that WV has a Good Samaritan law.
• Lockdown Incidents: "Stay in place" or "shelter in place" mean that you should not leave the room or building until notified otherwise by University Police. Learn more at the WVU Emergency page.
• Laboratory Activities: Most safety issues are physical, mechanical, or electrical hazards, with a limited number of non-ionizing radiation hazards. Safety issues will be discussed at weekly TA lab meetings. Remember, you are responsible for student conduct in the laboratory. There are legal consequences for failure to uphold safety measures, such as by leaving the room during lab, not informing students about a hazard, or leaving broken/damaged apparatuses available for student use.
• Weather Emergencies: Sign up for WVU Alert to get text messages about university closures or other weather events. If there is a tornado warning, have your students take cover in the basement using the stairs. If any part of your lab occurs during a university closure, then the entire lab is cancelled. These closures will be announced via WVU Alert and your WVU email address.

Proctoring

Most of you will proctor examinations as part of your TA assignment. As with any university, it is essential to maintain academic integrity. Be attentive during exams to help prevent cheating, and if you observe any form of academic dishonesty, address it immediately and follow the appropriate reporting procedures. Learn more from the Office of Academic Integrity, and review the Student Academic Integrity Policy.

What you should do...

• Be strategic in how you seat the class. Strive to separate students by at least a seat.
• Clearly state and enforce backpack and cellphone policies. Students should not have backpacks and/or cell phones at their seats while testing.
• Discourage unnecessary questions from students which draw your attention away from proctoring.
• Discourage trips to the restroom, unless required by accommodations.
• Convey the impression that you are actively looking for dishonest behavior.
• Aim to move around the room in coordination with other TAs/proctors.
• Require all material to be on the surface of the desk and not in a student's lap.

What you should  not do...

• Do not read, work on homework, grade, or check your cell phone while proctoring.
• Do not proctor only from the front of the classroom.
• Do not allow cell phone use, backpack access, or disruptive behavior.
• Do not leave the room unattended.
• Do not work on the test.

Recent cheating incidences have involved the use of cell phones or smart watches to communicate multiple-choice answers or to text pictures of the exam to an outside party. In other cases, students have disguised their cell phones as calculators, or sit on their phones to hide them. Another common form of cheating is modifying the exam after it has been returned. To prevent this, you must be vigilant when exams are being turned in.

If a student is behaving suspiciously, ask them to move to a seat at the front of the class. If you discover a student with a hidden cell phone, photograph the student's ID and report it to your lead instructor immediately. Collect solid evidence of the student's identity. 

If you suspect cheating, but you cannot prove it, make a copy of the student's exam before their next exam is returned, and notify the instructor. If the student cheats one, they are likely to cheat again.

Grading

One of the most important parts of grading is to provide clear communication to the students about the score on the problem, where the problem was incorrect, and how many points were lost. The information must be communicated in a way that the student or another TA could understand. 

Your supervisor will establish standards for communication with regard to grading, so be sure you are attentive to their preferences. Be careful with handwriting and ensure symbols you use are clear. For example, a checkmark and an "X" can appear similarly if they are carelessly written.