Teaching Assistants shall be offered appointments and re-appointments in the following ways:

• New graduate students: The Director of Graduate Studies, upon recommendation of the Graduate Admissions and Recruiting Committee, shall offer teaching assistant positions to students in this category for a one-year term, renewable for the second year subject to satisfactory performance of duties and satisfactory progress toward a degree in physics, as mentioned in Article 3 below.

• Enrolled graduate students who have not been offered a teaching assistantship: TA offers to students in this category shall be made by the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the student’s graduate advisor. The term of appointment may be on a semester-bysemester basis.

• Re-appointments: Offers of re-appointment shall be made by the Associate Head after consultation with and on the recommendation of a student’s graduate advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The term of the appointment offered shall be established in consultation with the student and his/her advisor.

• Preference for advanced students: A student in his/her second or later year of graduate study may request an appointment as a teaching assistant for a specified length of time. It is understood that students who request and accept these offers have obligated themselves to serve as teaching assistants until the end of the semester, regardless of alternate forms of financial support (fellowships, research assistantships) which may become available at a later date. Students who request and are denied a position under the conditions here may avail themselves of the grievance procedures described in Article 7.

• Students enrolled in other graduate programs: Students enrolled in graduate programs outside of the School of Physics and Astronomy may be employed as teaching assistants in Physics or Astronomy under the terms of this policy statement but with the following modifications:
  • Appointments and re-appointments normally will not be offered to such students when qualified Physics and Astronomy graduates are available to fill the positions. The duration of such appointments and re-appointments shall be arranged for one or two semesters to match the teaching needs of the School of Physics and Astronomy. Such appointments and re-appointments will be contingent upon written certification by the department or program in which the student is enrolled that he/she is making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree. It shall be the responsibility of the prospective teaching assistant to insure that this written certification is provided to the School of Physics and Astronomy.