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his memo is to inform all Computer Science graduate students of the departmental philosophy and policy on graduate teaching assistants (TAs). If you have any questions, please contact the professor of record for your course, or contact me directly.

WE TAKE EDUCATION VERY SERIOUSLY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
UVa is a major research university, but it has a long tradition of high quality education that its students, faculty, and alumni hold very dear. While you will certainly have many other responsibilities, including your own course work, you have a responsibility to your students. Remember that the money you receive as a graduate teaching assistant is paid for by the university to enrich your students' educational experience.

BEING A TA CAN BE A PERSONALLY ENRICHING EXPERIENCE
Although the professors do almost all the lecturing at UVa, the teaching assistant is often the individual who spends large amounts of one-on-one time with students. Communicating technical information verbally and in writing is a critical skill; most graduate students find it to be a stumbling block during their studies. Being a TA gives you an excellent opportunity to improve your own presentation skills. View your job as a chance to help other people, not as distractions from your own work. When you were an undergraduate, you probably had both good and bad TAs. Think hard about which kind you want to be.

SO MUCH FOR THE CARROT, NOW HERE'S THE STICK
This almost never happens, but you should know about it, just in case. In the very rare event that a TA does a bad job, it can be grounds for the Department Chairman to withdraw funding. In short, you are being paid to do a job, and if you do it poorly enough, you can be fired. This is rare, and always regrettable. But we will not tolerate bad TAs at UVa.

YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BEHAVE AS A PROFESSIONAL
Most of this advice is obvious, but we spell it out here, just in case. You are expected to exhibit professional behavior as a teaching assistant. Treat your students with respect at all times: never belittle them, or make them feel as if they are a nuisance to you. Even when they behave improperly, respond professionally. You're older and more mature than they are, and you are expected to handle their lapses properly. Tone is important: calmly stating, "I'm sorry, but I'm busy just now; let's schedule to meet during office hours," is much better than snarling, "I told you to bother me only when it's my office hours!"

TREAT GRADING AS A POSITIVE PROCESS, NOT A NEGATIVE ONE
The main purpose of evaluating a student's work is to provide feedback on how that student has done and how he/she can improve in the future. Emphasize the positive aspects of the work, and congratulate the student on them. Where a student's work could be better, tell them how their work can be improved. It is completely unacceptable to view the process of grading as simply "deducting points" and producing a number as the final product. When you mark a student's grade down, you must tell them why you did so. The best way to be fair to your students is for you and the professor teaching the course to establish grading standards (and write them down) before you start grading the assignments. Whenever possible, try to grade assignments without knowing which student's paper you're reading.

SOME ABSOLUTE RULES

1. Do not date your students.
2. Do not embarrass your students. If you have something sensitive to discuss with a student, make sure that the discussion is held in private.
3. Do not discuss students, or their work, with other students in the course.
4. Do not blame your students. There are some well-known horror stories where TAs have told an entire class "You all. must be incredibly stupid, because no one got question 7 right." If a large number of students are having trouble, the teaching staff is to blame, not the students.
5. Always explain the reasons for a student's grade on an assignment or examination.
6. Remember that you are a teaching assistant, and that the professor is ultimately in charge of the course. Consult with him or her as necessary.
7. Deadlines, such as for grading an assignment, are to be met.
8. Office and/or laboratory hours are to be kept. If you have a problem, try to arrange for a substitute. At the least, let the instructor know.
9. Your duties as a TA do not end until the instructor indicates that you are no longer need for the course.
10. Unauthorized absences, such as for vacation, are not permitted.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE
This memo is intended to give you a feel for the department's attitude and policy on how teaching assistants should perform their duties. For most of you, this will be the first time you've helped run a course, and a lot of it will be new to you. Don't hesitate to ask for help when you're not sure about things; you're expected to do the best you can, not to be perfect. If you care about doing a good job, everything else will follow.