UTA Program

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) support instruction in courses in the chemistry department by co-leading undergraduate laboratory and discussion sections.  This program provides an opportunity for UTAs to enrich their chemistry knowledge and strengthen communications skills.  In addition, students in the courses benefit from the effective near-peer teaching and mentorship practices.

The UTA application for Spring 2024 will open in the first week of December 2023.

The courses that will be using UTAs in Spring 2024 are:

• C341 Organic Chemistry I
• C383 Human Biochemistry
• C127 Principles of Chemistry and Biochemistry Lab
• Other courses may be added once we have more information on the teaching needs for Spring 24.

Description of UTA Program and Duties

After prior mentorship as undergraduate teaching interns enrolled in CHEM‐X371, students may apply to be hired as hourly Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) at a rate of $15/hour and following all guidelines outlined by Indiana University. UTAs, having been trained as UTINs previously will be responsible for leading discussion or lab sections with continuing guidance from the instructor and other Associate Instructor(s), i.e., AIs, for the course.

We will follow Indiana University policy with regard to duties and responsibilities asked of UTAs.

Tasks may include:

• Attend lecture and/or discussion to assist in active learning activities.
• Attend weekly AI/UTA meeting with course instructor.
• Attend laboratory report writing sessions and assist undergraduates in this work.
• Complete pre-lecture reading/assignments.
• Assist with or lead laboratory sections (a highly selective position).
• Assist with or lead office hours and discussion sections.

All UTAs will be required to complete FERPA and Title IX online training through our Chem-UTA Canvas site. To be clear, UTAs will not enroll in CHEM-X371 but rather will be added to the Canvas roster in order to complete and document the aforementioned FERPA and Title IX training.

Any UTA assigned to work in a laboratory will be required to complete standard AI lab safety training.

Duties for UTAs will not include:

• Grading of any subjective component of the course.
• Assigning grades.

UTAs will be evaluated continually to ensure they meet or exceed the standard of excellence in teaching that we expect of our graduate student AIs.