U25; LA Faculty Request

The estimated time to complete this form depends on request, but is typically 10+ minutes.

Link to Video Walk Through & Direction (if needed)



Program Coordinators:

Please contact your department coordinator if you would like to learn more, or if you would like their assistance completing this LA request form:


Biological Sciences - Renee Dawson dawson@biology.utah.edu

Chemistry - Michael Gruenwald michael.gruenwald@utah.edu

Mathematics - Matt Cecil mcecil@math.utah.edu

Physics & Astronomy - Claudia De Grandi claudia.degrandi@utah.edu

Science Research Initiative - Josh Steffen joshua.steffen@utah.edu

Geology & Geophysics - Peter Lippert pete.lippert@utah.edu

Atmospheric Sciences - Brenda Bowen brenda.bowen@utah.edu



Learning Assistant Team:


Caitlin Gensler, Education Director, Caitlin.Gensler@utah.edu


Kendall Van Horssen, Program Manager, kendall.vanhorssen@utah.edu


You may also contact the LA Program staff with questions or concerns about the LA request process: la-program@utah.edu

Have you had LA support in a previous semester?*

Please use the link below to schedule a short introductory meeting with Education Director, Caitlin Gensler to discuss how LAs can be best utilized in your course!


https://calendar.app.google/cGNeCv89mxuvucRX7


Meetings will be available until the week before student applications open!

Who is requesting Learning Assistants?*

If you are submitting this form on behalf of a specific instructor or team of faculty for a specific course, please indicate here.

Please select your information from the dropdown list, if your information is not listed, select "other".

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Course; example CHEM1000

Section 1: MWF 10am-10:45am

etc


or you can just put the section #s, and I can pull them from course scheduler.

General Learning Assistant Request

You can select all that applies for your course, you can also type in additional requirements. Please keep in mind that these are requirements to be an LA for the course specifically. There is a different section for instructor specific requests.

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Will students by applying through us?*
Would you like to be sent a list for selection?*

Lists will be sent periodically after initial application. Students who you have selected and given referrals to will appear as BOLDED on the lists.

For student applications, what would you like to see included to evaluate LA during selections?

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Do you need a specific number per section or course?*

Learning Assistant Hourly Breakdown

Please enter the estimated BASE hours for Learning Assistants. This will be adjusted as learning assistants cover multiple sections or take on additional hours, but this should be the base hours you would like LAs to be paid for weekly.


If you are requesting for multiple courses, they will an option below that will allow you to build off of the base hours requested.

[PER LA] Weekly Content Prep Hours*

Participate in weekly meetings with the course instructional team to ensure alignment and effective preparation for teaching and support activities.

[Content Prep] Day & Time*

Please let us know what day of the week and time you will be expecting LAs to be available to meet for Content Prep

[PER LA] Weekly Lecture Hours*

Monitor participation, provide feedback, and encourage interaction.

[PER LA] Weekly Lab/Discussion Hours*

Provide assistance and student facilitiation in group settings. Provide hands-on help for lab activities and assist with learning experiences.

Additional Lab/Discussion Sections?*
[PER LA] Weekly Online Facilitation Hours*

Manage, encourage, and maintain student interactions and engagement on online platforms.

[PER LA] Weekly Individual Prep Hours*

Dedicate time outside of class to prepare for mentor hours, small group study sessions, and other support activities.

[PER LA] Weekly: Office/Mentor Hours*

Offer targeted support during designated times, guiding students to resources, and reaching out to those who may need additional encouragement.

[PER LA] Weekly Grading Hours*

Learning Assistants who assist with grading should be performing non-discretionary grading that does not require content expertise. LAs can grade low stakes assignments, participation, and attendance.

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Learning Assistants who assist with grading should be performing non-discretionary grading that does not require content expertise. LAs can grade low stakes assignments, participation, and attendance.

LAs can assist with developing and planning questioning strategies to guide students through assignments but cannot create assignments or assessments questions for grading purposes.

If a Learning Assistant is asked to grade anything beyond low-stakes, it should be communicated to the Education Director to coordinate with the faculty requesting. Some grading may be allowed based upon connection and expectations.

LAs will be required to complete FERPA privacy training as part of their onboarding. This will be a graded assignment. It is the instructor's responsibility to confirm completion, you may request record from us.



By checking the box, I acknowledge and will follow best practices for grading.

Specific Requests & Details

Do you have COURSE Specific Hour adjustments?*

If you are requesting for multiple courses, they will an option below that will allow you to build off of the base hours requested.


Example;

  • SCI 5050: Total Hours Above (11 total)
  • SCI 5052: An additional hour for Content Prep (+1, 12 total)
  • SCI 5053: An additional hour for Office Hours & Content Prep (+2, 13 total)
Do you have SEMESTER Specific Hour Adjusments?*

We are able to compensate LAs for additional semester based hours. Do you have any additional hours you would like to add on that are SEMESTER based and not to be included in their weekly total?


This could be any occurrence that does not happen regularly or consistently.

For example,

  • 10 hours; 2x 5 hours supporting CHEM events
  • 5 hours; 2x 2.5 hour review sessions
[Course] Instructor Request*

On our student application and offer letters, we will be including any instructor requests or preferences. These could include specific skills or experiences preferred to be an LA for the course outside of course requirements. Examples of this could include; experience with google docs, online course experiences, must have availability on Fridays for content prep etc.

Please explain in detail your preferences, we will include this on the student application for your course.

Would you like to set a meeting to discuss?*

If yes, you can use this link https://calendar.app.google/9zfzRQCCtAzrNKhU8 to schedule meeting time with Caitlin Gensler.

Instructor Agreement & Supervisor on Record

Course Supervisor on Record*

Supervisors of Record are indicated when an LA is hired. Since LAs are paid via stipend (equal payments through out the semester based on the number of hours offered), Supervisors of Record are not required to sign off their LA's hours in KRONOS but agree to oversee that an LA is working as close as possible to their offered amount of hours for a week. A Supervisor of Record is generally the instructor of a course or the coordinator of a course with many sections being taught by several faculty.


They are also responsible for communicating with the LA program regarding LAs hired for their course.

If you will not be the Supervisor of Record, please select their information from the list or enter their information in the box, you are able to type if their name is not available.

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  • Content prep meetings are paramount. Instructors or their designees will hold regular instructional team meetings with LAs to align content, share pedagogical ideas, etc. These meetings are typically 60 mins and take place weekly.
  • I understand that New LAs will receive an additional 1 hour each week for SCI5050.
  • Instructors will deploy LAs predominantly in required course sections where they can facilitate active learning.
  • Instructors are discouraged from using LAs for grading, but low-stakes grading and evaluation activities are permitted when they give insight into student thinking and when they support student learning.
  • The instructor should supply a detailed rubric to support such evaluation activities. LAs should NOT grade exams or other high-stakes assignments.
  • As of Fall2024: FERPA training will be required during orientation for return LAs & and during SCI 5050 for new LAs. Please verify with us if you have concerns regarding student's FERPA certification.
  • Instructors will provide feedback to the LA program regarding LA performance immediately (if urgent) or near the end of the semester via a feedback survey.
  • Instructors will serve as a supervisor of record for their LAs unless the department assigns this responsibility to a different individual.
  • Instructors agree to reach out to the LA program throughout the term to report performance of Learning Assistants as needed and the LA program team will provide supports and interventions.
  • Instructors agree to advertise the LA Program in their class(es) when the LA application opens and encourage students to apply.


I, the instructor of record, agree to the conditions stated above.

I, the coordinator, am agreeing to the conditions above.

Program Requests & Your Preferences

LA Program; Marketing Request*

As we grow as a program, we are looking for ways to keep up interest in positions as well as reach all interested students who would like to be LAs. We are looking for opportunities to advertise and gather marketing materials for our program. Some projected opportunities,

  • Social Media; day in the life of an LA campaign, merch challenges
  • Photographs, LAs in action
  • Instructor Recognition & Shout Outs
  • 2x a semester, we will post LA shout outs to our website & around campus with faculty impact.
SCI5050: Training Request*

Starting Spring 2025, during the new LA training in SCI 5050, we are implementing mentorship through informal observations. LAs will be expected to be observed once per semester by the instructor or by a mentor LA. This observation is informal, ungraded, but will be giving the LA feedback for their end of semester capstone. They will be graded on their reflection and insights based upon their reflection feedback.

Please Review Your Request

You may send updates to us anytime prior to the opening of student applications.

I have completed this application to my best ability and will reach out to the LA Program team for any adjustments, feedback, or additional requests.

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