L&S Teaching Assistant/Grader Staffing and Expenditure Plans

TA/Grader Staffing Documents & Deadlines

• TA & Grader Staffing and Expenditure Spreadsheet
  • Blank: TAGraderPlans_Blank.xlsx
  • Example: TAGraderPlans_Example.xlsx
• Deadline for 2020-21 academic year:
  • Monday, March 2, 2020
• Submit the spreadsheet via Box or by email. Naming convention: Yourdepartmentname_TA allocation 2020-21
  • Box: Submit in the departmental Teaching & Learning Admin folder, TA_Graduate subfolder ("48-##00 TA_Graduate"). Please note, Box access is typically limited to chairs/directors and department admins.
  • Email: Send to Amanda Mahr

Contents

Detailed instructions for the TA & Grader Planning Spreadsheet

The planning spreadsheet is meant to be filled out in order. The list of courses on the ‘Dept Details’ worksheet will be referenced by the other worksheets.

1. Complete the information on the ‘Dept Details’ worksheet.
Update the worksheet with basic details at the top (department name, your name, etc.).

• Course Number & Title. List the courses that have teaching assistants and/or reader/graders, along with the credit range, planned capacity, and previous enrollment.
• Funding. Some common funding sources are pre-filed (e.g., TA 101 Budget, Summer Revenue). Please update or add funding sources as necessary (e.g., departmental 131 accounts).

2. List your TA and Grader positions on the 'TAs & Graders' worksheet.

• List your departmental TA rate at the top of the form. 
• Use the ‘Teaching Assistant Plans’ and the ‘Grader’ plans tables to indicate your planned appointments for the upcoming year. 
• Please note that the ‘Course Number & Title’ and ‘Funding’ fields are dropdowns that are populated by the previous page (Dept Details).
• The estimated salary for TA appointments will be calculated automatically based on the values in the following fields:
  • Department TA rate (top of the page)
  • # of TA’s 
  • Timeframe 
  • Appt %
• If you select ‘Other’ for the timeframe, you will need to calculate the salary estimate on your own (using a tool like FLOAT) and enter it in the ‘Est. Salary’ column. 
• The ‘Est. Salary’ column is not locked against editing.
• Please enter multiple rows per course if necessary. 
• The estimated salary for grader appointments will be calculated based on the hours listed, using the current grader rate.

3. (Optional) Add additional information on the ‘Notes’ worksheet. This page can be used to explain the background of the TA positions or any other non-standard details, e.g., changes from previous years due to responses to enrollment patterns, new courses, etc.

4. Summary – Course. Please do not make changes; this page is informational only, and will display estimated salary costs by course.

5. Summary – Funding. Please do not make changes; this page is informational only, and will display estimated salary costs by funding type.

6. Calculations. Please do not make changes; this page is informational only, and displays the spreadsheet's automated salary calculations.

7. Upload

• Upload your completed spreadsheet to your departmental BOX Teaching and Learning Admin folder, TA_Graduate subfolder
• Use the naming convention: Yourdepartmentname_TA allocation 2020-21
• Submit the report by March 2, 2020.

101 Funded TAs & Readers

Funding line for most 101 funded TAs and readers: 101-A48##71, where '##' is the department number from your unit's UDDS.

All 101-funded TA expenditures will be charged to the department’s TA budget sheet at the end of the fiscal year. Any overspending on that budget sheet will result in a one-time charge to the department’s tally sheet.

Recognizing that departments have received ongoing tally sheet credits intended to help cover the costs of enrollment expansion, we anticipate that some of these credits will be shifted to the TA budget sheet to offset permanent increases in TA spending.

If your department is receiving one-time support on fund 101 from sources such as FIGs, Honors, Other Schools/Colleges, etc., these credits will be itemized on your TA budget sheet. You are strongly encouraged to review your TA budget sheet to understand the fiscal implications of your plan. Please contact Assistant Dean Mary Beth Roberts with questions regarding your TA budget sheet on the BSR.

Approvals and Next Steps

Curricular Planning

The Course Guide entries must match your planning for enrollment limits and the structure and number of lab/discussion sections. Departments need to carefully monitor enrollments, both during the priority registration periods for the fall and spring semesters but also during the summer and January SOAR sessions. Within the approved expenditure plan, a department may reallocate resources between courses and semesters as needed.
Please contact Associate Dean Shirin Malekpour before making significant increases or decreases to your TA expenditures. This is necessary to discuss your planning in the context of course enrollments throughout the College.

HR/Personnel Steps

Please contact Associate Dean Shirin Malekpour if you are making any changes in appointment levels and workloads.

Departments may begin to work on their TA offer letters once the approval is confirmed. The most up to date template letters are available on the Gateway. Please contact your STS/SA HR Repfor personnel issues related to TA and reader appointments.

Contacts for L&S Administration

• L&S Teaching & Learning Administration: Shirin Malekpour, Associate Dean
  • shirin.malekpour@wisc.edu
  • 263-2506
• L&S Human Resources
  • Laura Fisk, HR manager for STS/SA Appointments
    • laura.fisk@wisc.edu
    • (608) 265-3333
  • STS/SA HR Rep: https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/60443
• L&S Budget Office: Mary Beth Roberts, Assistant Dean
  • marybeth.roberts@wisc.edu
  • 263-6894

See Also:

• L&S TA Early Report
• L&S Graduate Support Guarantee Requests
• Memo to L&S Chairs on BSR Changes for STS and TAs for FY19