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Teaching Assistant Designations - New Values

In conjunction with the project to identify how graduate students are contributing to teaching, new values have been created in CLSS to indicate who is teaching a course. There are now three separate values that can help assess how a TA is contributing to teaching. 

  • TA: This is a full TA and has permissions to build Canvas content, enter grades in Canvas and Post grades to Peoplesoft. Indicates that this is a graduate student functioning as the primary instructor for the class section.  (Please be advised that this new TA role allows posting of grades, so you may need to adjust anyone who was previously listed as a TA to one of the new TA roles. Graduate Students functioning as Primary Instructors should be moved to this new role.)
  • TA-Grading: Does not have ability to change course content in Canvas, but has grading responsibilities and would assist a faculty member with course instruction or grading. Typically, you would see someone in a TA-Grading role AND a Primary Instructor listed for a single class section.
  • TA-Peer: No grading permissions, often used for a TA that acts as a tutor and provides office hours, but nothing else. Typically, you would see someone with a TA-Peer role AND a Primary Instructor listed for a single class section.

Primary and Secondary instructors will continue to function as they previously have and roles are also defined in the table below.  As part of these new role definitions, adjustments have been made in the online schedule to include information about instructor type.  These new values will also migrate into Canvas and the course evaluation system.

 
Designation

Primary Instructor

Secondary Instructor

TA TA-Grading TA-Peer
Function Professor, Faculty, or Adjunct Faculty who functions as the primary instructor for the course section May act as a guest lecturer or contribute content to the course, but does not have a primary teaching responsibility

Graduate Student functioning as the Primary Instructor.

Has Full Canvas and grading permissions
Works alongside a primary instructor and may assist with grading assignments or papers, etc. Provides peer tutor or office hours, does not assist with entering grades
EDIT Canvas Content Yes No Yes No No
VIEW Grades in Canvas Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
ENTER Grades in Canvas Yes No Yes Yes No
SAVE Grades in Canvas Yes No Yes Yes No
VIEW Grades in PeopleSoft Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SAVE Grades to PeopleSoft Yes Yes Yes Yes No
POST Grades to PeopleSoft Yes No Yes No No
           
Listing in CLSS Primary Instructor Secondary Instructor TA TA-Grading TA-Peer

Course Evaluations Description

Primary Instructor Secondary Instructor TA TA TA
Online Schedule Listing Instructor Instructor TA TA TA
Translation from TBP Course Inventory Memo (Check with your Department Chair if you have questions) N/A N/A TA1 TA2 TA3
Last Updated: 3/18/26