Working With Your Instructor

Your instructor is your supervisor for the TA job, and most of what makes a TA semester go well or badly comes down to that relationship: knowing what is expected, having room to use your judgment, and being able to say so when the work does not fit the hours. Common problems: TA agreements that never arrive, duties that are never written down, lab scripts with no word on whether you can adapt them, short turnarounds, and work that creeps past the hours. This page covers what to settle early, what the UMass contract says, and how to raise a concern so it gets fixed. Most instructors want this conversation; they are busy and simply have not had it.

Defaults that work. If you only take four things from this page:

Have the first meeting early and email a short summary of what you agreed afterward.
Log your hours. Numbers make the workload conversation easy.
Raise a problem early, with facts and a suggestion: "I've averaged 14 hours on a 10-hour appointment for two weeks, mostly grading. Could we try ___?"
You are not on your own. The chair, the GEO steward and the Ombuds Office are there if a conversation with your instructor does not work.

What the contract says

TAs at UMass are covered by the agreement between the university and the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO, UAW Local 2322), 2024 to 2027. The parts that matter most for workload:

A job description (Article 20). Each TA "shall receive, with their appointment form, a job description" that includes "the number of hours of work required, a summary of the duties and responsibilities of the position, the duration of the appointment, and a list of any required meetings and training programs." Once course assignments are made, a more detailed description comes, if appropriate, within two weeks. If you do not have one, ask for it.
Professional judgment (Article 21). TAs "shall have reasonable latitude to exercise their professional judgment within their area of expertise in deciding how best to accomplish their assignments within the scope of the directions given" by their supervisor.
Hours (Article 22). "No graduate student employee will be instructed to work more hours than their contract stipulates." Supervisors may not require, suggest or "otherwise create the expectation" of more. You may not be asked to work more than 10 hours in a single day, or more than twice your contracted weekly hours in a single week.
When the work doesn't fit (Article 22). Either the contracted hours are increased, or the job is restructured to fit. The contract's own examples: "switching from essay to multiple choice, adding graders, limiting number of essays." The department chair discusses it with the TA.
Training counts (Article 41). Required pre-semester training counts toward your contracted hours.

The first meeting

Ask for 20 minutes in the first week, and bring this list. You will not need every question, but each one you settle now is a misunderstanding you avoid in week 8.

How many hours a week is my appointment, and how should they split across duties?
Can you put my duties in writing, or point me to the job description?
Do I attend lecture? How many office hours, when and where?
What do I run (lab, discussion, review sessions), and who writes the materials?
If there is a lab script, how closely should I follow it, and where can I adapt?
What has to stay the same across sections and TAs?
What do I grade, with what rubric, and how quickly? Will the graders calibrate?
Which decisions are mine (regrades, extensions, late work), and which go to you?
What should I do if I suspect academic dishonesty?
Which weeks will be heavy, and how will we keep the total within my hours?
How much notice will I get for short-turnaround tasks?
How do we communicate, and are evening or weekend replies expected?
Will we have a regular check-in? Would a short weekly update by email help?
How should I pass on what students are struggling with?
Will I get feedback or an observation on my teaching?
Who do I tell if I can't make a session?

Afterward, send the summary (script A below). It takes five minutes and gives you both the same record.

During the term

Keep a simple log of your hours by task. When hours become a question, the log answers it.
Send a short weekly update, if your instructor likes them: what you did, what students are stuck on, anything coming up. Three lines is enough.
Flag heavy weeks before they happen, not after. "Homework 4 and the midterm land in the same week. Could grading for one move?"
Pass on what you see. Instructors value hearing where students are stuck. It is one of the most useful things a TA does.
Use your judgment within the plan. Adapting how you run a section to reach the same goals is usually yours to do (Article 21). Changing the goals, the deliverable or the grading is your instructor's call. When unsure, ask first (script C).

Raising a concern

A pattern that works for any concern: the facts, the effect, and what you would like. Say what happened (specific, not "always"), what it does to your work or to students, and one or two options. Start with the person closest to the problem, allow a little time, and follow up in writing.

When the concern is about how someone acts, the Situation-Behavior-Impact model keeps it fair: name the situation, describe what was said or done, say its effect, and then ask how they see it. You may be missing context.

Scripts

A. Duties in writing, after the first meeting

"Hi Professor ___, thanks for meeting today. Here's what I understood: [duties, office hours, grading, expected hours a week]. Could you confirm or correct anything? If there's a department job description for this position, could you point me to it? Thanks, ___"

B. Hours creeping over the appointment

"Hi Professor ___, a quick flag. Over the last two weeks I've averaged about [N] hours against my [M]-hour appointment, mostly from [grading Homework 3]. I want to stay within the appointment. Could we talk about options, such as a shorter rubric, grading a sample, sharing the grading with another TA, or moving a deadline? I'm free [time] this week. Thanks, ___"

C. Adapting a lab script

"Hi Professor ___, in Friday's lab several students got stuck at step 4. I'd like to try [a five-minute warm-up] in my section, keeping the same goals and deliverable. Is that OK, or would you rather all sections stay the same? I'm happy to report back on how it goes. Thanks, ___"

D. Declining extra work

"Hi Professor ___, thanks for thinking of me for [task]. With [current duties] I'm at my [M] hours this week, so I can't take it on without dropping something. If it's a priority, which of [X or Y] should I set aside? Otherwise I could start it on [date]. Thanks, ___"

E. How students are talked about (in person is best)

"In Tuesday's staff meeting, when we talked about the late submissions, students were described as [phrase]. It worried me, because TAs pick up that framing and students can tell. Could we talk about how we discuss students as a team? I may be missing context, so I'd like to hear how you see it."

F. No answer

"Hi Professor ___, following up on my [date] email about [topic]. I need an answer by [date] to [reason]. Could we take ten minutes after Wednesday's meeting? Thanks, ___"

If it isn't resolved

Most problems end with the first conversation. If one does not, you have options, roughly in this order:

Your instructor, with the facts and a written follow-up.
Your department's teaching coordinator or graduate program director, who assign and support TAs.
The department chair. Under Article 22, workload that does not fit the hours is discussed by the chair with the TA.
The GEO steward for Computer Science or GEO's grievance coordinator, for questions about your contract rights. GEO lists overwork as a common contract violation and asks members to get in touch early.
The UMass Ombuds Office, at any point, for confidential, informal advice on how to handle it.

A faculty mentor, or whoever runs TA training in your department, can also help you think it through and point you to the right person.