Simply stated, UTAs and ULAs are undergraduate students who assist in courses by providing peer instructional support through a variety of means.
Both UTAs and ULAs bring significant value to a course’s instructional team. In most cases, UTAs and ULAs have successfully taken the course. They are aware of the student perspective for the course. They know how to study for exams, how to do the homework, and some may even have suggestions on how the course could be improved.
Instructors who involve UTAs and/or ULAs in their courses are their supervisors. In this regard, they are responsible for the activities of their course’s UTAs and ULAs. Some key considerations and requirements for working with these students are as follows:
- ULAs and UTAs have a maximum of 10 hours per week that they can work.
- ULAs and UTAs must be compensated for the work that they do
- ULAs and UTAs must not be encouraged or persuaded to volunteer their time to perform their duties
- ULAs and UTAs must not be required to perform duties beyond which they are assigned (i.e., support with research)
- UTAs and ULAs are required to receive university- and program-provided training (i.e., FERPA, Ethics, and ULA training). Time for these trainings draw from the weekly time during which ULAs and UTAs are required to perform their duties.
Recently, several faculty members gathered in a workshop to share their experiences working with undergraduate teaching and learning assistants (UTA/ULAs). The goal of the workshop and the presentations was to share information about how UTA/ULAs can help deliver course content, ideas of how to best use and mentor UTA/ULAs, and pointers to ensure a beneficial experience for your faculty members, your UTA/ULAs, and the students in the course.
This video is intended both for instructors who currently utilize (or plan to use) UTAs or ULAs in their courses: UTA ULA Workshop_20200929.mp4
Any questions about the program can be directed to Drs. Ali P. Gordon (ali.gordon@ucf.edu) or Melissa Dagley (melissa.dagley@ucf.edu).