Teaching Support: GSIs and Temporary Hourly Instructional Support

Teaching Support

UMSI provides teaching support for faculty through the ADAA (Associate Dean for Academic Affairs) office. These roles are budgeted and allocated on a course-by-course basis. More details below on the types of support that may be available.

Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) 

Graduate students appointed to regular, semester-duration appointments as teach­ing assistants or classroom instructors are covered by the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) collective bargaining agreement with the university. At UMSI, graduate students working in a teaching capacity are generally employed as graduate student instructors. We are required to ensure that all GSI appointments are fully compliant with the GEO collective bargaining agreement. GSIs are typically hired at a .50 (20 hours per week) appointment. If the workload is particularly heavy, in some circumstances, the percentage can be increased. GEO strictly requires that the average hours of work do not exceed the fraction to which a GSI is appointed.

The current GEO contract can be found here. In this contract, you will find the definition of a graduate student instructor (GSI), which is quoted below:

The title “graduate student instructor” shall be given to a graduate student who:

• Is employed to teach courses, or coordinate, lead, or assist in the instructional process in direct interaction with students in recitation, laboratory, quiz, or problem sessions or to teach or during office hours; or,

• Is employed to provide tutorial instruction on a regularly scheduled and pre-arranged basis throughout not less than one term, but specifically excluding individuals who provide tutorial instruction on a demand or on-call basis, regardless of the frequency of the demand or calls; or

• Is employed on a regularly scheduled and prearranged basis throughout not less than one term to grade papers or examinations in a manner that requires subjective evaluation above and beyond the mechanical or routine comparison of submitted papers or examinations with answers, responses, or elements predetermined as correct or acceptable by another individual or method or(b) provides tutorial instruction. It is understood, however, that the title need not be given to an individual who grades on a demand or on-call basis regardless of the frequency of the demand or calls; or

• Is employed to create and test assignments and exams; explanatory materials for regularly scheduled discussion or tutorial sessions;

• Is an experienced GSI and is employed throughout not less than one term by an academic department, school, or college as a consultant and teaching mentor for graduate student instructors in that department, school, or college and whose activities include but are not limited to; observing GSIs, providing feedback to GSIs; and consulting with GSIs on teaching-related issues.

Generally, GSI support is allocated to a course based on enrollment. The Dean for Academic Affairs authorizes GSI allocations. The GSI process begins in September for the winter term and in February for the spring/summer and fall terms.

Per UMSI PhD Program requirements, UMSI doctoral students are required to serve as GSIs for at least two semesters. GSI assignments are first vetted by faculty instructors and doctoral student advisors. Instructors and advisors should all verify that the assignment is a reasonable fit for the student. If the assignment is acceptable to the instructor and advisor, the doctoral student will be offered the position. Once an assignment is accepted, changes are strongly discouraged unless there are exceptional circumstances after July 15 for the fall term, and November 18 for the winter term. Changes at this stage place significant strain on your fellow instructors and staff who must urgently find a replacement GSI. Due to the late change, the available pool of qualified GSIs may also be more limited.

For courses without an assigned PhD student GSI, UMSI Human Resources will coordinate with the faculty instructor to confirm a position description, which will be sent to UMSI master’s students. Graduate students from other departments may only be hired with the permission of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The instructor screens the GSI applicants, interviews candidates, and confirms the selected candidate with UMSI HR. Instructors are responsible for ensuring that hiring practices comply with the provisions of the GEO collective bargaining agreement. Hiring is not final until all required paperwork and a background check are completed.

Temporary/Hourly Instructional Support

We regularly hire temporary employees to support various teaching functions. These temporary employees are variously categorized under titles such as “graders,” “in­structional aides,” “programmer,” etc. The University’s Academic Human Resources department has generic job descriptions to help classify these positions. Because the University is bound by the terms of collective bargaining agreements with the GEO and LEO unions, temporary instructional sup­port positions must be properly classified, that job descriptions and responsibilities be clear, and the duties assigned must conform to the job descriptions. Positions covered by GEO are considerably more costly to UMSI and entail additional constraints, so it is important to know which type of position we are creating and to comply with the legal distinctions. For example, graders are limited to grading objective assignments and exams based on a rubric; while the grader can explain the rubric to a student, the grader is not allowed to engage in office hours or other instructional activities.

We recognize it can be challenging to find undergraduate support for graduate-level courses, so hiring non-students in these hourly instructional roles is broadly approved.

Instructional Aide (IA)

Eligibility: Undergraduate Students, Non-Students (Course Assistants)

Job Responsibilities:

• Assist in teaching courses

• Preparing instructional materials

• Managing Canvas site

• Give laboratory or clinical demonstrations

• Prepare, administer, and grade subjective and objective examinations and assignments

• Lecture and lead laboratory and recitation sections.

• May interact with students regarding course content or grades

Grader I

Eligibility: students of any level, non-students

Job Responsibilities:

• Score objective examinations and papers at the undergraduate level

• Compute and record test scores

• Graders do not have teaching responsibilities or extensive student interaction

Tutor II or III

Eligibility: students of any level, non-students

Job Responsibilities:

• Teach undergraduate or graduate level academic subjects to students requiring private instruction, including helping students understand course material, build study skills, and strengthen subject knowledge

• adapt curriculum to meet individual needs

• This role is strictly supportive, focusing on review, clarification, and guidance in informal, small-group or one-on-one sessions

• Tutoring complements, but does not replace, official instruction by faculty or GSIs