Department Policies   >   TA Loads and Time Commitments

Weekly hours
During a given quarter, you will most likely be contracted as a 25% or 50% TA. This number basically stipulates the average number of hours you are supposed to work on TAing each week. Technically, 50% corresponds to 20 hrs/wk and 25% to 10 hrs/wk. However, this department officially relaxes these standards in the interest of coursework and research. Thus, in practice, you should observe the following guidelines:

50% -- no more than 15 hrs/wk
25% -- no more than 8 hrs/wk
Keep in mind that you can't get compensated for overtime as a TA. It's your responsibility to stick to these guidlines, and if a professor you're TAing for is making unreasonable demands of your time, then you have reason for complaint.

So how are you expected to spend these hours each week? This varies greatly depending on the class, professor, and individual, but here's a standard breakdown for a 50% TA working a 20B class:

  • Conducting sections -- 4 hrs
  • Holding office hours -- 4 hrs
  • Prep time/meeting with prof -- 3 hrs
  • Bookkeeping/emailing students -- 1 hr

    This only adds to 12 hours, of course. The remaining 3 are reserved for proctoring and grading exams, which don't happen every week. But when they do, they take more time. So while the average is 15 hrs/wk, this really means ~12 hours during most weeks, and ~18 hours during exam weeks.

    TA assignment load types
    What does your TA load mean in terms of how many sections you TA? The answer depends on the class. Here's how it breaks down:

    Lower division (<100 level) classes, exluding 31 -- Each section is worth 12.5%. Thus a 50% load would carry 4 sections.

    Upper division (>=100 level and 31) classes -- Each section is worth 25%. Note that often times an upper division class will only have one section due to smaller enrollments, and a 50% TA assigned to such a class would have to TA another 25% elsewhere.