Welcome to the team!
Now that you've accepted a position, there are a few things that you need to take care of before you can begin your employment. The offer letter that you received from us will be the best guide in helping you determine what you need to get done before you can begin your CAship.
- I-9 Form: Check your offer letter to see if you will need to come in and complete an I-9 Form. If your offer letter includes a section about the I-9 form then we do not have one on file for you and you will need to follow the instructions provided in the letter.
- English Evaluation: International students, including Permanent Residents, are required to pass an English competency evaluation prior to holding a CAship. If your offer letter states that you need to complete the English Evaluation, please contact the Language Center to request a waiver or schedule an appointment. You can visit their website here for additional information.
- CA Training: Check your offer letter to see if there's a paragraph starting with "CA Training". If so, you are likely a new CA and will need to complete a mandatory CA Training held for all new CA's. If you need to complete the training then you will receive an email from Meredith Hutchin prior to the start of the quarter.
- Harassment Prevention Training: Student's that are new to CA-ing will also need to complete the Harassment Prevention Training called "Harassment Prevention for Non-Supervisors." There will also be a paragraph in your offer letter about this training if you still need to complete it. Check your offer letter for information.
Commitment
Now that you've accepted your offer, you've made a commitment to fulfill the CA position for the entire quarter. You may not subsequently withdraw from your position in order to pursue another job opportunity (e.g., drop the CAship in order to take an RA appointment). You are required to be on campus and ready to work from the first day of class through the completion of finals grading. Contact the instructor as soon as possible about any time that you will need off or if you have any questions about the dates in which you will need to be available as a CA.
Office Hours
Connect with your faculty member to determine when you should hold office hours. If you need to book rooms for TA Office hours, please contact Bettina Santos.
Reimbursement Requests
For midterm and final exam grading sessions, the CS dept will cover $10/person for a single meal. If you have reimbursement requests, please contact Danielle Hoversten at dhoversten@stanford.edu.
Room Scheduling for Midterms, Alternate Final Exams
If your class is having an alternate final exam or midterm, please let Danielle Hoversten (dhoversten@stanford.edu) know at the beginning of the quarter to ensure you get the right rooms. The larger the class and the later the request, the harder it is to find an appropriate room.
OAE Exam Rooms
If your course needs to book rooms for OAE exams, you are able to book Gates building rooms in GIN if you have a CSID, here: http://gin.stanford.edu. If you are not able to find enough OAE rooms in GIN, please contact Danielle Hoversten (dhoversten@stanford.edu) and she can help with booking rooms outside of the Gates building.
For information about exam seating for students with distraction-reduced accommodations, please visit here: https://cs.stanford.edu/academics/course-assistants-cas/current-cas
Poster Sessions
Poster boards, easels, and tacks are available to be lent out to students for poster sessions. Please contact Danielle Hoversten at dhoversten@stanford.edu early on in the quarter if your course needs to find a poster session venue and to also borrow poster session equipment. Equipment and venues are limited and given out on a first come, first serve basis.
FAQ's
I've accepted my offer, what's next? How do I prepare?
This website is a great starting point! First thing will be to read through the information above to make sure you've completed the list of necessities. Be sure to also check out the "Before the Quarter Begins" link below to get an idea of everything you should be aware of. After you've accepted an offer, keep an eye out in the following weeks for an email from Meredith Hutchin regarding the mandatory CA Training and other important information you will need.
When will my tuition waiver go into effect?
The exact timing varies but the tuition waiver will go into effect prior to the tuition deadline.
Fall Quarter - Oct 15
Winter - Jan 15
Spring - April 15
Summer - July 15
When do I get paid?
For the 2018-19 school year, paydates are as follows:
- Autumn Quarter Paydates: October 22, November 7, November 22, December 7, December 22, January 7
- Winter Quarter Paydates: January 22, February 7, February 22, March 7, March 22, April 7
- Spring Quarter Paydates: April 22, May 7, May 22, June 7, June 22, July 7
- Summer Quarter Paydates: July 22, August 7, August 22, September 7
Where can I borrow textbooks for my course?
There is a small library of CS textbooks which are available for borrowing by TAs. Texts are to be returned at the end of the quarter.
Make sure to borrow the textbook for the class if you don't have it. If it is not in the library, contact Danielle Hoversten at dhoversten@stanford.edu to see if the department is able to purchase a copy for you.
Who do I contact to schedule a room/reserve a space for a poster session?
Please contact Danielle Hoversten at dhoversten@stanford.edu for assistance regarding scheduling rooms, reimbursements, alternative exams, poster sessions, and copy codes. Please try and give as much advanced warning as possible!
Should I attend classes?
It is up to the instructor to decide whether you should attend the classes or not. Keep in mind that if you attend classes, you will be better in sync with the class and will be able to develop your own perspective on the material. Additionally, the time after class is perfect to meet the students and let them know that you exist.
When should I set office hours?
If the class is offered to SCPD students, one CA should have an office hour sometime after 6pm, so that SCPD students can come by after work.
Please discuss office hours with the faculty member for the course you're working. Office hours can usually be scheduled flexibly but be aware that if you set an office hour the day before the homework is due, around 4pm, chances are that you will have a lot of students attend.
Another opinion: Setting office hours right before due date is convenient for those who procrastinate. However, it also encourages procrastination. There are a couple good reasons for having office hours a little in advance of due dates:
- It doesn't reward procrastination.
- It recognizes the fact that assignments aren't always flawless. If people need to start looking at the homework well in advance of the due date in order to see what questions they might have for office hours, this provides time for the CAs to correct or disambiguate the assignment, and reduces everyone's stress level.
How do I get access to the course website?
In order to get access to the course website, please contact the IT department here.
How do I get added as a CA/TA on Canvas?
Contact the instructor if you would like to be added as a CA/TA on Canvas.
Should I prepare assignments? Solutions?
CA's are not typically responsible for creating assignments but you may be asked to prepare solutions if the instructor doesn't already have them. It is a good idea to prepare solutions in the light of the errors you saw the most often made while grading. At the end of a solution, you may list typical mistakes and the reason why these are mistakes, so that students learn by the mistakes made by others (you will at the same time reduce the number of requests for regradings).
How do I make copies?
A copy code can be used for each class to make copies of needed documents. This code works on all copy machines in the Gates building. For big copy jobs, it is recommended to use the fastest machine (Gates 169). For help with the copy machine or if you notice we're running low on paper, please see Hector Gamez (Gates B18).
