For assistants holding such appointments in the Spring semester, the exemption extends through the Summer session unless they hold summer appointments of more than 67 percent time. Recipients of assistantships must be registered during the term of employment. In particular, the period between semesters when classes are not in session is not vacation time for assistants employed for the academic year. The Spring break is not vacation time for assistants employed during the Spring semester. Scheduling of the vacation is arranged to accommodate the convenience of the assistant and the director of the research project employing the assistant.
All assistants are eligible for thirteen days of noncumulative sick leave each appointment year.
Teaching Assistants are appointed by the Department, usually for the academic year. In some instances, teaching assistantships may be renewed for an additional semester, but appointments for the fourth semester and beyond are possible only in exceptional circumstances. Very few teaching assistantships are available for summer sessions. Typical duties assigned to teaching assistants include the teaching of laboratory courses or discussion sections of courses taught in the lecture-discussion format, preparation of course materials such as problem sets, quizzes, examinations, and solution sets of all these, grading homework, quizzes, and examinations, and aiding in the development of new courses or laboratory experiments. Teaching assistants are also expected to schedule time for office hours each week for each class or section taught.