In addition to their teaching duties, professors conduct research, write books and articles, supervise the research of graduate students, write grant proposals, and serve on various departmental and university committees. These faculty members tend to be pretty permanent, so you can expect them to be around in four years when you graduate. Visiting professors are members of the faculty of other colleges and universities. They come to UCSB to teach for a specified length of time and provide variety to the learning experience. Guest lecturers can be graduate students, professors, or even members of the community who have expertise in a given area and are invited by the instructor of a course to share it with you.
Guest lecturers provide yet another opportunity to widen the scope of the learning experience.
Teaching Associates are graduate student instructors who are faculty of record. That means that they are fully responsible for the course they are teaching, and are considered to be temporary members of the UCSB faculty. Teaching Associates have already earned a master's degree and have displayed expertise in the area in which they have been hired to teach. You might find them teaching small seminars or large introductory lecture courses. They also conduct review sessions, write and grade exams and quizzes, correct papers, and hold office hours.