It would appear that Professor Boot's presumptive claim to be regarded as the academic conscience of the university, without duly informing himself of either existing policy or practice in this area, has led him to produce a misleading diatribe against an honorable and effective pedagogical approach. Rather than an irresponsible aberration, as Professor Boot contends, UTAs are, in fact, widely utilized in leading research universities. Furthermore, his apparent eagerness to see intrigue where there is none, coupled with a penchant for overblown rhetoric, gives his letter a particularly strident and disrespectful tone. In the interests of clarity and fairness, let me set the record straight.
Individual departments can provide additional, more detailed, sets of regulations.
In the one case where the Dean's Office has become involved in this area, it was in response to a request from a department seeking to ensure that its policies were being consistently implemented by all members of its faculty. As educators at all levels know, there is no greater incentive to genuinely learn material than to have to teach it, and our undergraduate TAs benefit from this. Their experience generates course credit and provides an enriching, highly responsible, career-relevant experience. As for students served by UTAs, a substantial body of research on peer learning emphasizes the effectiveness of teaching in the more relaxed and casual atmosphere created when the social and psychological distance between teacher and student is diminished. In its resolution regarding UTAs, UB's Faculty Senate makes it clear that this is a case of educational advantage, not exploitation.