Teaching as an Ethical Practice
Ethical Foundations for New TAs
Teaching as an Ethical Practice: A Guide for Teaching Assistants (“TA Ethics”) is a self-paced, online course designed for new Teaching Assistants (TAs). This course examines professional ethics in the TA position, with a focus on student engagement, educational equity, and accessibility. This required training for new TAs provides graduate student educators with an understanding of their responsibilities and the resources available to support them in their TA role.
TA Ethics is designed to support new TAs as they begin teaching at UC Santa Cruz. The course covers key aspects of the TA role, including:
- Creating accessible and equitable learning environments
- Communicating effectively within teaching teams
- Responding to students in distress
- Promoting academic integrity
- Navigating campus structures and support systems
TA Ethics also provides an introduction to campus resources that TAs frequently interact with, including:
- Disability Resource Center (DRC)
- Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS),
- Title IX Office
- Center for Advocacy, Resources and Empowerment (CARE)
- UAW 4811 Union
- Campus Resource Centers
Note: TA Ethics outlines the foundations of the TA role. Additionally, department-level pedagogy courses, workshops, and colloquia provide graduate student educators with deeper engagement with discipline-specific teaching practices. Many of these department-level programs are led by TLC Graduate Pedagogy Fellows.
How to Participate
Per Graduate Division policy, all new TAs are required to complete TA Ethics. In compliance with UCSC Employee & Labor Relations and the Academic Student Employee union contract, the course must be completed in one of two ways:
- As part of a department-level, for-credit pedagogy course, or
- As part of the TA’s first appointment, included in their duties and workload for the quarter
Each quarter, graduate program coordinators and advisors provide the Graduate Division with a list of new TAs. Those TAs are then enrolled in the TA Ethics Canvas course.
- The course can take up to eight hours to complete.
- TAs are encouraged to begin early in the quarter or pace themselves over several weeks.
- Instructors working with new TAs are asked to include the course in the TA Description of Duties as part of the TA’s workload.
Enrolled students retain access to the course throughout their time at UCSC. The course is viewable by UCSC faculty, staff, and students who want to explore the materials without formal enrollment.