An Academic Coach’s primary purpose is to provide instructional support to a faculty member in their online courses, thus adding another layer of support for students. While the Academic Coach is not an academic advisor, tutor, or personal mentor; they may perform a variety of tasks approved by the faculty of record for their assigned course.
Though this blog will break down some effective ways to deploy our virtual teaching assistants to assist in managing student demands within an online course. However, it’s important to note that each faculty member will assign tasks based on their needs.
Read on to learn more about a teaching assistant’s role in a college course and how professors can effectively incorporate them into their classroom!
The Hierarchy of Professors, Academic Coaches, and Students
Knowing the place and responsibility of all class participants is essential. The professor is in charge and has the final say of what happens within the course, and they must maintain a presence within the online course. But where does the teaching assistant come into play?
Virtual teaching assistants are there to assist the professor with their students, not replace them entirely or allow for the professor to go on vacation. Professors are the ones who should be in charge of all the learning outcomes, curriculum, and policy decisions; while their TAs may assist with facilitation and grading as assigned.
The professor will drive all activities assigned to their virtual teaching assistants. This is reviewed in a pre-course conference call with all TAs before the course starts. Additionally, periodic conference calls should continue to take place throughout the duration of the course to make sure the professor and TAs are aligned and consistent with expectations.
What Academic Coaches May Do
Apart from establishing the teaching assistant’s role in your system, it’s important to make sure to have defined perimeters and routine communications.
It is vital that the online course is ready for implementing virtual teaching assistants. This would include making sure that each assignment has robust rubrics. This is important for the student to understand the expectations and allow to allow the TA to grade an assignment in a consistent manner that aligns with the faculty’s expectations. It would also be suggested that inter-rater reliability activities be performed to ensure the grading standards are met.
Academic Coaches should always acknowledge any student inquiries in a timely manner, even if the TA is not able to provide an answer. The TA may need to ask follow-up questions to gather information to present to the faculty for a decision or follow-up. The TA should be a liaison between the students and the faculty. The faculty may provide standard approved answers to common questions that may be expected from the students. Some questions may be outside of the scope of the TA and require the student to be directed to another department such as Technical Support or the Registrar.
Increase Your Students’ Learning Ability With Instructional Connections
We are proud to be the only company in America that provides this kind of high-quality virtual instructional support to universities. Our academic coaches currently help over 50 online college programs and 50,000 students in need — all at the instruction and supervision of your professors.
If enrollment demands are extending your professors and they need assistance with the scaling of your online programs and courses, contact the Instructional Connections team today!
