What are IGAs?

Instructional Graduate Assistants (IGAs) are a special type of graduate assistants who are supported through instructional funds and are dedicated to undergraduate teaching. IGAs teach 6 UG credits of autonomous classroom instruction per semester, or 3 labs per semester, while continuing to successfully progress in their graduate program. IGAs should be used to support Gen-Ed and high-demand UG classes to ensure undergraduate access, progression, and completion. IGAs must be the instructor of record in classes or labs; IGAs may not serve as a teaching assistant or serve in a research role to fulfill their work requirement. IGAs are supported with stipends and benefit packages that are identical to standard state-funded GAs through the Graduate College.

Why IGAs?

Using university instructional funds to hire IGAs to teach classes and labs that would otherwise be taught by a PTI allows departments to admit and support additional graduate students, increase WSCH (weighted student credit hours), and grow graduation numbers (which supports our performance pool goals). This program will help us increase graduate enrollment, support more graduate students, increase our graduates (a key R1 metric), and advance the university’s Top Tier goals.

IGA Guidelines

IGAs apply in the Grad Rebel Gateway, like all GAs, and are appointed through the Grad Rebel Gateway as Instructional GAs. In all ways except workload, they are the same as state-funded GAs. Deans and departments/schools who participate in the IGA program must follow the following procedures and practices:

  1. A student may be placed on an IGA for 1 or 2 semesters. No student shall remain in an IGA role for more than a year.
  2. The ideal IGA is a 2nd year master’s student who has completed enough graduate credits and some teaching training to qualify as an undergraduate instructor of record.
  3. Doctoral students may hold IGA positions for a semester to gain teaching experience.
  4. IGAs must be assigned a faculty member (chair, undergraduate or graduate coordinator, any graduate faculty) who will closely supervise the IGA’s teaching and support the IGA if classroom challenges arise.
  5. The IGA position should not be assigned to students whose progression or time-to-degree will be negatively impacted.
  6. Students on an Instructional GA (IGA) must teach two 3-credit gen-ed or high-demand classes (or 3 labs) to promote undergraduate progression and completion.
  7. IGAs must have their teaching evaluated and present those evaluations as part of their semester-end IGA report (a short online self assessment of their IGA experience) -- beginning fall 2020.
  8. Students with poor undergraduate student outcomes or assessments may not serve as an IGA again.

Appointing IGAs

Departments that would like to apply for one or more IGAs for Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 should complete the IGA application form. If your department is assigned an IGA position, you may select and appoint your IGA student(s) in the Grad Rebel Gateway along with your other GAs. Credit hours taught by IGAs should be considered part of a unit’s allotment of PTIs. Thus, if IGAs will add to the overall number of SCHs taught by PTIs, the additional PTI funding needed to support the IGA must be approved by the Office of Academic Resources.

Application Deadlines

  • Fall 2020: March 1
  • Spring 2021: October 1