TA Planning in L&S
Academic Year TA Planning Exercise
- Plans for Academic Year 2025-26 are due February 12, 2025 via email to teach.learn@ls.wisc.edu
- Departments/programs should use the Instructional Staffing Request form to send changes outside of this exercise (link to form, form instructions for adding or changing a TA position).
- Note: this exercise is for academic year TAs only. Summer Term TAs are initially requested as part of a Summer Budget Proposal. Changes for summer TAs are also requested through the Instructional Staffing Form.
Overview: TA Planning spreadsheet
The TA Planning spreadsheet is a document assembled by L&S Teaching & Learning Administration based on previous TA plans completed by departments.
TLA will distribute TA Planning spreadsheets each January via department Box folders, and departments/programs will update the spreadsheet with their plans for the upcoming academic year. This exercise is intended to help departments/programs plan how to best deploy their TA resources. This process also documents TA position and workload details in a simple and systematic format for easy reference by L&S administration.
TA Planning Spreadsheet Details & Instructions
The bullet points below explain what details are needed for each field:
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Course/Assignment:
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A list of courses with TAs from AY24-25 is provided. Check for accuracy for AY25-26, making adjustments as needed.
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Add rows for any new TA positions for AY25-26, and list the course number and name.
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For positions not associated with a course, please describe as needed (e.g., Learning Centers, course development)
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A single course may be listed multiple times, if there are multiple appointment types for a course, e.g., head TA, different appointment percentages, etc.
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Fall/Spring # of TAs: Planned count of TAs per semester.
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Appt Structure: Briefly describe the structure of the position, e.g., number of discussions/labs. (ex: 4 discussions/TA)
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Appt %: Appointment percentage of each position.
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Position Status: Select from the options below.
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Active - courses that are continuing to have TAs in 2025-26
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Inactive - courses that will not have TAs in 2025-26
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Pending - new TA positions for 2025-26
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Funding: Select from the options below.
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TA 101 (this will be most positions)
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Other (please provide detail in the Notes column)
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Notes: Add notes if modifying an existing position, or to add additional info as needed, such as other funding source.
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Date of last workload review: For use by L&S Admin staff, do not modify these dates.
TA 101 Budget Estimate
At the top of each departmental TA Planning spreadsheet is a TA 101 Budget Balance Estimator. This will automatically update your balance estimate as you make changes to your TA plans in the spreadsheet.
Please note several important caveats:
- The budget estimate is based on the following columns: Fall # of TAs, Spring # of TAs, Appt %, and Funding. You must enter these accurately to receive an accurate budget estimate.
- The budget estimate assumes all TAs are paid at the standard rate. If you use multiple rates, such as a higher rate for head TAs, this tool will provide an underestimate of total costs.
- Reader/grader costs are not captured.
Contacts for L&S Administration
- L&S Teaching & Learning Administration:
- Shirin Malekpour, Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning
- Lynne Prost, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Affairs
- Cathy Yu, Administrative Assistant for Teaching & Learning
- For Budget Questions:
- Jennifer Klippel, Associate Deal for Innovation and Strategic Budgeting
- Mary Beth Roberts, Assistant Dean for Finance-Budget, Planning & Analysis