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Teaching assistants (TA) are invaluable to the University of Maine and its professors. However, when a course lacks a professor for a semester, the university dips into the pool of TAs and pulls out a replacement to teach the course. This is fine, especially if there is late notice and the department doesn’t have time to find a temporary guest professor who has significant experience in the field he or she teaches. This said, the effectiveness of the teaching can suffer when the university uses them too often.
The most effective courses are those taught by seasoned professionals who are passionate and knowledgeable about the subjects they teach. If the university cannot find someone who meets these qualifications, students in the class may not receive the same quality education they expected when they signed up for the course. The administration for each department should keep an eye on which classes will be taught by TAs and notify students as soon as possible so they can choose to take the course or put it off until an experienced professor is assigned to the course in a later semester.
TAs are not paid as much as regular professors. Why should students have to pay full tuition for a course taught by a TA? They are not only receiving what could be a lesser-quality education, but the replacement professor is receiving less money. This surplus income gives the university an incentive to use TAs in place of traditional professors. UMaine should consider lowering the tuition for TA-taught classes, avoiding the use of TAs for courses whenever possible.
Bangor Daily News