[Summary: The undergraduate technology assistant (UTA) program will continue during the spring 2021 semester. This message outlines the process by which UTAs will be allocated and how faculty may request UTAs for their courses. UTA requests are due December 18, 2020.]
To: FAS faculty and other faculty teaching in Yale College in spring 2021
Cc: FAS Steering
Dear colleagues,
We write with news about the continuation of the Undergraduate Technology Assistant (UTA) program. Thanks to support from the FAS Dean’s and Provost’s Offices, we are able to offer funding for a limited number of UTAs who will assist faculty with technology needs associated with remote instruction for the 2020-21 academic year.
Assigned duties may include: assisting faculty with Zoom, Canvas and other online tools; ensuring Zoom recordings are available for students; managing student participation by monitoring chats and noting hands raised; and other related needs. UTAs will join all synchronous meetings of the course to which they are assigned and will meet as needed with the instructor to discuss technical issues related to remote instruction.
UTAs will complete mandatory training provided by the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning and be hired and assigned to courses centrally. Only courses with projected enrollments of 50 or more will be guaranteed a UTA. Faculty may request additional UTAs if there are specific tasks that require more attention than a single UTA can provide, and they may also request UTAs for courses with lower enrollments, based on specific pedagogical needs. We will do our best to accommodate such requests but cannot promise UTAs in these cases.
If you wish to request a UTA(s) for your course, please submit this form no later than Friday, December 18. Requests for courses with projected enrollments of less than 50 will be reviewed by the Poorvu Center and the Office of Undergraduate Education in Yale College.
Questions regarding the UTA program may be direct to Pamela Schirmeister at pamela.schirmeister@yale.edu.
Best wishes,
Tamar and Marvin
Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Marvin Chun
Dean, Yale College