IMPORTANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
Terms of Appointment
Teaching Assistants are required to enroll full-time for 10 credits during each quarter in which they hold an appointment. (Other policies apply to Summer Quarter each year.) Most teaching assistantships are considered to be 50% appointments, with an estimated average workload of twenty hours per week.
Renewal and Advancement
Length of appointment
The letter you received offering your appointment as a teaching assistant should indicate the length of time your appointment is effective and the possible conditions for renewal. Although "it is the policy of the University to provide reasonable continuity of appointment" to Teaching Assistants, departments vary widely in the funding they have available for teaching assistantships, and this factor often influences departmental policies concerning renewal. Both academic and teaching performance, as well as availability of funds, are considered in reappointment decisions.
Conditions for renewal
Though most departments review teaching evaluations when considering TAs for reappointment, "satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of a graduate degree program" is usually the primary criterion. Departments should have a policy that spells out the way in which satisfactory progress is determined -- usually some timetable for completion of course requirements and examinations -- and the way it affects teaching assistantship reappointments. In most departments, competition for TA support is keen, and you will be wise to be aware of the degree requirements that are necessary for its continuation.
Promotion
University policy states that TAs "who perform meritoriously in their graduate programs and in their teaching, research, and related activities may normally expect to be promoted in the course of their service." Departments are required to consider you for promotion at the time of reappointment, using criteria consistent with those for reappointment -- namely, academic performance, progress in your program, and the quality of your performance as a TA.
Termination
In most cases, teaching assistantships are terminated only at the end of the specified appointment period. Under some conditions, however, such as failure to enroll for the required number of credit hours, unsatisfactory progress, or unsatisfactory performance as a teaching assistant, an appointment may be terminated at any time. Typically, the appointee is notified in writing of his or her deficiencies and given an opportunity to correct them. Termination and appeal procedures are explained in more detail in Executive Order 28: http://www.grad.washington.edu/fellow/execor28.htm
Requirements for International Teaching Assistants (ITAs)
Requirements for International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) are explained in detail in Graduate School Memorandum 15: http://www.grad.washington.edu/Acad/gsmemos/gsmemo15.htm