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Teaching Assistants Access and Permissions

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Just like course instructors, Teaching Assistants should always be added to course rosters through the University Registrar in ConnectCarolina. Once they are in ConnectCarolina, they will automatically be added to Sakai after the next update runs (happens 3 times a day) and inhert the appropriate permissions.

FERPA

To be added in ConnectCarolina, all instructors and TAs must take the online training for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as they will have access to students’ educational records/grades. “The online tutorial is designed to prepare authorized members of the campus community to fully understand the responsibilities for handling student record information under FERPA and the University’s student records policy.”

After taking the online FERPA training quiz, the departmental course scheduling officer will add the TA to the course roster in ConnectCarolina. Instructors and TAs may be added in ConnectCarolina as:

  • Primary Instructor
  • Secondary Instructor
  • Proxy
  • Teaching Assistant - note this role cannot create course sites in Sakai

5 Steps to complete

  1. TA takes online FERPA training through Sakai and must score 100%
  2. University Registrar sends TA FERPA certification letter within 48 hours of completion
  3. Instructor contacts their departmental course scheduler to list TA in ConnectCarolina
  4. Departmental course scheduler must list TA in ConnectCarolina for each of their course rosters
  5. Once listed in ConnectCarolina, TA will automatically be added to Sakai course site after the next update runs (happens 3 times a day)

Manually adding TAs

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If TAs are not added to the course roster in ConnectCarolina, instructors may manually add them to their Sakai sites. If doing so, the instructor is taking responsibility for TAs handling student record information according to FERPA.

By default, manually-added TAs do not have access to students’ educational records, including grades, submitted assignments, or test submissions and scores. Instructors must assign TAs to a course section roster to give them this access using the Section Info tool.

To manually give TAs grading access:

  1. Manually add TA to Sakai site
    • Site Info > Add Participants > enter TA’s ONYEN in top box > Continue through steps to add as Teaching Assistant
  2. Enable Section Info tool
    • Site Info > Edit Tools > check Section Info > Continue > Finish
  3. Assign TA to section roster
    • Section Info > under course roster, click Assign TAs > click on TA’s name in left box and click on “>” arrow to move TA into right box > click Assign TAs