| Tutor | Learning Assistant (LA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Status | Tutors are unionized employees of the university (ASEs) who are paid an hourly wage. | LAs are not employees; they are students who earn course credit for participating in an educational experience. |
| Recruitment | Professional learning center staff (e.g. LARC, CEWC) recruit candidates for tutor positions. Academic units and lead instructors can also recruit candidates for their programs and/or courses. | Academic units and lead instructors are responsible for recruiting LAs. |
| Training | Provided by professional staff of the tutor’s program/department and compensated, or as a course for credit. | Provided by DTEI’s LA Program, students complete a required pedagogy course to become certified as LAs. LAs also learn course-specific pedagogy with their lead professors. |
| Role | Tutors provide support within a course or to supplement classroom instruction outside of class. They can also track engagement and perform other administrative tasks. | LAs help instructors and TAs facilitate active learning activities in lectures and discussions. |
| Who do they serve? | Tutors generally serve students within a particular course, not necessarily limited to specific course sections. | LAs serve students enrolled in specific course sections, as part of the teaching team for individual instructors. |
| How do they interact with students? | Tutors meet students in learning centers and satellite locations. They can meet 1:1 or in small groups by appointment or in drop-in settings. They may provide small amounts of direct instruction or developmental support (example, writing assignments). | LAs promote active learning in classroom settings by asking questions and facilitating critical thinking among students. LAs can also host optional supplemental sessions that focus on specific course content (e.g. review sessions, walk-in academic support). |
| Supervision | Tutoring interactions are generally autonomous. Tutors may be observed, evaluated and coached by instructors, program staff, or professional learning center staff. | LAs are supervised during lectures and discussions by instructors or TAs, as they do not engage with students in required course settings independent of instructors or TAs. |
| What can they not do? | Tutors may not proctor exams or grade assignments. | LAs cannot grade student work or facilitate required course activities without supervision. Responsibilities outside the classroom must be minimal and pedagogy-related. They may not perform admin work or hold dual roles (for example, they may not serve as LA and Reader in the same course). |
While not discussed here, readers are a third position type which may be part of the instructional team. Refer to this site for more information on the reader role, and refer to this site for reader training resources.