The Student Government Association will be holding spring elections on March 27 and 28 on TopNet. I support Cory Dodds for Student Body President. Dodds has a record of service and accomplishments: A vote for Dodds is a vote for solutions to problems students face every day.

One program that Dodds is proposing is an evaluation system for graduate assistants and teaching assistants, similar to what WKU faculty and staff are subject to. I believe this is an excellent way to create accountability while also providing an excellent form of feedback for GAs and TAs. Currently, many of you receive grades and instruction from GAs and TAs across campus. Their teaching and grading affect students’ academic standings. However, there isn’t a system of accountability for their work. GAs and TAs are also unaware of how they are performing on the job, because there isn’t a system in place for evaluating, giving comments and feedback. GAs and TAs cannot be expected to improve their practices without knowing what is or is not working. This is vital for TAs, as many are on a track towards professorships, which requires an extensive amount of teaching. The feedback will allow these graduate students to modify and perfect their teaching methods to become better, more effective professors in the future.

As a graduate assistant, I would greatly appreciate feedback about how I am performing. I complete tasks for professors on a daily basis that include everything from organizing files to research to grading. Evaluations would provide important feedback about my performance that I can use to become an excellent researcher or employee in the future. Evaluations create accountability while also providing important feedback to make GAs and TAs the excellent professors or employees we all grow to love. WKU strives to produce successful graduates, and this is just one more step towards creating outstanding graduate students that any employer would be ecstatic to hire.

Vote for Cory Dodds for Student Body President to create accountability and successful futures for GAs and TAs while guaranteeing quality instruction in the classroom.

This commentary doesn’t necessarily represent the views of the Herald or the university.