Undergraduate Teaching Assistants: A Learner-Centered Model for Enhancing Student Engagement in the First-Year Experience

In this paper, we provide an in-depth view of the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) program at Virginia Commonwealth University as a potential model for other large research universities who might wish to implement similar learner-centered initiatives in their first-year experience courses. Unlike graduate teaching assistants, whose primary objective in the classroom is to assist the professor, the UTAs assist the students by facilitating student engagement, offering peer-to-peer assistance, and modeling successful academic practices. The UTA program, founded in 2008, is integrated through all levels of VCU's University College. This paper explores the benefits offered to all stakeholders: faculty, students, and undergraduate teaching assistants.