This paper examines the stages of development for a framework of teaching assistant (TA) competencies initiated by the Teaching Assistant and Graduate Student Advancement (TAGSA) special interest group (SIG) of the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). TAGSA initiated an iterative consultative process to inform the creation of the competencies that sought input from the STLHE community on four occasions. At each stage of the consultations, the competencies were formed and re-formed, their purpose and value debated, and the challenges of creating a development framework recognized. This process, described in this paper, resulted in a clear, succinct and flexible framework that can be used across institutions in multiple contexts.

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P rofessional development programs for teaching assistants (TAs) at Canadian universities run the gamut from occasional workshops to complete certificate programs. Until recently, the Learning and Teaching Centre at the University of Victoria (UVic) typified this general format with a well-crafted TA program consisting of professional development workshops, annual conferences, and programs leading to certificates. When I was appointed to the newly formed role of TA Training Program Coordinator in the summer of 2008 (now a permanent role on campus), my immediate goal was to set up campus-wide programs to ensure that all TAs on campus had access to structured professional development programs that suited their needs and the needs of faculty and staff in a variety of disciplines, and took into consideration the changes occurring for TAs in today's academic world.To grasp an understanding of UVic's TA climate (I did have some understanding due to my previous work at the Learning and Teaching Centre for three years as a TA Associate, as well as being a TA myself during my graduate work in the Department of Anthropology), I arranged one-on-one meetings with chairs and/or graduate advisors from each department on campus to talk about TA needs and departmental expectations. These conversations generated the potential for several collaborative projects based on departments' individual and collective needs. In this paper, I first discuss the process and outcomes from the conversations and conclude with preliminary discussion about one of the collaborative projects that developed alongside and grew from these conversations regarding TA professional development. Getting to Know You…

Educational developers in universities and colleges design, develop, and deliver courses and programs for professors and teaching assistants (TAs) to support teaching and learning in postsecondary institutions. While courses that professors and TAs teach are often accredited by the institution or a professional body, courses offered by educational developers are often not accredited at all. With this anomaly in mind, the Educational Developers Caucus (EDC) created a working group to first explore the appetite for a Canadian accreditation process, and then to design and implement a framework. This article describes the process and product of the accreditation working group and reports on an initial evaluation of its impact, arguing for its valuable contribution to enhancing the quality of faculty and TA development programs and courses and thereby of teaching and learning.

This special issue of the Canadian Journal of Higher Education represents the growing recognition of changes in the career paths and trajectories of graduate students as well as the deepening interest in the support and development of professional knowledge and skills in advanced degree holders. Geographer Andrew Ross described today’s ‘geographies of livelihood’ in terms of the changing demands of work and employment in a globalized knowledge economy.