Many students say they aren't getting the education they paid for because of language barriers between them and international graduate students who teach several University courses.
UNM sophomore Teddy Yates said the absence of a basic grasp of English by a TA in a communication course this semester affected his ability to understand subject matter.
"I understand that this is a research University and people from all walks of life are here to learn, but it seems like no one is concerned about the quality of education we are receiving," Yates said. "When the person in charge of teaching me isn't educated enough on our language to have a conversation with me, something is wrong."
Yates said when he approached University officials about the problem, he was told his only option was "to switch sections."
"Students have busy schedules. It is unrealistic to expect them to adjust their lives around this problem," Yates said.
Brad Hall, chairman of the communication and journalism department, said he receives a handful of similar complaints yearly, but there "isn't one set policy regarding the situation."
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"My best advice to students who find themselves in a situation with a teaching assistant they can't understand is to look at different sections of the class," Hall said.
The department requires international students to attend programs at the University to help them become acclimated with U.S. culture, but depending on their backgrounds, it is possible for them to begin teaching at UNM soon after entering the country, Hall said.
"If an international student can demonstrate a grasp on the appropriate materials, it is not uncommon for them to begin teaching well within their first year in country," Hall said.
Susan Deese-Roberts, director of the Teaching Assistant Resource Center, said the center provides an eight-week course every semester to prepare international students to teach at UNM. However, the course has no responsibility for the language requirements graduate students must meet to become a TA.
She said the course, which emphasizes teaching and language skills, aids international TAs in getting used to the United States and helps them develop an individual teaching and image style.
TAs earn an average of $1,050-$1,080 per month, are given tuition remission for credit hours every semester and are provided with health insurance, according to the UNM Web site.
Deese-Roberts said international students must demonstrate a proficiency in English by passing standardized tests, such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language, before they are admitted to the University.
Individual departments, however, vary on the language requirements of international students becoming teaching assistants, she said.
Expecting students to adjust their schedules to accommodate international teaching students is not an effective problem-solving strategy, said Dean of Students Randy Boeglin.
"It may be unfair to the TAs to not make them aware that there is a problem and to the other students in the class who are probably having the same problems with them," Boeglin said.
