Learning Assistant Application

Applications for students will open during the date window noted above. 

In order to apply as a learning assistant you will need to sign up with the Learning Assistant Alliance. Note: Getting access to the Learning Assistant Alliance website can take up to a day so do not wait until the last moment! You can sign up before applications open so consider doing this right away.

Signing up:

1. Go to: https://learningassistantalliance.org
2. Click the Sign Up button (by the login on the left side)
3. Search and select “George Mason University” from the list and then hit the “Next” button.
4. Complete the questionnaire regarding your personal information.
5. Create a Username and Password as instructed on the page. Do not use your Mason password. This will be a separate login and password.
6. Check the email you used to register for a confirmation email. This could take up to 24 hours. Click the activation link to finalize the creation of your account.
    

Applying to be a Learning Assistant

1. Log in at https://learningassistantalliance.org with your username and password.
2. On the left-hand side of the welcome page, click the “Spring 2021 – APPLY NOW” link. Note: You may also view which courses are looking for learning assistants by clicking “Course Appointments Available for Spring 2021”
3. Complete the questionnaire regarding your personal information, academics, careers, qualifications, and the courses for which you would like to be an LA. You may use the “Next” button to advance the questionnaire, the “Save” button to return to it another time, or the “Back” button to view a previous page. You may also manually select a page to complete using the blue “Sections” box.
4. Review and submit your application.

Starting a New Faculty Course Proposal (FCP)

1. After logging into https://www.learningassistantalliance.org, click on LA Campus in the primary menu at the top of the page.
2. Click on the Course Proposals menu item in the secondary menu on the left hand side of the page.
3. Click on the Start Course Proposal link in the secondary menu under the Course Proposals panel. This will open the Create Course Proposal page.
4. On the Create Course Proposal page you have two (2) options for creating a course proposal.
   • Option 1: Create new proposal
   • Option 2: Use existing proposal to get started
     • Select the Department and then Course that you want to duplicate.
     • Click on the Duplicate Course Proposal button at the bottom of the list of course proposals.(could not check any of these due to dead link above)(this will be an option when you return to the process in subsequent semesters)
5. When you have completed the application click the “Submit to Program” button in the upper right

After Proposal Submission

Once the proposal has been submitted, it will be reviewed by STEM Accelerator faculty. At that point either changes will be requested or it will be accepted. If you have questions about your application please contact your departmental coordinator.

Opening an Existing Faculty Course Proposal

1. Click on the FCP course name(s) located on either the LA Campus summary page, or in the Course Proposals secondary menu panel in LA Campus.
2. From this page you may have the following options based on the state of the FCP acceptance period, and the status of the proposal itself, or your role.
   • Print
   • Edit
   • Respond to Request for Changes
   • Review

Responding to Requests for Changes on a Faculty Course Proposal (FCP)

1. Open the FCP using the Respond to Request for Changes button at the top of the FCP view only page.
   • Active comments, meaning comments made after the most recent submission by either the departmental coordinator (DC) or the program coordinator (PC), will be indicated by an Orange Speech Bubble.The comment icon will appear both on the FCP section headers where a comment is present, as well as on the specific question for the comment. Clicking on the icon next to the question will show the all comments made for that specific question.
   • Past, but inactive comments, meaning comments that were made prior to the most recent submission of the FCP are also available to be viewed. These will be indicated by a Gray Speech Bubble
2. Make the necessary changes and then submit the FCP.

After the acceptance of your course proposal

Once your course proposal has been accepted it can be opened for student applications (see above for the date when student applications open). Once the applications are open students should be encouraged to apply and faculty should continue to log in to view, schedule interviews, and rate those applications. You will be able to see how the students you are interested in have been rated by other faculty.

There are two (2) ways to add a student to the interview wishlist or backup list for a course.

1. Bulk action: Adding to list from the Course Hiring page:
   • In the Course LA Applicants table, at the bottom of the Course Hiring page, you will see the collection of all student applicants that applied for the particular course. Using the checkboxes in the Course LA Applicants table, select the students that you wish to add to a list and then select one of the following:
     • Add to Interview Wishlist
     • Add to Backup List
2. Single action: Rating from the Student Application page.
   • Click on the name of a student
   • Click on the link at the bottom of the Student Application page associated with the list you are wanting to add the active student to. The links are labelled as:
     • Add to Interview Wishlist
     • Add to Backup List

Rating student applications gives faculty a way to indicate an applicant’s suitability for a position and the faculty’s interest in the applicant. There are two (2) ways to rate a student application.  

1. Rating from the Course Hiring page:
   • In the Course LA Applicants table, at the bottom of the Course Hiring page, you will see the collection of all student applicants that applied for the particular course. Clicking on one of the stars in the same row as a student you want to rate will record the course rating for that student application. You will see the stars turn yellow for a course rating.
   • To remove a rating, click on the remove icon to the left of the stars.
2. Rating from the Student Application page.
   • In the Course LA Applicants table, click on the name of a student for which you want to view the application. You can rate that individual student after viewing their application. 

1. Open the Course Hiring page for the course you are wanting to set up a late application for.
2. Click on the Send Late Student Application Invitation button. Select the student that you wish to setup the late student application for and click the Send Invitation button at the bottom of the pop-up.

1. On the LA Campus main page, click on the link with the course name(s) you are wanting to hire for.
   • These access links are located in either the Hiring table on the page, or in the Course Hiring secondary menu panel in LA Campus. This will open up a page showing the applicants and the status (hired, applied, etc.) of each for that particular course.

Sending an Interview Request
Requesting an interview using the LA Campus system can be done in bulk to many student applicants at once, or to one student applicant at a time.

1. Bulk action: Requesting an interview from one or more students using the Course Hiring page.
   • In the Course LA Applicants table, using the checkboxes in the Course LA Applicants table, select the student(s) that you wish to send an interview request.
   • With the student applicant(s) selected, click on the Request Interview button
2. Single action: Requesting an interview from the Student Application page.
   • Click on the name of a student you want to view the student application for. This will open the Student Application page for that student.
   • Click on the Request Interview link at the bottom of the Student Application page.

Making an Offer
Making an offer for a Learning Assistant position using the LA Campus system  can be done in bulk to many student applicants at once, or to one student applicant at a time.

1. Bulk action: Making an offer to one or more students using the Course Hiring page.
   • Using the checkboxes in the Course LA Applicants table, select the student(s) that you wish to make an offer.
   • With the student applicant(s) selected, click on the Send Offer button below the Course LA Applicants table.
2. Single action: Making an offer from the Student Application page.
   • Click on the name of a student you want to view the student application for. This will open the Student Application page for that student.
   • In the Student Application page you will see the actions that can be taken on that application at the bottom of the page. Click on the Send Offer link at the bottom of the Student Application page.

Rescinding an Offer
In some instances, you may need to rescind an offer before the student has responded. Rescinding an offer for a Learning Assistant position using the LA Campus system can be done in bulk to many student applicants at once, or to one student applicant at a time.

Sending a Decline
Sending a decline to offer message is intended to be used only for students that have been sent an interview request. The intention is that if you have interviewed a student, you should be able to let them know that they will not be made an offer. Sending a decline to offer message using the LA Campus system can be done in bulk to many student applicants at once, or to one student applicant at a time.

Sending a Backup Notice
Sending a backup notice using the LA Campus system can be done in bulk to many student applicants at once, or to one student applicant at a time.

Removing an Appointment

1. Open the Course Hiring page for the course you are interested in working within.
2. In the Hired Learning Assistants table, at the top of the Course Hiring page, you will see the collection of student applicants that have accepted offers, and have appointments, for the active course. Using the checkboxes in the Hired Learning Assistants table, select the student(s) that you wish to remove appointment(s) for.
3. With the student applicant(s) selected, click on the Remove button below the Hired Learning Assistants table.