Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!pyramid!decwrl!labrea!Shasta!andy
From: andy@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Andy Freeman)
Newsgroups: soc.college,net.cse
Subject: Who teaches CS classes?
Message-ID: <922@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU>
Date: Thu, 16-Oct-86 21:11:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: Shasta.922
Posted: Thu Oct 16 21:11:35 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Oct-86 01:06:42 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 34
Keywords: TAs, professors, teaches
Xref: linus soc.college:80 net.cse:920
Summary: Student TAs vs professors

Who actually teaches CS classes at other schools?  How are
graduate students supported?

In Stanford's CS department, a large majority of the post-intro classes
are taught by professors, not graduate students.  Almost all PhD*
students are supported by research grants or fellowships.  ("Large
majority" and "almost all" are both over 75% and probably much higher.)
As the new undergraduate degree starts up, I expect this to change
somewhat - we've been told that it won't.

In case it matters, about half of Stanford's CS PhDs go into industry.

I bring this up because of a survey I read in either net.cse or
soc.college.  One of the questions was whether graduate students
belonged to a union.  That didn't make sense to me until I realized
that graduate students might be supported elsewhere as teachers
instead of as researchers.

Is student teaching fair to either the teachers or their students?
(I know that some TAs and graduate student teachers are wonderful
and that some professors shouldn't be allowed inside a classroom.
I think that's irrelevant; am I wrong?)

-andy

* Stanford's CS MS and PhD programs are fairly separate.  Most PhD
students are admitted directly into that program after their BS/BA;
few MS students change programs and few PhD students get an MS on
their way.  For the most part, MS students are not supported through
Stanford; many are supported by outside employers.
-- 
UUCP:  ...!decwrl!glacier!shasta!andy forwards to
ARPA:  andy@sushi.stanford.edu
(415) 329-1718/723-3088 home/cubicle