LFS TA Offer email

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NOTICE: The Offer email sent to applicants selected as TAs through the LFS TA Application is under revision. The information below is generally what you will receive, however some details will be different in Offer emails for 2022/23 Winter TA positions.

 

The term of your appointment and what it means

Start/end dates for TA contracts and student appointments are:

  • September 1 to December 31  (Winter Session Term 1)
  • January to April (Winter Session Term 2)
  • September 1 to April 30 (Winter Session Term 1 and Term 2)
  • May 1 to June 30 (Summer Session Term 1)
  • July 1 to August 31 (Summer Session Term 2)
  • May 1 to August 31 (Summer Session Term 1 and Term 2)

Apart from official university closures, the course instructor can expect you to be available for the duration of the contract period.  If you are going to be away or unavailable at any point during the term of your appointment, please let the instructor know as soon as possible.

As per the CUPE 2278 collective agreement, TA’s are entitled to vacation hours.  As per the collective agreement, TA’s are expected to take vacation time at specified periods throughout the academic year and after consulting with the course instructor.

Personal Data Form, SIN, and Study Permit

UBC Personal Data Form

2021 – THE UBC Personal Data Form WILL SOON BE REPLACED by a ‘BIRTHDATE’ FIELD in the LFS TA Application. 

If you are selected for a position and have never worked for UBC before, you will be required to submit supporting documentation: a UBC Personal Data form, copy of your valid student/work permit and a photocopy of your SIN. Please note that you cannot be hired at UBC without providing documentation of a valid Social Insurance Number (scanned copy of SIN card or SIN application Acknowledgement Letter).

If you do not have a UBC employee ID, please leave that section of the Personal Data Form blank.  The form is used by both new employees (who wouldn’t have an employee ID) and current employees (who would) needing to change their personal information.

If you are an international student, you MUST also have a valid student/work permit and will be required to submit a clear photocopy of this document by uploading it into the TA Application.

Many international students have been encountering difficulties applying for Social Insurance Number for the start of the academic year, but Service Canada has just announced a solution.

The complication is an indirect result of changes to immigration legislation effective June 1, 2014, which resulted in new procedures for applying for a SIN. This has meant that certain study permit holders have been ineligible to apply for a SIN, and others have faced a delay of 30 business days after arriving in Canada.

As of Monday, September 8, 2014  study permit holders who are enrolled full-time for immigration purposes and have an on-campus job offer are able to apply for a SIN in person at any Service Canada Centre with the following documents:

  • A UBC Proof of Enrolment letter
  • A valid study permit
  • An on-campus job offer (for non-UBC employers, this will be a letter from UBC confirming the work is on campus)

Each of these documents has specific parameters so please refer to UBC’s online information about applying for a SIN and to International Student Development.

 

Current version of the LFS TA Offer email:

This is the current (or close to current) 2020/21 Winter Session LFS TA Contract email that you will receive if you have been offered a position:

Student name: {0}
Student #: {1}
Instructor: {4}

Please read the following document completely, and retain it for future reference.

This is your contract.

For security reasons, the LFS TA website requires VPN connection for anyone
trying to access the site off-campus. For information/instructions on setting
up VPN:
https://it.ubc.ca/services/email-voice-internet/myvpn/setup-documents [1] [1]

Hello {0},

Thank you for your application for a TA position with the Faculty of Land and
Food Systems.  We are happy to offer you a TA position for  {2}:
{3} for {5} hours as a {6}.

The Faculty of Land and Food Systems reserves the right to cancel courses, and Associated Teaching Assistant jobs, for low enrolment, and to modify TA hours. You will be advised of any such changes by the Course Withdrawal Deadline.
To refer to the UBC Calendar for course scheduling 
https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/main?sessyr=2018&sesscd=W [2] [2]

To calculate the salary you will make from your TA assignment(s), multiply
the number of assigned hours by the salary rate associated with your
classification.  You can find current CUPE 2278 salary scales at this UBC HR webpage: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/compensation/salary-administration/salary-scales/.

To see your position, and to accept or decline the offer, please log into the new LFS TA Application at 
https://ta-app.landfood.ubc.ca [3] [3] — your offer will be listed
when you log in; click for details.  

You are asked to accept or decline this offer at the earliest possible date, normally no later than ten (10) working days from the date of the offer.

PLEASE NOTE:  If you are unable to provide the required documentation to process your appointment before the beginning of the assignment (Personal Data Form, SIN and/or Study Permit), this offer may be rescinded.

By accepting the offer, you’re committing to fulfill your duties as a TA such as, for example, being available for the full duration of your appointment:

Summer Session Appointment dates:
Summer Session, Term 1:  May 1 to June 30
Summer Session, Term 2:  July 1 to August 31
Summer Session, Terms 1 & 2:  May 1 to to August 31
Winter Session Appointment dates:
Winter Session, Term 1:  September 1 to December 31
Winter Session, Term 2:  January 1 to April 30
Winter Session, Terms 1 & 2:  September 1 to April 30

If you will not be available at any point during the dates listed in your
contract, you MUST discuss this with the course instructor BEFORE accepting
this offer.

If you have never worked for UBC before, you will be required to submit
supporting documentation: a UBC Personal Data Form ,  a copy of your valid
student/work permit and a photocopy of your SIN. You cannot be hired at UBC
without a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN). If you are an international
student, you MUST also have a valid student/work permit and will be required
to submit a clear photo, copy or scan of this document.  Please note:   you must be
able to provide all necessary supporting documentation needed to process your
appointment at least THREE WEEKS prior to the start of the term in order for
us to have enough time to process your appointment.  If you have not provided
this documentation, your offer may be rescinded.

Direct Deposit:
If this is your first appointment at UBC, you will need to set up direct deposit with UBC Finance
to ensure you receive your pay in a timely manner. 

In Workday, the system will automatically prompt you to fill out and submit the Direct Deposit form.In Workday, the system will automatically prompt you to fill out and submit the Direct Deposit form.

Please do NOT send your direct deposit information to the LFS Finance, the Academic Coordinator or the Manager, Graduate Programs

All TAs are paid twice per month – on the 15th and the last day of the month.
The number of your assigned hours indicated on your offer(s) will be spread out evenly throughout
the term of your appointment (aka “Period of Contract”). For more information, see the TA Portal [4].

PLEASE NOTE: Once your appointment set up is completed by UBC Finance Payroll, you will be paid automatically. There is no need to input your hours into Workday.

To find out more about your pay and how it works, search for “UBC Finance Payroll Your Pay” for the UBC Finance website payroll information.


Mandatory Training workshops:
BC legislation requires all UBC staff (including students employed by the

University) to receive mandatory training. 

Once your appointment is processed on the system, your Campus-Wide Login (CWL) will be activated and you will then be able to access the mandatory online training.  Please complete the following six training modules (https://wpl.ubc.ca/).  There will be a completion certificate at the end of each module.  Please upload your completion certificates to TRMS (Training Records Management System – https://training-report.landfood.ubc.ca/).  Please note that the LFS General Guide also needs to be printed, completed and uploaded in the TRMS as well. For help with the TRMS, contact the LFS Learning Centre.

  • New Worker Safety Orientation
  • Preventing and Addressing Workplace Bullying and Harassment Training
  • Workplace Violence Prevention Training
  • Privacy Matters & UBC, Parts 1 & 2
  • Prevention of COVID-19 in the Workplace

In order to accept your TA offer(s), you must confirm that you have either
completed all six mandatory training modules or agree that you will commit to completing
the requirement before the start of your TA assignment and supply your documents as directed.  

Please refer to the TA Portal for more details: https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/privacy-matters-training/ [4] [4]

LFS TAs will be required to maintain a log of their worked hours. This
document should be shared with the course instructor several times throughout
the term of the TAship to best utilize the assigned TA support hours. TAs
must submit this document to the course instructor at the end of their assignment, and
keep a copy for themselves.

Performance evaluations are an important aspect of the TA experience within
LFS. TAs will be subject to an orientation at the beginning of the appointment, and
formal evaluation at the end of their assignment.

Please do not accept this appointment if you are unsure of the expectations
of you as a TA within LFS or if you are unwilling to accept any of the
conditions including those listed above.

If you have any general questions about TA’ing within LFS, please refer to
the online TA Portal blog (https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/ [5] [5])

Zhaoming Xu
Associate Dean, Academic
***
Virginia Frankian
Academic Coordinator
The University of British Columbia
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Room 230 Food, Nutrition & Health Bldg.
2205 East Mall
Vancouver BC  V6T 1Z4
Phone:  604-822-0434
For all TA-related correspondence, please use lfs.ta@ubc.ca [6] [6]
Website: www.landfood.ubc.ca [7] [7]

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity.

[1] https://it.ubc.ca/services/email-voice-internet/myvpn/setup-documents
[2] https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/main?sessyr=2018&sesscd=W
[3]https://ta-app.landfood.ubc.ca/
[4] https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/privacy-matters-training/
[5] https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/
[6] mailto:lfs.ta@ubc.ca
[7] http://www.landfood.ubc.ca