Job Details
Job Description
St. Olaf College Student Employee Job Description
Job Title: Lab Assistant
Classification: Student Employee (non-exempt)
Name and Address of Employer: St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057
Department Name: Chemistry
Unit Number (5 digits): 11130
Length of Position: See Employment Authorization
Contact Person/Supervisor: Instructor for the class
Pay Rate (Check One) Standard Hourly Rate X Supervisory/Special Skills Hourly Rate
Description of the Position: (Purpose of the Position):
As the grader of student lab reports you will generate student scores and likely have access to other scores on websites or in spreadsheets.
Duties and Responsibilities:
It is the responsibility of lab assistants to do their best to follow grading guidelines, to finish each job in a timely fashion (usually by the next lab session), to ask for clarification when necessary, and to communicate on a regular basis with your faculty member supervisors (lab instructor and/or lab director). The lab director will let you know how/where to record and store the grades.
Lab assistants have additional lab safety responsibilities and should always be alert and watchful in the lab. Please do...
help to encourage the proper attention to waste collection and documentation on waste manifests
monitor the proper use of personal protective equipment by the students
help to ensure that all students present are appropriately attired
spend your time circulating in the lab looking for unsafe or incorrect work, answering student questions, inviting student questions, etc.
fill out your online time sheet at the end of your working or grading sessions
Your time in the lab is not for grading or sitting on the sidelines observing from afar. Beware of spending more time with some groups than others. You may have friends/acquaintances enrolled in the lab and it is your responsibility to ensure that other students have no reason to be concerned about preferential treatment of some students.
Lab assistants are always farther along in the study of chemistry than their students. Nonetheless, lab assistants may not always know the answers to questions asked by students. It is important to admit when you are unsure. It is okay to tell them you don't know the answer. Given the proximity of a lab instructor, it would always be perfectly acceptable to say, "I'm not sure about that, let's go and ask the Professor."
Also, while lab assistants are more advanced in their chemistry studies, it is not a good idea to flaunt this status. Rarely, we have had reports of lab assistants behaving condescendingly toward their students. Use your judgment here. There is a difference between piquing the interest of a younger student by telling them about what is going on in the analytical chemistry lab (for instance) and making that same student feel inadequate with just too much information.
If you will have trouble maintaining an unbiased view of student work due to situations such as having close friends in your lab section, please consult with your supervisor. Under no conditions should you be grading lab reports of someone whom you are dating. Please advise your supervisor of the problem immediately. Do not begin a romantic relationship with a student in the lab section for which you assist.
If you cannot come to a lab session due to illness or some other commitment, email the other lab assistants for the course to see if anyone can substitute for you. Then email the lab instructor and the lab director to alert them to the problem and ask if there are others that you should email. Then, keep the lab instructor and lab director informed as to whether or not you have found a substitute.
Qualifications: (Education/Experience/Skills)
1. Must have taken and completed the lab
2. Knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of the material.
3. Good communication skills.
4. Ability to evaluate student questions and answers.
5. Ability to keep good records.
6. Ability to foster the safety guidelines.
This job description is for general information purposes. It is not intended to list all duties and responsibilities of the position. This job description is subject to change at any time by St. Olaf College, with or without prior notice.