ISA co-op employment | Computer Science Instructional Support Group

ISA employment

Each term, the Instructional Support Group (ISG) employs co-op students as Instructional Support Assistants (ISAs) to assist instructors with teaching CS courses.

All ISA positions are full-time at 35 hours per week for four months. Recruiting is done exclusively through the University's Co-operative Education.

Check out our recent feature by Co-operative Education to learn more about the impact that the ISG makes for its co-op students and how our co-op students are the backbone of our department.

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Why be an ISA?

As an ISA, you are the primary student contact for a course, serving as a consultant for course-related material and ensuring that the course runs smoothly. You also gain teaching experience by conducting office hours, and may also be asked to lead tutorials and supervise labs.

Students from all faculties, programs, and academic terms are welcome to apply for ISA positions. While technical advantages may be helpful, our ideal teaching team consists of a mix of people with different strengths especially for a multi-ISA course.

ISAs have shared office spaces to work collaboratively as a community

ISAs are the main source of support for students and can greatly impact their academic performance.

ISAs gain hands-on teaching experience when supervising labs or leading tutorials

ISAs have opportunities to network with university staff and professors

ISAs are encouraged to get to know each other, socialize, and provide ongoing support at work

TAs in a meeting discussing course content

ISAs greatly influence their course's delivery by test-writing assignments and providing direct feedback to instructors

Comments from former ISAs

"Working for ISG is a great way to meet new people and gain appreciation for the academic process."

"I really enjoyed the collaboration apsect of being an ISA. Having to work with other people to make sure the course functions correctly is a good way to improve communication and teamwork, which can really benefit me in the long run."

"Working as an ISA allowed me to interact with and help students who will one day become the great minds that will shape the way humans interact with computers past and move on."

"Working as an ISA is a lot of fun! I love interacting with students and participating in everything that happens behind the scenes of the CS courses at our school."

"Being an ISA is a really good way to gain practical experience in skills such as time management, responsibility, communication and accountability!"

"As someone who is social, the work environment is perfect, welcoming and vibrant."

"As someone typically pretty introverted, working as an ISA has earned me a lot of confidence in speaking in front of others and sharing my ideas."

"Working as an ISA is a good opportunity to view from the perspective of the teaching side. So you get an idea of how instructors deliver course materials & what are the general expectations for the students. It definitely helps you to thrive in your future."

Hiring process and timing

ISG posts ISA positions from the first co-op cycle onwards. Interested co-op students should apply through WaterlooWorks and complete an Applicant Information Form (AIF). If there are no ISA positions on WaterlooWorks, this means there are no ISA positions available that term.

Students who have served as an ISA in a previous term and would like to return for a full-time co-op or a part-time position should contact the Undergraduate Studies Administrative Coordinator for available positions or their ISC directly.

Part-time ISA positions

Part-time ISA or undergraduate marker positions are restricted to students who have previously worked as a full-time ISA. Hiring to part-time positions is at the discretion of the Instructional Support Coordinator (ISC).

Students interested in similar part-time work may also consider applying for a Math Faculty teaching assistantship.

Hiring students outside of co-op programs

We are currently under a directive to hire only co-op students for all temporary positions on campus. ISG believes it is important to support the co-op program. Rarely, non-co-op students are considered for full-time employment if qualified co-op students are not found; a decision to accept such applications is made on an individual basis by the ISC for that course. These candidates will be interviewed and ranked together with the co-op students applying for the same job. Therefore, any non-co-op applicants must be aware of the timing of the hiring process as described above.