Establishing guidelines for teaching assistants in an online accelerated RN-BSN program

Effectively using teaching assistants is one strategy that can enhance engagement in a Community of Inquiry. This pilot study aimed to determine: 1) if standardized guidelines for teaching assistants improved student perceptions of the Community of Inquiry and 2) faculty satisfaction and intent to use the guidelines after study completion. A two-phase approach using the Community of Inquiry survey and open-ended questions assessed student perceptions of online learning and teaching assistant performance. Phase 1 data were used to develop teaching assistant guidelines. The guidelines were implemented in phase 2, and the survey was repeated. Faculty perceptions of the guidelines were ascertained through a separate survey. Descriptive and bivariate statistics measured quantitative data. Narrative analysis and NVivo software explored open-ended items.Students surveyed in Phase 1 reported positive perceptions of the Community of Inquiry on a 5-point Likert Scale (with 1 indicating strongly agree ad 2 indicating agree). Phase 2 revealed that students maintained positive perceptions of the Community of Inquiry, however, they were less positive than Phase 1. T-tests indicated no improvement in student perceptions after guideline implementation. Student concerns regarding the teaching assistant's performance were consistent in both phases. The faculty found guidelines helpful and intended to use them in the future. Student perceptions of Community of Inquiry in courses utilizing guidelines wereless positive than students taking classes without guidelines. Multifactorial issues, mainly COVID-19, impacted survey participation, engagement, andimplementation of guidelines. Despite this, findings led faculty to determine best practices for teaching assistants in accelerated online courses. Keywords: Teaching assistants, online learning, community of inquiry, guidelines.