Graduate Teaching Assistant, FIN-685/FIN-485 Economic & Financial Consulting (Student)

Summary

The Graduate Teaching Assistant will work closely with Prof. Chang Li to support FIN-685/FIN-485 Economic and Financial Consulting, a live online summer course designed to prepare students for careers in economic consulting. The course teaches students how to apply economic reasoning and data-based evidence to real-world business disputes, using consulting-style cases drawn from expert reports, court opinions, and market evidence. Students practice framing consulting questions, evaluating assumptions, assessing evidence, and communicating results clearly and professionally in contexts such as intellectual property, contracts, consumer demand, valuation, and antitrust.

The Teaching Assistant will support course preparation, online class delivery, student engagement, grading, feedback, course-related research, and administrative coordination. This role is best suited for a well-organized graduate student who can communicate clearly, manage deadlines, protect student confidentiality, and help students connect economic and financial concepts to applied consulting problems.

Essential Functions

1. Teaching and Course Support

• Assist with preparation and organization of course materials, including casebook readings, lecture notes or slides, consulting-style assignments, discussion prompts, and assessment materials.
• Support live online class sessions as assigned, including monitoring student questions, helping with breakout-room activities, tracking participation, and assisting with online learning technology.
• Help students understand course expectations, consulting-style problem framing, evidence evaluation, and professional communication standards.
• Hold virtual office hours, review sessions, or assignment-support meetings as assigned by the instructor.
• Help maintain the course site and organize course communications, readings, deadlines, and resources.

2. Grading and Feedback

• Evaluate assignments, short briefs, case analyses, participation, quizzes, exams, and other assessments using instructor-provided rubrics.
• Provide timely, constructive, and professional feedback that helps students improve analytical reasoning, evidence use, clarity, and written or oral communication.
• Maintain accurate records of grades, attendance, and participation, and promptly flag student concerns or academic-integrity issues for the instructor.

3. Course-Related Research and Consulting-Material Support

• Assist in locating, summarizing, organizing, and verifying course materials related to economic and financial consulting, including expert reports, court opinions, market evidence, and business dispute examples.
• Support basic data collection, cleaning, organization, and analysis for course examples, demonstrations, and applied exercises.
• Help prepare course materials involving topics such as intellectual property, contracts, consumer demand, valuation, antitrust, and other applied finance/economics issues.
• Assist with background research, literature review, and source checking that support class preparation and student learning.

4. Administrative, Online-Class, and Student Engagement Support

• Coordinate routine communication with students about assignments, due dates, online-session logistics, and course resources.
• Assist with planning and logistics for guest-speaker sessions or industry-career conversations when scheduled.
• Track recurring student questions and provide the instructor with suggestions for clarifying course materials or assignment instructions.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with University, school, course, FERPA, and academic-integrity policies.