About the Program

If you are currently taking or have recently taken a Computer Science course here at the university, you may have heard about our section leader program and what it offers to students. However, for those with questions, we have created this page to be a repository of information pertaining to section leading.

How was the program formed?

The idea of a section leader program is the brainchild of Senior Lecturer Stuart Reges, who started the program while he was Senior Lecturer at Stanford University. Stuart founded the program here in 1998, where it has continued to evolve and flourish.

What is a Section Leader?

A section leader is an undergraduate who works for the University of Arizona Computer Science Department and assists in the teaching of introductory Computer Science courses. All section leaders have taken and excelled in the classes they work for, and therefore are very familiar and comfortable with teaching the material to new students.

What do Section Leaders do?

Section leaders have many responsibilites:

  • Prepare and lead a weekly discussion section for a small group of students to answer questions, review old material, present new content, and provide an intimate, small classroom experience for students in a large university class
  • Grade programs and assignments and assist the instructors in developing criteria and testing suites
  • Participate in interactive grading with students where they review student progress on individual assignments and offer suggestions for improvement
  • Staff Computer Science labs to help students as they work on their assignments
  • Interact with students, fellow section leaders, and University instructors and faculty in a upbeat and professional environment
  • Attend class lectures to better relate material in section

New section leaders take C Sc 391, an upper-division course where they learn valuable teaching skills from experienced section leaders.

How is the Section Leader Program organized?

Each of the introductory Computer Science courses at the university has a group of section leaders assigned to it to assist the students with their efforts in class. Additionally, one section leader per class, the head section leader, works closely with the instructor in organizing the section leaders for their class and planning course material (such as assignments and tests).

There are also two experienced section leaders who work as Section Leader Coordinators, managing the entire group of section leaders across all courses. More information about the coordinators can be found at our Coordinator Page. Finally, a member of the department faculty serves as a supervisor to the program to advise and assist the coordinators in their duties.

What do I need to do to become a Section Leader?

Check this website's home page towards the end of the semester to download an application for the following semester. The coordinators will also be making a presentation in each of the introductory computer science courses when aplications are being accepted. If you have any questions about applying, please email slcoord@cs.arizona.edu and one of the coordinators will get back to you as soon as possible.