Counting and mattering: bringing GTA visibility to the fore in data, at a time of sector change

Abstract

UK Higher Education faces mounting pressures from financial instability, rising student numbers, and increasing regulatory demands. In this context, Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) play a critical role in sustaining teaching and learning during these challenging times. Despite their continued and growing presence, GTAs often remain absent or unseen in national datasets, institutional metrics and reporting, and quality assurance frameworks, leaving their contributions under-recognised and their professional status unclear.

  This paper considers GTAs in relation to sector bodies and national datasets, examining the implications of their relative invisibility for strategic planning, accountability, and student outcomes, particularly in light of growing sector-wide emphasis on compliance and performance indicators. Drawing on institutional knowledge, experience and sector data, it advocates for a more rigorous approach to counting and representing GTAs both locally and nationally, positioning visibility as essential for equity, recognition, and the future resilience of our work. It argues that by ‘counting better’, we might also, at last, move towards liberating GTAs from the ubiquitous and well-document liminal space which they occupy.