Responsibilities of Academic Programs for International Teaching Assistants/Instructors

Overview

The academic department/program in which the international candidate will be working is responsible for making sure the candidate meets the following requirements:

• has the language assessment level needed for the TA assignment,
• has completed all pre-semester training requirements (Orientation for New International Teaching Assistants),
• is enrolled in ongoing instructional development (Early Feedback) activities, and
• if a waiver is warranted, ascertain all necessary information.

Arranging Assessments and Registrations

Departments and programs interested in having an ITA candidate teach or assist with instruction should contact the International Teaching Assistant Program as early as possible to arrange an assessment. Assessment dates are included in our calendar, and additional Oral Presentation Tests can be scheduled with sufficient notice.

Departments and programs are also responsible for registering students for the Graduate Assistant Teaching Orientation and the Orientation for New International Teaching Assistants. Registration can be completed online.

Language Levels and Teaching Assignments

A complete breakdown of assessment levels can be found in Language Assessment Results. When ITA candidates do not demonstrate sufficient English-language competency for a specific instructional position, academic programs cannot award them the appointment. By law, waivers cannot be given to candidates lacking the necessary linguistic skill. Waivers are only for exemplary candidates who have not previously been enrolled at Mizzou.

Academic programs and departments may choose to alter the teaching assignment or reassign the candidate to a position requiring language skills matching the candidate's proficiency level.

If your previous language assessment score was higher than this current score, ITAP will honor the higher score.. But, the academic department may use its own discretion when choosing whether to make TA hiring decisions based on the current or previous score. The department may wish to consult with the departmental representatives present at the assessment to help make that decision.

Departmental Oral Presentation Test Responsibilities

The academic program is responsible for the following:

• assigning a topic for the test and distributing it it to the student within five days of the actual presentation
• ensuring that one faculty member and two undergraduates are present to evaluate the candidate during the test

Please use the Oral Presentation form (.doc) when assigning topics to students. To assist in assigning topics for the Oral Presentation Test, programs should have a bank of 10 or more topics and rotate them so that candidates cannot anticipate what the topic will be. (Programs may also wish to have other topics on hand for candidates wishing to practice by preparing other topics.)

The topic

• must be selected by the academic program, not by the ITA him/herself
• should be given to the candidate five or fewer working days in advance of the Oral Presentation Test
• should be an elementary concept that would be appropriate for beginning students who are unfamiliar with the material. Topics can include defining a key concept in the discipline, comparing and contrasting two concepts, providing examples to explain a concept, explaining a process or procedure and explaining why a concept is important.

Waiving the Residency Requirement

Under the law, neither the language proficiency nor the cultural orientation requirements can be waived, but under certain conditions the chancellor can waive the residency requirement. Departments may request a waiver on behalf of an ITA candidate under the following conditions:

• The candidate received a language assessment and has strong language skills for the type of teaching assignment she/he is receiving,
• The candidate has attended the Orientation for New International Teaching Assistants before the beginning of the semester he/she is to begin teaching, and
• Instructors in the Orientation for New International Teaching Assistants have noted that the student is adequately familiar with the culture of the American university classroom.

In order to be considered for a waiver, the program must complete testing and the waiver application two weeks before the semester begins.