All GAs must complete required trainings relevant to their Teaching or Research position. In addition, international students from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate English Proficiency in order to be a Teaching Associate.
UA Harassment & Discrimination Prevention Training
Required for all Graduate Assistants and Associates
The University of Arizona is committed to creating a learning and working environment that is free of harassment and discrimination. GAs have dual roles. They are both Students and Employees working with students. In furtherance of this commitment, all GAs must complete the UA Harassment & Discrimination Prevention Training (includes Title IX content) to better understand how to prevent and report discrimination/harassment. All employees who work closely with students must complete the training.
Please go to the following link and complete the training: https://equity.arizona.edu/training/online-training
To request disability-related accommodations that will facilitate your full participation in this training please contact the DRC at 520-621-3268 or drc-info@email.arizona.edu.
Safety Preparedness Training: Active Shooter
Required for all Graduate Assistants and Associates
At the University of Arizona, your safety is our priority. To enhance campus security, you are required to complete the mandatory Safety Preparedness Training: Active Shooter training. This online training, available through EDGE Learning, equips you with vital information on how to respond to an active threat, following the FBI's “Run. Hide. Fight.” guidelines. Please note that the training is designed with a trauma-informed approach and contains no visuals of guns or attackers, but it does include simulated gunshots. If you are uncomfortable with the video version, you can opt to read through the essential safety information instead.
This training is compulsory for all part-time and full-time faculty, staff members, student workers, graduate assistants, associates, and postdoctoral fellows. Training is required annually. Your participation ensures a safer campus environment for everyone. Thank you for your commitment to our community's security.
Please go to the following link and complete the training: Safety Preparedness Training: Active Shooter.
Information Security Training
The University of Arizona fosters an information security culture and is committed to protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of its information systems and resources. As a graduate assistant or associate, you are required to complete the mandatory Information Security Awareness Training. This online training, available through EDGE Learning, must be completed on an annual basis.
Arizona Public Service Orientation
Arizona state law requires that all state employees complete a public service orientation that covers policies and laws relating to the proper business conduct for a public employee. Topics include public access to records and information, open meeting laws, political activity, gifts and extra compensation, bribery, personal use and misuse of university assets, whistleblowing, and more.
All newly hired University of Arizona faculty, staff, graduate assistants/associates, and student workers are required to complete the Arizona Public Service Orientation in EDGE Learning within 30 days of their hire date.
If you have any issues, comments or concerns please contact the 24/7 IT Support Center at 520-626-8324. Failure to complete the required trainings may result in issues with accessing University systems.
Required Training for Teaching Assistants and Associates
In addition to the trainings trainings listed above, all GAs in Teaching must successfully complete both FERPA and TATO. Please note: these are two separate training modules, in two separate platforms. Both must be successfully completed prior to the deadlines listed below. Currently, TAs need only successfully complete these trainings once to satisfy the requirement.
FERPA Training
All students are protected by a federal privacy law called FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Since TAs are dealing with student records in an official capacity they are bound by this law. The University of Arizona requires that all employees with access to student records complete an online training course. Failure to complete this course within two weeks of starting your position as a TA, will render you ineligible to serve as a TA and your position may be terminated. The course can be accessed through the FERPA Training website or through the link in TATO.
TATO Active Student Learning
Teaching Assistant/Associate Training Online (TATO) is a collection of self-paced modules about teaching and learning made available via Brightspace. All students who wish to be appointed as Teaching Assistants/Associates (TAs) must successfully complete the training no later than two weeks after the start of classes.
It is recommended that TAs review the information from all modules in TATO before the beginning of each semester. Individual departments may also assign additional modules from TATO.
Please note that the mandatory training Graduate Assistant/Associate Teaching Orientation (GATO) is no longer offered or required by the Graduate College. However, individual departments or colleges may require in-person training. Please contact the appointing department for more information.
Instructions
- Go to brightspace.arizona.edu.
- Click on the button labeled "UA NetID Login" in the upper left side of the screen.
- Enter NetID and password.
- Click the Discover link located at the top left side of the screen. The Discover page contains all the courses that are available for self-enrollment. There are two ways to find a course if you don't see it listed in the course tiles: Select the Browse All Content option at the top of the Discover widget or you can use the search box to search for the course by any word in the title of the course.
- Select TATO. This will take you to the course enrollment page.
- Click the Enroll in Course button to self-enroll for the course. NOTE: If you are already enrolled in the course, the button will read Open Course. This offers a secondary way to get back to a course.
- When the enrollment is complete, you can click the Open Course button to go directly to the course.
- To quickly find a Discover course you are already enrolled in, select the Discover Courses tab in the My Courses widget on your Brightspace home page.
Any questions or concerns should be directed to gahelp@grad.arizona.edu.
TATO and FERPA Deadlines
The deadlines for completion of the required trainings are below. Completion of these required modules are monitored by Graduate College staff to ensure completion of this important training. Please contact U of A Brightspace Help if you experience any issues within the TATO modules themselves. TAs who fail to complete either of these trainings will be ineligible for further employment and may be terminated.
| Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 |
|---|---|
| September 7, 2025 | February 1, 2026 |
Conflict of Interest Training (Required for Research Assistants and Associates)
In addition to the training listed above, all GAs in Research must complete the University's Conflict of Interest training. The particular kinds of training you need will depend on what kind of research you do and your specific role in the research process. Please contact the relevant compliance program(s) or the Office of Research and Partnerships, Conflict of Interest Division at COI@arizona.edu (520) 626-6406 if you have questions about which trainings you need to complete.
Failure to complete the required trainings can result in delays or denial of funding!
All International Teaching Assistants/Associates (ITAs) from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate proficiency in spoken English. Attendance at an English-speaking institution does not qualify a student to be a Teaching Assistant. Additional evidence of English proficiency is required to assume the role of a teaching assistant.
Tests that satisfy the requirement are listed below, along with their minimum passing scores. A passing score from any one of these tests will satisfy this requirement.
TOEFL IBT Speaking Section – score of 24
TOEFL PBT - those who took the revised test after 2017 will be asked to take a UA CESL test of speaking skills.
TOEFL Essentials Test Speaking Section - score of 11
IELTS -Speaking Section 7.5
CEPT - Speaking Section 44
Completion of ESPE
English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation (ESPE)
If an International TA has not taken any of the approved tests (listed above) or does not meet the minimum passing score(s), the hiring department must perform an English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation (ESPE). The Graduate College requires that the English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation be completed prior to the student being hired.
A recommended method of early evaluation is a video interview for prospective International GATs ahead of the classroom assignment. This will make it possible to evaluate speaking proficiency before class scheduling and teaching assignments are set. The interview can be conducted via Internet chat (Skype™, Elluminate™, Google Hangouts, Facetime, etc) and should last a minimum of 10-15 minutes. A minimum of two evaluators should conduct the evaluation of the interview.
ESPE Scoring
Hiring departments are free to use any evaluation method they feel is appropriate, as long as it is used consistently for all students being evaluated. One method used successfully in some units is the rubric below. The rubric should be drawn up to include the evaluation of several elements of speaking proficiency, including intelligibility, fluency, accuracy in pronunciation, etc.
| Language Use | N/A | Unacceptable | Conditional | Acceptable |
| Speaks in phrases, not word by word | ||||
| Speaks clearly and at a reasonable rate | ||||
| Has few mistakes in grammar or pronunciation | ||||
| Converses at length rather than answering yes/no | ||||
| Speaks confidently and convincingly | ||||
| Can explain a technical concept in their discipline | ||||
| Correctly understands questions |
Students should receive a majority of scores in the “Acceptable” range to be considered to have passed the test. Those that have many conditional scores should be treated as “conditional passes” and have only limited TA duties, such as grading. Those that have more than 1 unacceptable score should be considered to have failed. Departments are encouraged to impose stricter standards to their ITAs if they wish.
International students that are evaluated by their hiring departments should be given one of three possible scores:
- Pass (numerical score of 2) = unlimited instructional duties.
- Conditional Pass (numerical score of 1) = limited or no direct instructional duties. (Ex. grading, lab prep, website support, office hours, etc). A list of the ITAs duties must be submitted with the grade. A student who receives a score of 1 will need to be re-evaluated each semester that they are hired, until they achieve a score of 2.
- Fail (numerical score of 0) = Not eligible for hire as a Graduate Teaching Assistant/Associate. A student who receives a score of 0 will need to be re-evaluated again, and must obtain a score of either 1 or 2 to begin in instructional duties.
Departments must report scores to the Graduate College by filling out the English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation form. Once the Graduate College receives this form, the score will be entered into UAccess Student. Failure to report a score will delay benefits processing. Programs needing assistance in applying this test should contact either the University's Center for English as a Second Language, or the University's English Applied Linguistics program.
Courses to Improve Spoken English and Other ITA Resources
Courses to help students improve their English are offered through the University of Arizona’s Center for English as a Second Language.
Workshops to improve spoken English are offered through the Clinic Services in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing under the direction of Janet Hawley, janet@arizona.edu or 520-626-6073. Please contact the Clinic Office at 520-621-1826 for an appointment.
Another resource to help you with your TA position is University Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology
Syllabi Suggestions
Departments should prepare undergraduate students for working with International Teaching Assistants (ITAs). It may be helpful to include the information below (or something similar) in the syllabi for courses with ITAs, or to encourage ITAs to adapt and disseminate this information to their students in other ways:
“We live, learn, and work in a global society. In your career, you’re likely to engage with people from all over the world. Communication skills across linguistic differences are a key competency of career readiness. At the U of A, we have instructors and students from over 120 different countries, so you will encounter faculty, TAs, and fellow students whose accented English may, at first, be difficult to understand. You will also encounter various variations and pronunciations of English by both domestic and international TAs. This is an opportunity to expose yourself to accents and variations of English and hone your communication skills.
Remember that your TA is highly qualified to teach the course material but may still be adjusting to a different education system, cultural norms, or language. They are working incredibly hard and deserve respect. Effective communication in a globalized world is a two-way street, and your participation is vital to creating the optimal experience. Below are some strategies for communicating with international TAs:
- Concentrate on what your TA is saying by also paying attention to their verbal and nonverbal cues. The more you communicate with your TA, the more you will understand each other. All TAs want to make sure you learn, so ask questions and make suggestions for what would help you to communicate and learn better.
- Whenever any instructor or TA happens to speak quickly or in a low voice, and you struggle to understand them, feel free to ask them to slow down, speak up, and clarify what they’ve just said. You could also paraphrase what you’ve just heard to check your understanding. You may suggest to your TA that they write down words you don’t understand or provide lists of key words or notes that may help you and others follow along.
- When you are speaking, and especially when it seems that the TA may strain to understand you, please speak a bit slower and clearer than usual. Be cautious about using slang and idioms because they may be challenging to grasp across cultural and language differences.
- Get to know your TA and take this opportunity to ask questions about your TA’s culture, life, and academic experiences. The more you interact with your TA, the easier it will be to hone your communication skills.
If you try these suggestions and are still having difficulties, talk and explore options with your TA and then, if applicable, with the faculty member associated with the course. If there is no faculty member, communicating with the department chair is another option.”