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English Programs for Internationals

ITA Workshop & Assessment

International Teaching Assistant Workshop & Assessment  

Our office is charged with assessing the English language speaking fluency of all International Teaching Assistants (ITAs). These assessments allow the University of South Carolina to comply with the 1991 South Carolina law, "English Fluency in Higher Learning Act”, which states: 

"(C) Each public institution of higher learning shall establish policies to: (1) ensure that the instructional faculty whose second language is English possess adequate proficiency in both the written and spoken English language." 

More information is available in the South Carolina Code of Laws. 

ITA Events 

ITA Assessment Spring 2024

  • EPI offers an ITA assessment in January before classes begin. The Spring 2024 ITA Assessment will be Friday, January 5, 2024 at 1:30 PM - Close-Hipp 4th floor. NOTE: There is no ITA workshop in January. 
  • Graduate Directors may register their students for this assessment by emailing epib-ita@mailbox.sc.edu by 5:00 PM by Wednesday, January 3, 2024. Students may not register themselves for this assessment. 
  • Retesting and late testing for Spring 2024 will be Friday, January 12, 2024 at 1:30 PM - Close-Hipp 4th floor.
  • Graduate Directors may register their students for retesting and late testing by emailing epib-ita@mailbox.sc.edu by 5:00 PM by Thursday, January 11, 2024. Students may not register themselves for this assessment. 

ITA Workshop Fall 2024

  • The ITA workshop for this semester will be in person on Monday, August 12, 2024.  It will begin in Close-Hipp 002 at 9AM.  About mid-point in the workshop there will be breakout sessions. These will also be in Close-Hipp.  
  • Matriculated international graduate students with an offer to work as a Teaching Assistant must participate in the Workshop and the Assessment. 

Please note: Students who do not complete the in-person workshop will not be registered for the ITA Assessment, which will take place on August 15 and 16, 2024. If students are late arriving for the ITA Assessment, their Graduate Directors may register them for Late Testing by emailing epib-ita@mailbox.sc.edu by 5:00 PM on Monday, August 19, 2024. Late testing will be at EPI in the Close-Hipp building on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Students may not register themselves for this assessment. Graduate programs that fail to register potential International Teaching Assistants for the original testing must do so by the late testing date or their students will not be eligible to teach that semester. 

ITA Assessment Fall 2024

  • The assessment is in the form of a “microlesson assignment” [pdf] which is taught to a small group. 
  • The Assessments will be Thursday, August 15 from 1 – 4:30 PM or Friday, August 16 from 9 AM–12noon or  1 PM–4:30 PM.  Students will be assigned an assessment session.  They will not be required to attend all three sessions, only the session to which they are assigned.   
  • If students do not pass the ITA Assessment in August, EPI offers a course for ITAs every fall and spring semester to help the students improve their spoken English: ENFS 075. The final exam of this course is another ITA Assessment. All ENFS 075 students are automatically registered for this assessment. Graduate Directors may register their students who are not enrolled in ENFS 075 for this assessment by emailing epib-ita@mailbox.sc.edu by 5:00 PM on Monday, November 25, 2024 (the week of Thanksgiving). Students may not register themselves for this assessment. 
  • EPI offers an ITA Assessment in January before classes begin. Details regarding the Spring 2024 ITA Assessment are given above. 
  • If a department needs for a student to be assessed to enable the student to teach in the summer, the Graduate Director can request a special testing by emailing epib-ita@mailbox.sc.edu. Students may not register themselves for this assessment. 
  • For all questions regarding ITA Assessment, please email epib-ita@mailbox.sc.edu. 

Exemption 

  • Students who wish to fulfill the ITA requirement through the submission of evidence qualifying them for exemption must complete the online form and upload the relevant documentation.  
  • Simply completing the form does not automatically result in exemption from ENFS and/or ITA assessment. Rather, your request and supporting documentation will be reviewed and evaluated to determine if it fulfills the ENFS/ITA requirement and qualifies you for exemption from the ENFS Speaking Assessment, ENFS Writing Assessment, and/or ITA Assessment.  
  • For questions about ENFS exemptions, please see ENFS.  
  • Note that you may not consider yourself to have fulfilled the requirement and qualified for exemption from testing until you have received written notice from the Asst. Director of ENFS/ITA informing you of the exemption. 

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