GTA Specific Information

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)

In addition to the eligibility requirements for all 3Gs, there are additional eligibility and employment requirements for GTAs. These requirements are outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the University of Kansas and the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition (GTAC) at the Lawrence campus.

GTA Memorandum of Agreement

Spoken English Proficiency

GTA Employment vs Admission Requirements

All students being appointed as a GTA who have self-identified as being a non-native speaker of English must meet the Kansas Board of Regents’ requirements for spoken English competency before the University can complete the GTA hiring process.

Note that the spoken English requirements for admission to a graduate program are separate from requirements for employment. The spoken English requirement for a GTA must be met through a qualifying test score. A completed degree from an institution that conducts all instruction in English does not meet the eligibility requirements for a GTA, as it does for admission

Students who are non-native speakers of English who didn’t take a qualifying English exam (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS) because they met the admissions requirement some other way (e.g. English-medium bachelor’s, military service) may take the KU’s spoken English exam, called the SPEAK test, which is administered through the Applied English Center.

SPEAK Test Information

GTA Mandatory Training

All first time GTAs appointed on the Lawrence Campus must complete all components of the mandatory New GTA Orientation offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) or an approved alternative New GTA Orientation offered by their hiring department (see the list of units with approved alternative orientations below) 

Students are responsible for ensuring that all components of training by the CTE’s communicated deadlines to remain eligible for their GTA appointment.

There are 3 Components of Required Training:

New GTA Policy Tutorial

The goal of the Policy Tutorial is to introduce and familiarize new GTAs with KU policies and procedures as they relate to their duties as a GTA. The Policy Tutorial covers four broad topics: Privacy and Disability, Consenting Relationships and Sexual Harassment, Professional Expectations, and Academic Integrity.

CTE Conference

The goal of the CTE Conference is to introduce new GTAs to best practices and provide examples of excellence in teaching. The CTE Conference is comprised of two synchronous sessions and a series of asynchronous modules available through Canvas. To complete the conference, new GTAs should attend the two conference sessions, complete the two essential modules, and complete three breakout modules of their choice. See more details about the sessions and modules below.

Follow-up sessions

The goal of the Follow-up Session is to provide GTAs with an opportunity to discuss challenges they may be facing and to develop a plan to make any adjustments that might be needed to improve student learning

CTE Training Information & Dates

Students are responsible for ensuring that all components of training by the CTE’s communicated deadlines to remain eligible for their GTA appointment.

The CTE's GTA page also provides a wealth of useful resources for GTAs to grow as instructors and work with students.

Exempt Departments

A select group of departments have an approved alternative orientation. GTAs in these departments are exempt from the CTE Conference and the New GTA Follow-up Session. A complete list of exemptions are outlined below. Note that GTAs in these departments are still required to complete the online policy tutorial in Canvas.


GTAs in the departments (below) must complete	Policy Tutorial	CTE Conference	Orientation in the hiring department	CTE Follow-up Session
Chemistry	Yes	No	Yes	No
Communication Studies	Yes	No	Yes	No
English	Yes	No	Yes	No
French, Francophone & Italian Studies	Yes	Spring only	Fall only	Spring only
Geology	Yes	Spring only	Fall only	Spring only
Physics & Astronomy	Yes	No	Yes	No

Performance Evaluation for GTAs

In order to mentor GTAs in the acquisition of instructional skills, the appointing department is required to provide each GTA with written performance evaluations. GTAs must be formally evaluated at least once each semester during their first year, and then once each academic year in subsequent years.

Additional information about the required components of the evaluation, deadlines, and process for reporting the outcome is found in HRM’s Performance Evaluation for GTAs policy.

GTA Return of Student Work

Departments must arrange to collect from GTAs any un-returned student work and store it in a central, department space (Article 5, Section 2b, p. 7). GTAs should return student work no later than thirty (30) days after the deadline for turning in course grades.

Return of Work Frequently Asked Questions