FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, REGARDLESS OF CITIZENSHIP,
FOR WHOM ENGLISH IS NOT THE NATIVE LANGUAGE

You need to be certified as proficient in English by the English Assessment Program if:

English is not your native language, and

You expect to hold a position that involves instructional activity, and,

Your duties will include any contact with students.

Categories of appointment include, but are not limited to:

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Instructors

Lecturers

Adjunct Faculty Members (some exemptions apply; see "Other Certifications" below)

Visiting Faculty Members (some exemptions apply; see "Other Certifications" below)

You do not need to be certified as proficient in English if:

Your appointment is in the Modern Languages Department, or

You will serve as a Graduate Research Assistant; or

Your duties will include no contact with students.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT OBTAINING ENGLISH PROFICIENCY CERTIFICATION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. IF YOU ARE NOT CERTIFIED, YOUR DEPARTMENT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU AN APPOINTMENT.

Other Certifications:

If you are an Adjunct or Visiting Faculty member, you may be able to obtain certification through your Department Chair/Director and Dean.

If you are a tenured or tenure-track faculty member, you will obtain certification through your Department Chair/Director.

Information about these exemptions is located in the Faculty Handbook, Section 3.29.2. We will be happy to give you details.

Special Certification in Unusual Circumstances: Screening criteria for language skills, no matter how carefully drawn, will inevitably impose testing requirements on some instructors who are clearly proficient in English. Therefore, instructors who believe that the testing requirements should not apply because of unusual experience or circumstances may request special certification via interview. Such a request should be made in writing to the Dean of the Graduate College and should explain why regular testing should not be required. The instructor's chair or director should also send a letter of support for special certification. The Dean may then conduct an interview with the instructor to determine whether the testing exemption is warranted and whether the instructor should be certified as proficient, and will notify the instructor, the department, and the Provost of the decision. The Graduate College must receive the request for special certification before the start of the semester for which certification is required.

See Certification Requirements for more information