1.2 Academic Information

1.2.1 Graduate College English Language Requirements

The Graduate College requires international students to take or be exempted from specific testing upon their arrival at Iowa State University.

English Placement Test (EPT)

If you are a student whose native language is not English, you must take or be exempted from the English Placement Test (EPT) as a graduate student before your first semester. New students who are exempt according to EPT policies will have their record updated automatically after the 10th day of classes each semester.

Oral English Certification Test (OECT)

If you are an international student and will be a teaching assistant, you must take and receive a Level 1 or 2 pass on the Oral English Certification Test (OECT) before beginning any teaching responsibilities. You may also qualify for exemption from one or both parts of the exam. Students are permitted to begin teaching if a Level 2 pass is achieved and are required to take and successfully pass GRST 5400 during their first semester of teaching preferably. If certification is not achieved, you will not be able to continue as a teaching assistant in the English Department.

NOTE: All graduate students in the TESL/Applied Linguistics MA and the Applied Linguistics and Technology PhD programs are required to pass the OECT as part of their program requirements. To pass, students must achieve a Level 1 certification or may be exempted from taking one or both of the OECT components and obtain certification.

1.2.2 Academic standing/probation

To stay in good academic standing, you must maintain a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) in all courses taken (creative component 5990 or research 6990 credits are not used in computing a student’s overall GPA). If your GPA drops below 3.0, you will be placed on academic probation and will not be allowed to register for future terms while on probation unless the DOGE recommends to the Graduate College that further registration be permitted. After you attain a 3.0 GPA, you will be removed from academic probation.

While on academic probation, you are not eligible to hold an assistantship or receive tuition scholarships. However, if you are placed on academic probation, you should contact the DOGE immediately for a waiver that would allow you to keep your assistantship for one semester giving you a chance to remedy this situation.

1.2.3 Academic leave/re-entry

If you must stop taking courses for a year or more, you must request to be put on academic leave by the English Department. You can do this by sending an email explaining your circumstances to your assigned program advisor or major professor who will then indicate their support and forward your email indicating their support) to the Graduate Program Administrative Assistant for final approval by the Director of Graduate Education. If an academic leave is approved, you will not have to be formally readmitted in order to resume your studies.

Cases in which the student leaves ISU during his or her graduate career without DOGE approval and later wishes to return are dealt with individually by the DOGE, the student’s POS committee, and the Graduate College. Two consecutive calendar years of non-registration puts students on “inactive” status and requires a Reinstatement to Active Status request in Workday for the approval of the graduate program and the Graduate College to active status again in order to resume coursework.

It is not possible to take a leave of absence from your graduate assistantship appointment without extenuating circumstances. If you discontinue your enrollment, you must resign your graduate assistantship position unless a leave has been approved by the DOGE. Reinstatements with graduate assistantship support upon return to enrollment are dealt with individually.