SACSCOC Requirements

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) requires Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) who have primary responsibility for teaching a course for credit and/or for assigning final grades for such a course must have earned at least 18 graduate semester credit hours in their teaching discipline, preferably, the student will have had teaching experience in the specialty area, be under the direct supervision of a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, receive regular in-service training, and be regularly evaluated.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Credentialing Requirements

The student must have completed at least 18 semester hours of graduate credit in the teaching field. 

The specific courses taught must be listed if the student is hired as a GTA. At the time of the appointment, the The component leader (chair, dean, associate dean, director) or the hiring department administrator must digitally complete and submit the Certification of Graduate Teaching Assistant Academic Preparation form, listing the coursework that qualifies the student to teach the course/s they are assigned: University, Course Prefix & No., Course Title, Semester Credit Hours, Date & Grade, and Field. This form must be submitted to the Graduate School before the student's graduate assistantship assignment is submitted to the Graduate School and before the graduate teaching assistant (GTA) appointment can be approved and processed.

Note: The Certification of Graduate Teaching Assistant Academic Preparation form should be submitted only once. If the student continues to teach in subsequent semesters, the department does not need to resubmit the Certification of Graduate Teaching Assistant Academic Preparation form.

The above requirements do not apply to Graduate Assistants who are engaged in assignments such as laboratory assistance, teaching physical education activities, attending or helping prepare lectures, grading papers, keeping class records, and conducting discussion groups.