Creating a Request for Evaluation for TA Certification

1. Log into Employee Self Service
2. Go to General Systems & Tools and click on ESL TA Certification
3. In the fields at the top, enter the student’s name or ID number.
4. The Request form will appear with the student’s name and ID.
   • Click the arrow next to the Testing Date and choose the appropriate month.
   • For the Employing Department field, click on “Lookup Department.” Since the department name has to be an exact match with what the system is using, the easiest method is to enter your college and department codes in this format: 2‐digit college hyphen 4‐digit department, (e.g. 11‐1890). This will then pull up your department name.
   • Click on “Lookup Liaison” and enter your name or ID number.
   • Choose the starting date of assistantship, which is usually the start of the next semester.
   • Click the box for the highest level of teaching you will need the student to do.
   • If the request is for the student to take the shortened SPEC test, please indicate this in the comments box.
   • Submit the form. You should then be able to see the student’s name on the list of requests that you have submitted (on the first screen when you log in).

How to request a shortened SPEC test (for first-time students only, formerly known as ESPA exemptions) 

1. Requests for a shortened SPEC test  and exceptions must come from the department by the deadline, not the student. 
2. Complete the Workflow form and submit any required documentation by the deadline.   https://workflow.uiowa.edu/form/TAPE-exemption
3. Deadlines to register students and request a shortened SPEC test (formerly known as ESPA exemptions)  or exceptions are:
   • July 19 for August testing
   • October 1 for October/November testing
   • January 1 for January testing
   • March 1 for March/April testing

How to find SPEC results

1. Log into Self Service
2. Go to General Systems & Tools and click on ESL TA Certification
3. The opening screen will show you a list of any pending requests you have submitted. To see results of students who have been tested, click on Search Completed Forms.
4. This will bring up a list of all the students in your department who have been tested since this online system was put in place. Click the circle next to the name of the student you want to see. If the student has been tested more than once, there may be multiple listings. Be sure to choose the one with the most recent date. You can also type in the student’s name or ID number to look up an individual.
5. This will bring up the student’s record. The top part of the form will show the request that the department submitted. The bottom half will be the test results. You will see the student’s score on the SPEC. If the student did not pass, a box will be checked indicating this. If the student scored extremely low and must take an ESL class before TAPE classes, this will also be indicated. The student’s level of certification will be indicated by a checked box next to one of the letters A through E. This tells you what level of teaching the student is certified to do. At the bottom of the form, courses will be checked if any are required. Many departments click the Print Form link at the top of the page.  This will prepare a PDF, which can be printed or e‐mailed to the student.