Please read through the following FAQs and contact us at itas@iastate.edu if you have any other questions or if you need more information on OECT, GR ST 5400, or other services of the ITA program.

Note: We are in the progress of updating our website and automated information. If you see a reference to Engl 180, it is now GRST 5400 in Workday.

The registration system is temporarily closed because:

  • registration has not started yet and will begin on a designated date, which is specified in the OECT Registration page, or
  • registration is being monitored to avoid overbooking. 

If you tried to register for a certain date and found that the registration page was closed, please try the next registration date.  

If your department has made a special arrangement with the OECT office for your testing, please contact us at itas@iastate.edu.

It is temporarily available only for a limited group of students whose testing has been prearranged with us through their departments or via our waiting list (in case of overbooking). Please try the regular registration on a registration date specified the OECT Registration page.

No. The OECT is only offered in person and face-to-face on campus.

No more testing sessions are available.  Please contact us at itas@iastate.edu so that we can add you in our waiting list.  We will contact you when we have a seat available for you.  In case you can't take the test as we don't have any more seats available for you, please inform your department of the situation.  They might be able to re-assign you to a different teaching duty.  You may take the test in the next testing cycle. 

Please contact us at itas@iastate.edu as soon as possible to request for a schedule change or cancel your test.  We may not be able to accommodate all of students' requests, especially when they ask for a schedule change 1-2 days before their test date.  We don't accept a rescheduling request made a day before the test date.  In that case, students should either attend the test (by missing the other appointment scheduled at the same time) or cancel the test (so that another student can take the test). Please contact us as soon as possible if you need to cancel the test. 

OECT is delivered four times a year:

  • Summer: 1-2 days in the last week of July and throughout August before the Fall semester begins, and 1-2 days during the first week of the term for late-arrival students
  • Fall/Winter: During the Dead Week and the finals week (late November - early December)
  • Winter: During the orientation week of the Spring semester
  • Spring: During the Dead Week and the finals week (late April - early May)

Unfortunately not. We can't accommodate individual students' testing requests due to limited resources. If you need OECT scores for the application to the Preparation for Future Faculty (PFF) program, just indicate in your application that you will take the test on the earlier date possible.

Please login to the system with your NetID and password.  If you still don't find your result on the page, please contact us with your exam ID and NetID.  We will fix the problem as soon as possible.  

We require students to take GR ST 5400 if they don't acquire Level 1 in OECT in their initial test.  This requirement is necessary to meet the Board of Regents’ mandate that is implemented through the ISU faculty policies (see Information for Departments page). However, if they have a schedule conflict with the assigned GR ST 5400 course, they may take it in the following term.  Also, they may choose to delay the GR ST 5400 course to the following term if their TA duties are just grading, proctoring, or setting up equipment for that initial semester.  

Students enroll in GR ST 5400 and retest until they obtain the OECT Level that matches their teaching duties (see Understanding Your Results). Students who initially test at Level 2 usually only need to take one semester of GR ST 5400 while students who test lower than Level 2 may need to take two to three GR ST English for Teaching Purposes courses depending on their results after they retake the OECT.

Generally, students should retake the OECT until they are at a Level 2. In some instances, departments will require students to retest until they are Level 1. Students should check with their department to see if they will be teaching stand-alone courses or need to get Level 1 to meet specific departmental requirements. Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) applicants need to get a Level 1 to continue in the program.

Students who are enrolled in GR ST 5400 can retest at the end of the semester. Students who have previously enrolled in GR ST 5400 can retest within one full year after their previous test date. Students who have initially taken the OECT but did not enroll in any GR ST 5400 cannot retest until they have completed one semester of GR ST 5400.