Graduate students must complete the New Teaching Assistant (TA) Orientation before or during their first quarter of the regular academic-year (i.e., not summer) as a TA; otherwise they will be ineligible to TA in future quarters. Once they have completed the UCR Graduate Division New TA Orientation, they do not need to retake it.

All New TA Orientation components are asynchronous, on Canvas/eLearn. The self-enroll link is below. It must be completed by the conclusion of Week 5 of your first TAship. The required training elements (as mandated by the Academic Senate) take approximately four hours to complete.

This orientation is for those who have been assigned a TA position ONLY. Do not enroll if you are not a new TA scheduled to TA.

The new TA Orientation covers mandatory modules on basic pedagogy, TA rights and responsibilities, FERPA rules and regulations for TAs, UAW information, teaching in a diverse classroom environment, and building rapport with students. Additional, non-mandatory modules provide resources for classroom and online teaching technologies, relevant campus partners, and best practices in pedagogy. Below is an outline of the mandatory orientation components:

1. Module 1: Rights & Responsibilities Video & Quiz
2. Module 2: Organization & Instruction Video & Quiz
3. Module 3: Diversity & Rapport Video & Quiz
4. Module 4: FERPA Training Video & Quiz
5. Sign-up information for the UAW Union presentation
6. End of Course Reflection Exit Ticket

Graduate students working as TAs for the first time (who have not previously completed UCR’s New TA Orientation) must complete orientation before or during their first quarter as a TA. The Teaching Assistant Development Program (TADP) has limited staff and resources, so if you fail to complete the orientation requirements by the deadline, we cannot guarantee that you will be certified.

New TA Orientation is NOT offered over the Summer.

Winter 2026 New TA Orientation

You can self-enroll in the Canvas here: https://elearn.ucr.edu/enroll/EEGGTM

Please reach out to us with any questions at tadp@ucr.edu, thanks! :)

A tutorial on how to self-enroll to the TA Orientation Canvas course can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CPkVz4LLD8RW27T9Bb5gmg6WZyy2c4zC/view?usp=share_link