There is no such thing as a test that cannot be compromised .
Testing times
English language testing for international students remains vague and subjective .
By Greg Whateley and Anrag Kanwar
The international student market in Australia is potentially worth some $ 39.6 billion in revenue . It remains its fourth largest export industry .
While the industry has taken a battering due to COVID-19 it is still an important source of revenue for Australia . The current thinking is that while 2020 / 2021 will continue to be challenged by restrictions on students coming into Australia , 2022 is likely to see a revival .
What is intriguing , though , is the high levels of satisfaction with the online alternative by postgraduate students in particular .
The recent Deloitte study of postgraduate students suggests that 77 % of surveyed students preferred to stay online rather than return to the classroom . In our higher education institution , UBSS , the outcome of the most recent survey ( T1 , 2021 ) suggested 88 % of students ( both undergraduate and postgraduate ) preferred to stay on line .
The mindset could see growth in the sector continue – just not in the usual F2F context .
Genuine entry requirement International student applicants need to demonstrate that they meet the Genuine Entry Requirement . This means that a student is coming to Australia to gain a quality education and is equipped accordingly . ‘ Genuine ’ status has measures attached that international students from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate English language proficiency .
The view is that proficiency is essential to performance given that all instruction and assessment is in the English language . An important consideration , of course , is the nature of the study and the language requirement . That is , a ‘ one size fits all ’ scenario is not appropriate .
Standard 2 of the National Code requires Registered Providers to have and implement a documented policy and process for assessing that the overseas students ’ English language proficiency , educational qualifications or work experience is sufficient to enter a course .
How this is measured is largely up to the provider , and as noted may vary according to the nature of the offering . What is important is the language requirement needs to be evident and supportable in the admissions process . The standard approach has been an IELTS ( or equivalent ) measure .
There is no statutory definition of what is meant by English equivalency contained in the ESOS Act . In fact the TEQSA Act is also silent on English equivalency . This provides a degree of anxiety for both providers and the Regulator and is in no way helpful .
Determining student suitability It is important to determine whether students are suitable for the course for which they wish to study . Consideration of suitability to enrol then is of utmost importance . The convenience of using standardised test results , such as IELTS , is self-evident though troublesome at a number of levels .
As noted earlier there is no definition in the ESOS Act and / or the TEQSA Act for English language equivalency and the like . Curiously , a beta guidance note on admissions was published in February 2021 by TEQSA but remains vague on language requirement and equivalency .
This lack of definition has created a vacuum . While there are some best practice guides such as the European Framework , it is often left to the provider itself to determine what suitability into the program looks like by way of comparison to what others are doing in the sector . Benchmarking can be a useful tool here – and has been used by many private providers to ensure appropriateness .
Interestingly , the very tests themselves ( such as IELTS ) have been the subject of scandals on a number of occasions . For example , a former staffer at Curtin University in Australia was imprisoned for taking bribes to falsify IELTS scores . There are entire quora and reddit threads on cheating and hacks .
In fact , a Google search will reveal some 3,050,000 results in 98 seconds . Therefore , the conclusion must be there is no such thing as a test that cannot be compromised and there is evidence that this is occurring .
Why is this issue important to the private provider ? It is very important for our organisation for example to assess the suitability of students for their courses . This includes language proficiency . Students who do not have the requisite English language skills may fail their chosen course as a result . This reflects poorly upon UBSS ( the HE provider ) in terms of its progression rates . In addition , it may also impact on the employability of graduates .
Given that a number of graduates apply for skilled migration visas , it may also impact on their ability to apply for permanent residency . ■
Greg Whateley is deputy vice chancellor and Anurag Kanwar is compliance and continuous improvement director at Group Colleges Australia .
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