Module 3: Current practice

In Module 3, we consider current practice (test score use) by exploring the practical use of setting minimum program entry requirements for health programs. As these decisions are made behind closed doors, it is never clear why any specific institution has set their particular requirement for each program.

 Below, we set out various contexts and factors that may affect an institution's decisions. Which ones do you think are justifiable?

3.1.1 Visa requirements

Many governments, including the Australian government, set minimum language requirements for student visas, that may or may not be different for different programs of study and for different types of certificates, diplomas and degrees. Institutions will make these visa requirements the baseline and can adjust their own minimum English language requirements upwards.

3.1.2 Registration standards

Some institutions may choose to set English language requirements at the level required for registration, to ensure that their students will not have issues with the English language requirement for registration. This would pre-empt the issue where students successfully complete a healthcare program yet fail to reach the test score required for registration, essentially rendering their degree useless.

Expected improvement over course of studies

Many people would argue that it's possible for a student's level of English to improve throughout their studies, so it should be fine to accept students whose English language proficiency is a little lower than that required for registration. But how much lower? And what about students who don't end up improving enough?

As reviewed in 1.2.2, research has shown quite small gains over the course of their studies for students who start at higher proficiency levels (i.e., around IELTS 6 or 6.5). The availability of language support (e.g., a dedicated team) may lead institutions to accept lower entry scores.

We also need to bear in mind scoring high in standardized language tests requires students to direct time, energy and many other resources to prepare for the tests. It is possible that some health students may score lower on language tests at the end of their health degrees because they do not have the same availability to prepare for a language test as they did before they started their degrees. In other words, just because a health student's language test scores go down after studying health degrees, it does not necessarily mean they did not develop clinical communication skills in their degrees or somehow deteriorated even in their general language proficiency.   

3.1.3 Referencing other institutions

Institutions are aware of what other similar/comparable institutions are doing, and changes to minimum English language requirements by other institutions may trigger a review of their own requirements. When there are differences in minimum English language requirements, this can have an effect of the type and number of student applications they receive. For instance, if an institution had lower English language requirements, this may be seen by some students as a sign of weakness: that it is desperate for students and do not mind lower-quality students.

3.2.1 Equitable access for disadvantaged students

Institutions may set slightly lower English language requirements so they do not exclude students from less advantaged backgrounds and have other (non-test-based) ways to identify the students they think would do well in their health program (provided there is sufficient access to language support).

3.2.2 Focus on other unique aspects of their program

Other institutions may wish to keep their requirements similar to those of other institutions, so that a student's choice is based more on what each institution can give them in terms of location, quality of teaching, etc. They see the English language requirement as a baseline to ensure students can cope with coursework, but do not want this to be a major deciding factor for students.

3.2.3 Narrowing down applicant pool

Some of the more competitive institutions or programs may use test scores for narrowing the applicant pool. This would entail having a high minimum English proficiency score to retain only those students who seem like they will do well in the health program. They use test scores as a simple way to reduce the number of applicants they need to seriously consider.