Graduate Council

Voting members present: Sourabh Apte, Bill Bogley, Ryan Contreras, Rebekah Elliott, Theresa Filtz, Lisa Ganio, Claire Gibbons, Marie Harvey, Lisa Price
Voting members absent: Pat Chappell, Jim Coakley, George Waldbusser
Ex-officio members present: Graduate School – Jennifer Brown (via phone)
Guests: Shain Panzeri, Elena Sapp, Dorthe Wildenschild

Approval of November 30, 2017 Minutes

Action: Theresa moved to approve the November 30 minutes; motion seconded and passed with one abstention.

Proposal from INTO to Use Alternate Language Tests – Shane Panzeri, Elena Sapp – INTO

1. Proposal to accept IELA as English language entry requirement for graduate pathway and degree seeking admission

• IELA tests were developed by Cambridge assessment group and are better known in the U.K.; INTO worked with Jennifer and Rosemary to determine equivalency. The tests were developed for INTO partnerships – all would approve and use. This is a pilot.
  • How would a graduate student sign up? INTO is building a university access center and students would learn about this at the center. The advantage of ILEA is that there can be a long wait to take a TOEFL, which is expensive; ILEA is significantly cheaper.
  • Is it expected that testing would be used for other than INTO students? The tests were developed for a shorter turn-around time for INTO partnerships.
  • Can students be asked to take both TOEFL and IELA to compare the placement results? The U.K has been using ILEA since 2014 and has placement tests from over 6,000 students. When students arrive at OSU, as an assessment, they could be asked to also take an OSU placement test as a double check. TOEFL is almost $200 per test, which is a lot for some students. Students will have an option of the type of test they wish to take. ILEA turnaround time is 48 hours vs. three weeks for TOEFL or IELT tests.
  • Students would need to travel to center locations to take the test.
  • What about security practices? They are set by the Cambridge Assessment Group, and have similar requirements to other tests.
  • IELA is an online test and the test administrator has access to results.
  • Language for admission? Role of language for student success – are INTO student’s language skills where administrators would like them? Is language a problem? They hear different things from different units. There are both good domestic and international students. What does success look like? Elena performed an analysis a year ago for those who did not progress to OSU – they were all over the place and had been admitted via a variety of tests. IELA will provide another option for testing.
  • There are no study materials for IELA – it’s based on English proficiency.
  • Jennifer is supportive of the IELA.
  •  Advantages are that it is less expensive and has a faster turnaround time – why is that? Fewer students take it now. As demand increases, there likely will be longer turnaround times.
  • Another advantage is the opportunity to have earlier intervention for better placement. Doing as well as the other tests can directly influence issues and address them. Greater success could be expected.
  • What is the comparison of construct for each exam? Very similar to what’s being measured in other tests. All assessments done by big groups are doing constant research and measuring skills or sub-skills that show English proficiency. Ultimate goal is to assess language proficiency. IELA has a grammar component. It is not British English – it is International English.
  • Could a non-INTO student take the test? Any student could take the test to be admitted to an INTO partnership school for direct admission. OSU will be able to administer the test. Anticipating about 10 enrolled students per institution.
  • What is the plan if students are not measuring up? They will know within two years whether or not this pilot is working.
  • May students not in INTO take the program at a testing center? Students may not know whether they will be in an INTO program when recruited. It’s more about the fit of the student whether or not they’re enrolled in INTO.
  • Are the proposed entry category and requirements currently in place? Yes.
  • Is there a document that addresses assessment? There is no formal document.

Action: Shane noted that they could prepare an assessment document. Elena can work with Rosemary.

• IELA has already been approved for undergraduate programs by Kate Petersen and Mark Hoffman. Are there minutes from the meeting? Unknown.
• The proposal could be amended to require that, at the end of the pilot, there is an option to discontinue admissions. Need to help them understand that OSU has every right to refuse.
• One suggested having all INTO students take the IELA as well as the TOEFL. Many were hesitant to require an additional test for students.

Action: The Council agreed to withhold approval on the IELA until the Assessment Plan provided by INTO is available for review.

2. Proposal for accepting PTEA as English language test for graduate degree seeking admission

• Pearson has been in the U.S. since 2009, used after TOEFL and ILET, and is already being accepted at the graduate level by many public institutions; OSU is late to adopt. Pearson is on-demand and probably has the most advanced security and authentication; it likely will become more prominent internationally. The turnaround time on scores was uncertain.
• Rebekah – if they are testing for the same or different things, is it supportive of our programs. Is there a better feedback system.
• Proposal is about intake – it’s a business model.
• INTO is developing a test to be used by INTO partnerships. An independent assessment of the ability of a program would be preferable. Once the testing begins, it will be difficult to go back.
• There doesn’t appear to be much benefit to a student – it appears to be more beneficial to INTO.
• Dorthe took the TOEFL while working in the Graduate School – a lot was very discipline specific – it was less testing of language than memorizing. She was not convinced of the quality of tests to determine how students would do in a degree program.
• Is there a conflict of interest?
• An advantage is that it is administered by Cambridge at an INTO center, it is cheaper and there is a faster turn-around time. Having options is an advantage.
• What is the cost and turnaround time on the Pearson test? It costs $275 in China and tests must be administered at a Pearson test center.

Actions:

• Bill moved to accept Pearson as the English language test for graduate admissions; motion seconded and passed.
• Ryan requested that INTO be asked to share annual data. This is a provisional acceptance that will either be extended or removed, and determine how the undergraduate admissions testing was approved and request assessment data.
• See addendum at the end of the minutes.

Graduate Program Review – Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Reviewers: Jim Coakley, Walt Loveland

• 2014 Action Plan
• Reviewer’s Report  
• There are no metrics, but this occurred at the time when metrics were not required.
• The three-year review will be accomplished by the Graduate School.

Action: Marie moved to approve the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science review and action plan retroactive to 2014, which will result in a three-year review by the Graduate School under the new program review guidelines. 

Minutes prepared by Vickie Nunnemaker, Faculty Senate staff

ADDENDUM

The following summary was sent by Lisa Ganio to Elena Sapp and Shain Panzeri (INTO) via email and, on January 25, 2018, Elena responded that they would prepare a response and send it to the Graduate Council:

The Graduate Council (GC) discussed proposals to accept the PTEA and IELA as alternate language exams.  The PTEA was unanimously approved on January 19, 2018 and the Graduate Council recommended it be effective immediately.  Graduate Council members had follow-up questions on the IELA; these are listed below, along with informational items.  Email response will be sufficient at this time.  If additional questions are raised, the Graduate Council may invite you to attend an upcoming meeting, if you are available. 

1. The Graduate Council would like a written assessment plan that describes specifically how results will be considered and what success looks like.
2. If the Graduate Council approves the IELA, it should be considered provisional acceptance to be reconsidered by the Council at the end of the pilot period (January 2020).
3. The Graduate Council would like to receive an interim update on data, as of January 2019.
4. What other institutions allow the IELA?
5. How was the policy changed to allow the IELA for undergraduate admission?  (i.e., Was the undergraduate policy submitted for review by the Undergraduate Admissions Committee or some other Faculty Senate body?)