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Spotlight on a CGS Ally: IELTS
IELTS, a CGS Ally member, tells us more about their services in the area of English language testing and what they wish more people knew about their company.
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What is IELTS’ mission and what services does it provide?
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge English Language Assessment, and IELTS USA is the Los Angeles, California-based division of IELTS responsible for higher education relations and the administration of the test throughout the United States. IELTS USA’s mission is to support individuals and organizations within the United States in evaluating English language proficiency through high-stakes testing for the purpose of education, employment, professional accreditation and global mobility.
IELTS USA also works with a network of over 50 IELTS test centers to expand test accessibility to US-based test takers across the country. More than 1,000 test centers offer IELTS in over 140 countries worldwide.
What are the top trends in international student mobility that IELTS is currently following?
We follow emerging markets of US-bound international students from many countries, among them Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Kuwait, Turkey, Libya, and Oman. Many of these countries offer government scholarships to students interested in studying in the US, and we have noticed an increasing number of students from these nations taking IELTS for admission to US graduate and undergraduate programs.
We also try to stay abreast of research that tracks English proficiency scores among international students, and are interested in partnering with US college and university programs to evaluate the relationship between IELTS policies (minimum required scores) and international student outcomes (performance, progress toward degree requirements).
What is something that many people don’t know about IELTS, but you wish they did?
IELTS is a test of English as an “international languageâ€, not simply British English. On the written portions of the IELTS test, we accept all standard varieties of English usage – American, Australian, and British. Furthermore, our network of international test question developers are located in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US and test takers may encounter a range of accents during the test.
There are four sections of the IELTS test—Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The IELTS Speaking test is delivered in one-on-one between a trained Examiner and the test taker, which is representative of an authentic context for test takers who will often be engaged in dialog with faculty.
More than 3,000 institutions in the United States now accept IELTS as evidence of English proficiency, and more US-bound international students are applying to US colleges and universities with IELTS than ever before.
Why did IELTS choose to join the CGS Sustaining Membership Network?
IELTS has been part of the CGS Sustaining Membership Network for many years because it provides us with the opportunity to support the outstanding work CGS does on behalf of graduate education. In addition, we rely on our relationship with CGS to keep us informed about current issues in graduate education, as well as to connect us with graduate professionals that shape the direction for advanced study in the US. We have found the Sustaining Membership Network to be a valuable resource for the graduate component of our English testing enterprise, and look forward to a long-lasting partnership.
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Reader Access to the Dean's Discussion Board
The CGS Dean's Discussion Board is an electronic forum where graduate deans and other senior staff exchange questions, ideas and institutional practices. As important partners in graduate education, reader access to the discussion board is provided for Corresponding Affiliates and for Sustaining Members at the Champion, Collaborator, and Visionary levels. This is a great way to learn what colleagues in graduate education have to say about financial aid, admissions, joint and dual degree programs, and administrative policies, among many other topics. In addition to access to view conversations in real time, Corresponding Affiliate and eligible Sustaining Members can request to have topics posted on their behalf. To subscribe, please contact Julia Kent.
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Deans to Provide Data on Student Life Cycle
In April, CGS will invite its 500+ member deans to participate in a “Student Life Cycle†survey that will ask about current graduate admissions processes and professional development programs.
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This survey will inform the Hobsons-funded project Innovation in Graduate Admissions through Holistic Review as well as an NSF-funded project on STEM professional development.
The survey explores the prevalence and reach of holistic admissions processes at the graduate level. Holistic admissions processes are generally understood as those processes which take into account a variety of application materials and evaluate multiple criteria in prospective students. It will also collect information on formal professional development programs provided by universities to graduate students.
CGS plans to share preliminary data from these surveys later this year.
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Members in the News
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