IELTS Research Reports

3 A multiple case study of the relationshipbetween the indicators of students’ Englishlanguage competence on entry and students’academic progress at an internationalpostgraduate universityAuthorsGaynor Lloyd-JonesCharles NeameSimon MedaneyCranfield UniversityGrant awarded Round 13, 2007An investigation into the selection practices and decision making rationales of admissions personnelin an international, postgraduate UK setting and the consequences for borderline non-native Englishspeaking students’ academic progress.ABSTRACTThere is concern in the UK about declining degree standards due to the impact of internationalisationinitiatives upon the expanded taught Masters postgraduate sector. Despite interest in the policy andmanagerial aspects of internationalisation of higher education, few studies have researched selectionprocedures that might illuminate current practices.A case study approach was employed to study student selection in various Masters programmes ina postgraduate UK higher education institution specialising in engineering and management. Theresearch revealed various selection processes in operation, some dependent upon English test scores,others reliant upon expert linguist assessments. There were differences between Schools in entryrequirements for NNES students and in selection practices. Whatever the process or requirements,there was substantial support for complex, holistic rationales underlying Course Directors’ selectiondecisions. Course Directors took into consideration academic qualifications and interests, motivation,readiness to adapt to UK HE culture, educational background and work experience.Course Directors were most concerned about students’ writing abilities which were difficult to assessreliably on entry and sometimes this resulted in failure to reach the required standard for the thesis.This impacted upon the workloads of thesis supervisors and cast doubts upon the reliability of entryassessments to predict academic writing abilities in this context.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11129