[lg policy] WKU considers further changes to foreign language requirement

[Harold Schiffman]

 WKU considers further changes to foreign language requirement

   - By AARON MUDD amudd at bgdailynews.com
   <https://www.bgdailynews.com/users/profile/Aaron%20Mudd>
   - 1 hr
   -
   <http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/wku-considers-further-changes-to-foreign-language-requirement/article_456f6570-ac6b-5f4b-b947-d1311fd6f106.html#comments>


   -
   <https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bgdailynews.com%2Fnews%2Fwku-considers-further-changes-to-foreign-language-requirement%2Farticle_456f6570-ac6b-5f4b-b947-d1311fd6f106.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share>
   -
   <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bgdailynews.com%2Fnews%2Fwku-considers-further-changes-to-foreign-language-requirement%2Farticle_456f6570-ac6b-5f4b-b947-d1311fd6f106.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share&text=WKU%20considers%20further%20changes%20to%20foreign%20language%20requirement&via=bgdailynews>
   -
   <?subject=%5Bbgdailynews.com%5D%20WKU%20considers%20further%20changes%20to%20foreign%20language%20requirement&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bgdailynews.com%2Fnews%2Fwku-considers-further-changes-to-foreign-language-requirement%2Farticle_456f6570-ac6b-5f4b-b947-d1311fd6f106.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share>
   -
   -   <http://www.bgdailynews.com/content/tncms/live/#>

Faculty at Western Kentucky University are considering whether to extend a
policy that allows students to use two years of a high school world
language to fulfill the university’s foreign language requirement.

In December, faculty members of WKU’s University Senate approved the change
to address a backlog of roughly 7,000 students who hadn’t completed the
requirement. Now that the backlog is cleared, faculty members are
considering whether to extend that policy into the 2018-19 academic year.

“I frankly think it’s immoral for us to have a requirement we can’t staff,”
said sociology professor Jerry Daday, who proposed the change last semester.

Following a committee’s preliminary approval Monday, the extension will
next go before the full University Senate later this month for a vote.

Daday said the goal of the extension is to allow time for development of a
language placement test that would be given to future incoming students.

Previously, students had to demonstrate their foreign language proficiency
by either completing a 102 level course or by taking the STAMP test. The
STAMP test comes with a fee and takes more than two hours to complete with
a computer.

However, under the new placement exam, a student’s score would determine
what level of foreign language study they need or even if they need further
study.

“If they test high enough, then they would have fulfilled our requirement,”
Daday said.
[image: advertisement]

In theory, the placement test would be given in the spring or summer before
the student comes to WKU or at orientation. The placement exam would be
cheaper and much shorter than the conventional STAMP test, taking only
about 30 minutes to complete, Daday said.

Over time, Daday said, the new approach could bring the demand for language
instruction in line with the faculty’s ability to supply it. Future student
backlogs would be prevented entirely.

The University Senate next meets at 3:45 p.m. March 22 in the Faculty House
outside Cherry Hall.


-- 
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

-------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20180307/33760a6d/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list