Duke Kunshan University

Linguaskill assists Duke Kunshan University in selecting the best students

Duke Kunshan University is a world-class liberal arts university based in Kunshan, China, which offers a range of high-quality, innovative academic programmes for students from around the world. By adopting Linguaskill, the university was able to assess students’ English proficiency levels for entrance requirements from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Testing English language proficiency for admissions

In August 2018, the university welcomed its first undergraduate degree students. The four-year bachelor’s degree programme follows the liberal arts and sciences tradition, with emphasis on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and self-exploration. As well as focusing on an effective blend of Chinese, American and global techniques and values, ensuring that their students have a high level of English is also a key priority.

As well as considering academic performance in English as a subject, before the pandemic the university also assessed applicants’ abilities in speaking and writing during the University Campus Day. Given the challenges of Covid-19 and in line with local authority policy, the university decided to cancel the Campus Day event and replace the speaking and writing skills evaluation with online assessment. 

In order to guarantee fairness and equal opportunity for all applicants, the university chose to adopt Linguaskill as its online assessment tool. As Linguaskill can be invigilated and administered online, it enabled thousands of applicants in China to complete the tests at home, helping to minimise travel and protect student's health.

A flexible and reliable online test

To better suit high school students’ study and exam preparation arrangements, the Linguaskill China Service Centre designed a special online registration platform. This enabled applicants to book their preferred testing dates and sessions based on their own schedules, on their preferred day. The Service Centre also set up a dedicated team to offer customer service and technical support to Duke Kunshan candidates. Crucially, Linguaskill’s strict ID verification and remote proctoring measures effectively safeguard the fairness and equity of the assessment.

Identifying strong candidates with Linguaskill

All the applicants completed their registration in one week, and then consecutively took the tests in the coming three weeks. The university was able to assess applicants scores efficiently, using the quick results. Linguaskill Test Reports show candidates’ scores on both the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and Cambridge English Scale. They also show separate scores for Speaking and Writing. These scores helped the university with decision-making by identifying strong candidates.

Duke Kunshan University successfully completed the 2021 Domestic Undergraduates Enrollment this August. The university considered delivery of the assessment to be a great success and going forward sees Linguaskill as the best option to safeguard the fairness and equity of undergraduate recruitment.

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