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Pre-Sessional course tutors
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Dedicated



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 972
Location: UK
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
johncoan wrote :

Quote:
OOf! Oxford University employee then are you?


I actually teach one part-time course (not EAP) at Oxford and also at two top London universities.

slapntickle wrote :


Quote:
Their English levels are atrocious
What exactly do you mean by 'atrocious'? To get a Tier 4 student visa they need a minimum IELTS Band 5.5, and most pre-sessional courses expect Band 6.0 or 6.5 to start. Of course, it depends on the university and the degree course.

Quote:
...the pass mark is set very low


Who sets the pass mark? Are there no QAA checks or external examiners? Clearly not at your university.

Quote:
I wish we could fail more but we wouldn't get invited back if we did


It would appear you are a temporary summer teacher. Fail them and then next year apply to teach at a more prestigious or professional place. There are plenty of vacancies advertised on the BALEAP website and jobs.ac.uk.

Is it any wonder English HE is being criticized?
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slapntickle



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 270
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 10:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Dedicated wrote:
What exactly do you mean by 'atrocious'? To get a Tier 4 student visa they need a minimum IELTS Band 5.5, and most pre-sessional courses expect Band 6.0 or 6.5 to start. Of course, it depends on the university and the degree course.


Not all universities require a 5.5 IELTS . . . some go lower.

Quote:
Who sets the pass mark? Are there no QAA checks or external examiners? Clearly not at your university.


It's set by the DOS.

Quote:
It would appear you are a temporary summer teacher. Fail them and then next year apply to teach at a more prestigious or professional place. There are plenty of vacancies advertised on the BALEAP website and jobs.ac.uk.


Not as easy as this as I'm sure you know. And what's to guarantee getting another job?

Quote:
Is it any wonder English HE is being criticized?


Blame a lack of government funding, along with deregulation of the sector for this criticism.
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Dedicated



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 972
Location: UK
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
slapntickle wrote:

Quote:
Not all universities require a 5.5 IELTS...some go lower



For a Tier 4 visa for an overseas student leading to the Acceptance of Study (CAS)to study on a pre-sessional course in the UK, leading to a degree, the student must have an IELTS Band 5.5.

https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/knowledge-of-english

slapntickle wrote:

Quote:
It's set by the DOS


This almost unbelievable! One person decides on a low pass mark in English into a university degree course? Clearly your university is not accredited or inspected by QAA or the British Council. And you are prepared to go along with this, and return summer after summer knowing this? Wow!

Is it any wonder that faculty members do not give much credence to EAP tutors ?
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johncoan



Joined: 02 Jul 2010
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah - that IS pretty shabby. If the DoS sets the pass mark then I can't imagine the type of students they let loose at the end of summer are up to much.

But it's understandable, with the rates of pay typically offered, that teachers return year after year.
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Dedicated



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 972
Location: UK
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The rates of pay are generally not that bad, looking at job postings on websites. Many universities are paying 700 pounds + a week, and sometimes free or heavily subsidized accommodation on campus.

The worst pay seems to be 14 pounds an hour at Bristol University!
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slapntickle



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 270
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
johncoan wrote:
Yeah - that IS pretty shabby. If the DoS sets the pass mark then I can't imagine the type of students they let loose at the end of summer are up to much.

But it's understandable, with the rates of pay typically offered, that teachers return year after year.


Last year at our university we had a 100% pass rate. All teachers were encouraged to pass students. It's scary what is going on. It'd be a challenge for most of these students to flip a burger at McDonald's let alone move onto a degree course.
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gregory999



Joined: 29 Jul 2015
Posts: 372
Location: 999
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
As Dedicated stated in his post, your university is not accredited or inspected by QAA or the British Council, it looks like a dodgy university, with dodgy staff.
Keep up the 100% pass rate! Very Happy
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slapntickle



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 270
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
gregory999 wrote:
As Dedicated stated in his post, your university is not accredited or inspected by QAA or the British Council, it looks like a dodgy university, with dodgy staff.


Oh, but it is accredited by the BC! Do you really think that is a true mark of quality today?
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johncoan



Joined: 02 Jul 2010
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
johncoan wrote:

But it's understandable, with the rates of pay typically offered, that teachers return year after year.


Dedicated wrote:
The rates of pay are generally not that bad, looking at job postings on websites. Many universities are paying 700 pounds + a week, and sometimes free or heavily subsidized accommodation on campus.


I wasn't suggesting the pay was bad - quite the opposite.



slapntickle wrote:
gregory999 wrote:
As Dedicated stated in his post, your university is not accredited or inspected by QAA or the British Council, it looks like a dodgy university, with dodgy staff.


Oh, but it is accredited by the BC! Do you really think that is a true mark of quality today?


How do these places get a