NIDA (National Institute of Development Administration) is one of the leading graduate schools in Thailand, providing advanced education in management and related fields. NIDA’s International College offers a Master of Management course and PhD in Management, with programmes delivered in English.
The college uses EnglishScore to assess the English language proficiency of their students before they enter the programme. Dr. Sid Suntrayuth, Dean of the International College of NIDA, explains how EnglishScore has been integrated into its course admissions process and tells us about his plans for using EnglishScore in the future.
The challenge
NIDA’s International College needed an effective tool to assess the English language competency of students before they enter a programme. The traditional methods of testing such as TOEFL were expensive and required time and resources to organise.
The closure of test centres during the pandemic made it even more challenging for students to find a suitable place to take these tests.
“A lot of our students said they couldn’t apply for our master’s programmes because they couldn’t find places to do the English tests,” explains Dr. Suntrayuth. This started their search for a digital way to accurately assess the English level of their students.
The action
The college chose to use EnglishScore as an alternative to traditional English language proficiency tests. EnglishScore’s convenience and cost-effectiveness were the key factors that led to the college’s decision to implement the tool.
Dr. Suntrayuth notes that “EnglishScore will come in very handy because students can do it by using technology on their mobile devices.”
The result
EnglishScore has positively impacted NIDA’s International College in three main ways.
“It has simplified the admissions process making it easier for students from around the world to apply to our programmes. It has also streamlined our back-office processes. Now we can verify and track scores across all four language skills.
With all test results collected in our dashboard, we can see the whole range of details about the performance of students across different skills. We use this to benchmark and monitor results, but also to forecast the scores we can expect to see from students entering into the programmes,” says Dr. Suntrayuth.
Thirdly, students have also responded positively to the mobile assessment. “A lot of students prefer it because it is very easy to use and cost-effective. The flexibility of EnglishScore has allowed students to take the practice test, meaning they are more comfortable when taking the real test.”
Looking forward
“I think EnglishScore offers an ideal alternative to traditional English tests, especially for institutions in Thailand where English is widely used as a second language and where universities don’t necessarily have the capacity and facilities to organise face-to-face tests,” says Dr. Suntrayuth.
In the future, NIDA’s International College plans to extend its usage of EnglishScore to cover the testing staff and faculty members.
