Policy: 6.6 Oral and Written Communication Proficiency

Adoption Date: January 27, 2016 Revised

ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION PROFICIENCY

Beginning the fall semester 1990, each instructor of academic courses at Howard College/SWCD was asked to complete a statement identifying his or her primary language in order to comply with House Bill 638. A person’s language is defined as the one used professionally. Declaration of the primary language can be based on country of origin, academic training, successful instructional experience, or other credible evidence.

The administrator responsible for hiring the faculty member will sign the Statement of Communication Proficiency Form (71st Texas Legislative Session, HB638) to verify that the faculty member is proficient in oral and written communication. The instructional administrators will use one or more of the following to determine communication proficiency:

Interview/communication proficiency
Transcripts - College/University English Composition - Grades of C or better
American Sign Language and other Foreign Language College/University Grades of C or better
ACT score of 18 or above
SAT I score of 400 or above on the verbal
SAT II: English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) with English Language Proficiency Verification
TASP score of 230 or higher on the Reading portion and 220 or higher on the Writing portion
TAAS with minimum score of 1780 on the writing test and a Texas Learning Index (TLI) of 89 on the reading test
TOEFL score of 550
GRE score of 800
Stanford Achievement Test with Deaf Norms scores of 652 on Reading Comprehension and 662 on Language Total
Sign Language Evaluation Board (SLEB) Certificate with 80% or above
American Sign Language Instructor with state or national certification
Other forms documenting communication proficiency (must be approved by the administration)

Each instructor whose primary language is not English will be required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Any instructor who fails to achieve a satisfactory score on the test will be required to enroll in a 10-week tutorial/instruction course taught by one of the ESL-trained instructors in the Howard College Adult Education and Literacy Department. Instructors will be required to continue enrollment until a satisfactory score is attained on the TOEFL.

Regardless of individual declaration, if there is any indication of English language deficiency during interviews and/or performance, individuals will be required to follow the same procedures as those outlined above.

Each employee will be responsible for payment of expenses incurred in the taking of required test(s) and for the tuition or tutorial fees incurred if a course is required.