KU Procedures for Faculty Spoken English Competency

Spoken English language competency verification is required prior to extending an offer of employment for all long-term or multi-year faculty positions (all ranks of Professors, Teaching Professors, Professors of Practice, Clinical Professors, and Multi-Term Lecturers) and short-term lecturer positions (semester or single academic year Lecturers) with instructional responsibilities. This is a Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) policy that applies to all Regents institutions. 

Exceptions: Documentation of spoken English language competency is not required if (a) all teaching for the position (as reflected in the position description) will be conducted primarily in a language other than English (including sign language) or (b) the position is a visiting professor position (i.e., faculty member is on exchange from another institution) of one year or less.  

Candidates must complete an oral interview to assess spoken English language competency prior to an offer of employment being made. Following the interview, the department chair or dean of the hiring unit must complete the Spoken English Language Competency Verification Form to indicate the names and roles of the members of the interview committee and the committee’s evaluation of the prospective faculty member’s spoken English language competency. This form must be submitted prior to submitting the request for verbal offer to HR / Faculty Affairs. 

If the prospective faculty member is not deemed proficient in spoken English based on the oral interview (i.e., most or all committee members have concerns), the prospective faculty member will be required to complete formal spoken English language testing and meet score requirements as described in KBOR policy. Testing can be conducted at no charge by the KU Applied English Center (AEC). Testing can take place in person or virtually. To arrange testing, the chair or dean of the hiring unit should contact the AEC Director. Once testing has been completed, the hiring unit should report the prospective faculty member’s test score to the Office of Faculty Affairs at facultyaffairs@ku.edu. 

Prospective faculty members who are unable to demonstrate spoken English competency through either interview or formal testing will not be offered an appointment unless the Provost agrees to a specific waiver.

The oral interview committee must include a minimum of three members, one of whom must be a student. The interview committee can overlap in membership with the search committee. Oral interview(s) can take place individually or with the committee as a group, and in person or through mediated means (e.g., phone or videoconference). Conversations taking place as part of an existing interview process can be used to evaluate spoken English language proficiency, provided that all requirements for the spoken English language proficiency oral interview are met (i.e., that feedback on English language proficiency is provided by at least three individuals, including one student). 

The goal of the oral interview process is for interview committee members to make a good faith effort to assess the prospective faculty member’s spoken English language competency in a global sense (i.e., do you understand this person and would the average student understand this person?). Most of the time the answer will be a clear “yes”. In the case of a prospective faculty member with errors or challenges in being understood, committee members should ask themselves whether the errors are significant enough to impede communication.  

Factors to consider when evaluating spoken English language competency include word choice, grammar, pronunciation, stress and intonation, and speech rate. The interview committee should consider whether the prospective faculty member’s spoken English language competency is sufficient to successfully perform core instructional tasks such as defining concepts, answering questions, giving instructions, and conversing with students in small group or individual settings (e.g., during office hours).