Shih Chien University English and Foreign Language Proficiency Graduation Benchmark Regulations

Passed by the 2nd Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 102nd Academic Year on May 20, 2014
Amended and passed by the 3rd Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 104th Academic Year on November 24, 2015
Amended and passed by the 1st Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 106th Academic Year on March 6, 2018
Amended and passed by the 1st Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 108th Academic Year on August 20, 2019
Amended and passed by the 3rd Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 108th Academic Year on June 2, 2020
Amended and passed by the 3rd Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 110th Academic Year on May 31, 2022
Amended and passed by the 3rd Academic Affairs Council Meeting of the 112th Academic Year on December 12, 2023

Article 1: To respond to the competition of globalization and enhance the English and foreign language abilities of the university's students, thereby fostering an international perspective and strengthening employment competitiveness, the "Shih Chien University English and Foreign Language Proficiency Graduation Benchmark Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as "the Regulations") are hereby established.
Article 2: Undergraduate students of the day school division enrolled in or after the 2014 academic year must pass the English and foreign language proficiency graduation benchmark set forth in these Regulations to be eligible for graduation.
Article 3: The English and foreign language proficiency graduation benchmark adopts a multiple-pathway certification. Students who meet one of the following certification standards will be deemed to have passed the university's English and foreign language proficiency graduation benchmark.

(1) English Language Proficiency Test Standards:
Passing any of the external English proficiency tests and meeting the standards below is considered as having passed the university's English and foreign language proficiency graduation benchmark.
Applicable to: General Students of All Departments (excluding the Department of Music, Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Department of Applied English, Department of International Business and Trade, and all-English-taught undergraduate degree programs)
- CEFR: B1 Threshold
- GEPT: Intermediate Stage 2 Passed
- Cambridge Assessment English: Preliminary (PET)
- FLPT: Total score of 150 or above in the three written sections, and an oral proficiency of S-2
- TOEFL ITP: 460 or above
- TOEFL iBT: 57 or above
- TOEIC (Listening and Reading): 550 or above
- TOEIC (Speaking and Writing): Speaking 120 or above, and Writing 120 or above
- CSEPT: Level 1 170 or above; Level 2 180 or above
- IELTS: 4 or above
- Linguaskill Business (Listening and Reading): Average score of 140 or above
- BULATS: 40 or above (ALTE Level 2)
Special rules apply for specific departments as noted above.
For students in general departments who are outstanding athletes or in indigenous student-focused programs: CEFR A2 (Waystage) or equivalent test scores apply.
For outstanding athletes in the Department of Applied Foreign Languages and the Department of Applied English: CEFR B1.

(2) Other Foreign Language Proficiency Test Standards:
Passing a foreign language proficiency test in German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, etc., and achieving CEFR B1 or higher is considered as having passed the benchmark. The Department of Applied Japanese, in accordance with its professional specialization, shall establish its own foreign language proficiency requirements for graduation. These regulations must be approved by departmental and college meetings, then ratified by an academic affairs meeting and publicly announced before they can be implemented.

(3) Non-Test-Based Standards:
1. Completing a student exchange program for one semester or more in a non-Mandarin-speaking country and transferring at least nine credits back to the university.
2. Giving a 15-minute or longer presentation or performance interpretation in a foreign language at an international event involving at least three countries, with faculty recommendation and Language Center verification.
3. Passing at least 6 credits of EMI or bilingual courses with ≥20% oral presentation/discussion in English, and passing grades. Upon completion of the courses, students must submit the relevant documents to the Language Center for the review and certification of their English/foreign language graduation proficiency requirement. This option is not applicable to students from the International Program and the Department of Applied Foreign Languages at the Taipei campus, nor to students from the Department of Applied English at the Kaohsiung campus.
4. Placing in the top three in a national or inter-university English language competition.

Article 4: Official proficiency test scores obtained before enrollment are valid if the test date is within three years of the application deadline. This time limit does not apply to tests taken while enrolled.

Article 5: This requirement does not apply to students who hold a disability certificate (for categories such as hearing, visual, or speech impairments) or students whose functional disabilities severely impact their language learning, provided that they apply to the university's Counseling Center within the first two weeks of each semester and their application is submitted to and approved by the Language Center.

Article 6: Native English speakers can submit SAT, ACT, or other English proficiency test results. Non-native English speakers may not use their native language proficiency test.

Article 7: A 0-credit graduation benchmark course will appear on the transcripts of fourth-year students, marked as Pass (P) or Fail (F).

Article 8: Students who have not met the benchmark can take remedial measures:
-    Students can take a paid, 36-hour non-credit remedial course from the School of Continuing Education to fulfill the university's language graduation requirement. The course fee is waived for students from low-income households. Note that departments with their own unique language standards will follow their own specific remedial procedures.
- Kaohsiung campus students follow their campus-specific remedial procedures.
- After two unsuccessful attempts, complete 60 hours of online courses and pass the required assessment.

Article 9: Matters not addressed in these Regulations will follow relevant university regulations.

Article 10: These Regulations take effect after approval by the Academic Affairs Council and ratification by the President. Amendments follow the same procedure.