Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools

News Release

CGFNS Begins Accepting TOEIC and IELTS Scores as Proof of English Language Proficiency

Philadelphia, PA — March 3, 2003 — The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) will begin accepting test scores from both the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) effective on March 3, 2003, for foreign healthcare workers applying for the CGFNS Certification Program and/or the VisaScreen™: Visa Credentials Assessment program.

Applicants applying to the Certification or VisaScreen programs must pass an English language proficiency examination as part of their requirements to receive their certificate(s). Currently, there is only one organization, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), that is approved to meet this requirement. ETS administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Test of Written English (TWE) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE).

CGFNS believes that expanding the English testing options would increase access and availability to English proficiency tests for foreign healthcare professionals, and in turn, expedite the certification and screening processes for applicants. CGFNS began searching for other "nationally recognized, commercially available, standardized assessments" of the English language skills of foreign healthcare professionals in order to facilitate the Certification and VisaScreen processes.

As a result of that search, CGFNS has concluded that both the TOEIC and IELTS examinations meet statutory, as well as CGFNS' high standards, for English language proficiency assessments set forth in section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA).

Beginning March 3, 2003, foreign nurses applying to the Certification Program will have the option to take either the TOEFL (administered by ETS), the TOEIC (administered by the Chauncey Group) or the IELTS (administered by Cambridge ESOL Examinations, the British Council and IDP Education Australia). Foreign healthcare professionals applying to the VisaScreen program will have the option to take either TOEFL, TWE and TSE; TOEIC, TWE and TSE; or IELTS. (Please note that applicants taking TOEIC offered by the Chauncey Group will still need to take TWE and TSE offered by ETS.)

Applicants can contact these organizations at the following addresses:

TOEFL, TWE and TSE
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 USA
Telephone: (609) 771-7100
Email: toefl@ets.org

The Chauncey Group International, Ltd.
664 Rosedale Road
Princeton, NJ 08540-2218 USA
Telephone: (609) 734-1550
Website: www.toeic-usa.com

IELTS Administrator
Cambridge Examinations and IELTS International
100 East Corson Street, Suite 200
Pasadena, CA 91103 USA
Telephone: (626) 564-2954
Email: ielts@ceii.org
Website: www.ielts.org.