New York University Selects OWL Testing Software for Online Language Assessments

Sept. 20, 2010 - PRLog -- The New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS) has selected OWL Testing Software for use in two departments within the Division of Liberal Studies and Allied Arts–the American Language Institute and the Foreign Languages, Translation, and Interpreting Program. NYU-SCPS is NYU’s fourth largest graduate school and fifth largest undergraduate college and is widely known as one of the most respected post-baccalaureate continuing education programs in the United States. OWL Testing Software is a premier provider of affordable Web-based testing and assessment systems for academia, government, and business users. NYU-SCPS will begin using OWL for the Fall 2010 semester.

The NYU-SCPS departments intend to use the OWL language assessment software for two specific purposes – unauthenticated and authenticated assessment. The American Language Institute will be using OWL for unauthenticated assessment. English as a Second Language (ESL) students will use the Web-based software to self-assess their English-speaking ability.  The results will enable students to make better choices about placement decisions. The Foreign Languages, Translation, and Interpreting Program will be using OWL for assessing graduate-level candidates’ translation capabilities. The results of these authenticated assessments will factor into the department’s placement process.

Patrick Miller, Chief Information and Technology Officer for NYU-SCPS, explains, “The department directors have similar goals but different means for achieving them. We were searching for one online solution that was not only affordable but also flexible enough to meet the distinctive needs and challenges of language teaching for our two different programs. We found OWL to be an exceptional way to address their specific needs.”

According to OWL Testing Software president and CEO, Chris Dalessandri, “We are pleased to add New York University to our list of distinctive higher education customers. I think NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies chose OWL because of its extensive capabilities and comprehensive functionality for the entire assessment cycle -- authoring, scheduling, administering, rating, and reporting.”  Dalessandri continues, “SCPS found OWL to be an ideal way to upgrade from paper-based and legacy-computerized assessment tools to OWL’s robust Web-based system.”

About OWL Testing Software
OWL Testing Software is a leading provider of language test building software to academia, business, and government markets. Built as a Web-based solution for test creation, administration, and management, OWL Testing Software is unique in its ability to create tests for all four communication skills – oral, aural, reading and writing. OWL is available as licensed software and as a hosted solution to meet the needs of the largest and smallest schools, businesses, and government agencies concerned with enhancing the language learning process and outcomes.  Please visit http://www.owlts.com or call (877) 695-3305 for more information.

About the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Established in 1934, NYU-SCPS (http://www.scps.nyu.edu) is one of NYU’s several degree-granting schools and colleges, each with a unique academic profile. The reputation of NYU-SCPS arises from its place as the NYU home for study and applied research related to key knowledge-based industries where the New York region leads globally. This is manifest in the School’s diverse graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education programs in fields such as Real Estate and Construction Management; Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management; Global Affairs; Philanthropy and Fundraising; Graphic Communications Media, Publishing, and Digital Arts; Human Capital Management, Marketing, and Public Relations; with complementary strengths in the Liberal and Allied Arts, Translation and Interpreting, Management and Information Technology, and Finance and Taxation. More than 100 distinguished full-time faculty members collaborate with an exceptional cadre of practitioner/adjunct faculty and lecturers to create vibrant professional and academic networks that attract some 4,200 degree-seeking students from every corner of the region and the world.  In addition, the School fulfills the recurrent continuing higher education needs of local and professional communities, as evidenced by 55,000 annual enrollments in individual courses, specialized certificate programs, conferences, workshops, seminars, and public events.

Chris Dalessandri
President
OWL Testing Software
(877) 695-3305
chris@owlts.com