ECS, or Essential Communications Skills (course code COMM19999), is a communications course intended to help you develop the written and spoken communication and presentation skills your future employers tell us you will need. This course will also help you develop the academic writing skills you will need throughout your program. For more information on the course curriculum, check out the course outline for COMM19999
Students who are required to take Essential Communications Skills as part of their program must first complete a Language Assessment prior to the start of classes so they can be placed into the correct Communications Skills course.
If you are an International Student who is required to take Essential Communication Skills as part of your program, and completed a TOEFL, IELTS or CanTEST as part of pre-admissions criteria, you are not exempt from writing the Language Assessment. The Language Assessment is written after you have been granted admission to a program. Refer to the section I
am an international student who has been admitted to Sheridan. My
program is one that requires a Language Assessment. Before being
offered admission, I wrote and passed a TOEFL Test (or IELTS, or
CanTEST). Does this mean I am exempt from writing the Language
Assessment?
Below is a list of commonly asked questions about the language assessment process.
Fall 2010 Term
Students who are admitted to the following programs are required to complete a Language Assessment at Sheridan before classes begin in September:
Davis
|
Trafalgar
|
| PCYWK – Child and Youth Worker |
PAPHT – Applied Photography
|
| PCAJS – Community and Justice Studies |
PARTF – Art Fundamentals
|
| PCWOD – Community Development |
PCTAM – Cosmetic Techniques and Management
|
| PECED – Early Childhood Education |
PCRDC, PCRDF, PCRDG, PCRDT – Crafts
and Design
|
| PPHTN – Pharmacy Technician |
PECED – Early Childhood Education
|
PPOLF – Police Foundations
|
PESTH – Esthetician |
PPNSG – Practical Nursing
|
PSSWK – Social Service Worker
|
PSSWK – Social Service Worker
|
PSSWG – Social Service Worker – Gerontology
|
| PVETT – Veterinary Technician |
PCVAD, PCVAT – Visual and Creative Arts (Year 1)
|
| |
PVMAS – Visual Merchandising Arts
|
How do I book my Language Assessment? (Fall 2010)
If you are in a full-time program that requires the Language Assessment, you must book a date and time online to write your assessment. To access our online reservation system, you must login to AccessSheridan using your Sheridan username and password after May 17th. It is essential that you follow these instructions and adhere to the deadlines. Should you fail to complete the assessment in the required time, Sheridan cannot guarantee your Communication Skills placement being available prior to the semester start. Please check online after May 17th for various assessment dates and times, including some evening and weekend sessions.
To book your Language Assessment:
- Go to AccessSheridan at: https://access.sheridaninstitute.ca
- Login using the account information given to you in earlier correspondence. (If you have previously used your account and changed your password, login using the new password you created.)
- Under the heading “Sheridan”, follow the link: myStudent Centre
- From myStudent Centre, follow these links: Admissions > Event Registration
- Click on the Register button beside Language Assessment.
- Choose a date from the list of available dates. You will be able to select one date only.
- Review the information for the selected session carefully. Click the Confirm button to finalize your choice, or click the Return button to make another selection.
If you have difficulty booking your assessment, please call our Contact Centre at 905-845-9430 (Oakville) or 905-459-7533 (Brampton) (Once you connect, choose option 4).
If you are on campus, please visit the Student Advisement Centre for assistance (Trafalgar Road Campus – Room B104; Davis Campus – Room B231).
You will be required to provide valid photo identification such as your student card or driver’s license. Please bring a pen.
In order to ensure Sheridan graduates have the skills they need to excel in their field of employment, we consult regularly with employers through Program Advisory Committees and through research into the skills required of employees in today’s complex workplace. One of the most essential skills is that of effective communication. For this reason, Sheridan has introduced Essential Communication Skills.
Yes. ECS is a College level communications course, not a high school English or Communications course. They are not equivalent. All students in participating programs are required to take and successfully complete Essential Communication Skills before they are able to graduate.
There are many criteria used to determine Advanced Standing for ECS. As a first consideration, make sure:
- the communication course credit was earned in a postsecondary institution, and
- the communication course taken included a presentation component, and
- the communication course was taken within the past five (5) years and the grade was 65% or higher.
For information on applying for Advanced Standing, refer to Sheridan’s Policies and Procedures website, and review the policies and procedures for Advanced Standing or visit Sheridan’s Student Advisement Centre (Trafalgar Campus – Room B104; Davis Campus – Room B231).
Mac users please note: you must use Firefox, Opera or Netscape to access the documents on the Policies and Procedures website.
Yes. You are still required to write your Language Assessment even though you are applying for Advanced Standing. Requests for Advanced Standing should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the semester.
If your request for Advanced Standing is approved, you will be provided with an exemption after the first week of class or as soon as Sheridan is able to process your request.
Make sure you continue to attend ECS classes until you receive a decision from the School of Community and Liberal Studies (SCLS) regarding your request for Advanced Standing.
If you require accommodation(s) to complete your Language Assessment, contact Accessible Learning Services as soon as possible to make arrangements.
To be eligible to receive any type of academic accommodation, you must register with Accessible Learning Services and provide appropriate and current documentation. If you are already registered with Accessible Learning Services, and have approved accommodations you are eligible to receive assessment accommodation and you may write your Language Assessment in the Accessible Learning Services office (note: accommodations may not be given in the regular Language Assessment room).
If you are not yet registered with Accessible Learning Services, you must do so as soon as possible to ensure you are able to access your approved accommodation and complete your Assessment in time to be placed into the appropriate Communications course prior to the beginning of classes. Do not register online through AccessSheridan if you intend to write your assessment in the Accessible Learning Services office. You will need to book this at least a week in advance with Accessible Learning Services.
You have numerous choices as to when and where to write your assessment. We strongly encourage you to write your assessment as soon as possible so you are placed in the appropriate communication course and so your timetable can be confirmed before the beginning of the term.
For students in full-time programs, bookings are available on various days and at various times during the day and on weekends at both the Trafalgar campus in Oakville and the Davis campus in Brampton. Note: To write your assessment, you must reserve a seat online through AccessSheridan.Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Specific room locations will be confirmed when you book your assessment.
If you cannot write before the deadline shown in the online registration system, refer to the section I cannot get to the college by the deadline to write my Language Assessment. What should I do? If you are a student with a disability, contact Accessible Learning Services to discuss your options.
Continuing Education students should refer to the Continuing Education website for more information on registering for the assessment.
You must still write the Language Assessment if you have completed and passed a test like TOEFL. TOEFL, IELTS and CanTEST are pre-admission tests. Pre-admission tests determine whether you have the skills needed to be offered admission to Sheridan.
The Language Assessment, on the other hand, is a placement assessment. The Language Assessment is written after you have been granted admission to a program. Consequently, scores achieved do not affect admission to your program of choice. Instead, the assessment will determine whether you should be placed into Basic Communications Skills (COMM19997) or Essential Communications Skills (COMM19999).
If you are placed into Basic Communication Skills based on the results of your Language Assessment, you will then need to complete Essential Communication Skills; a course fee will apply. You cannot graduate until you have completed the Essential Communication Skills course.
To book a date and time online to write your assessment, refer to the section How do I book my Language Assessment? Students are required to present photo ID in order to write the test.
Once you have written your Assessment, it will be graded and the scores entered into our student information system. Your Communications Skills course will be identified on your timetable as COMM19999 (Essential Communications Skills) or COMM19997 (Basic Communications Skills).
Timetables will be available approximately two weeks before the start of term. To check the most current version of your timetable:
- Go to https://access.sheridaninstitute.ca (or follow the AccessSheridan link from the Sheridan homepage) and follow the myStudent Centre link.
- Once inside myStudent Centre, click on the Class Schedule link under the Academics section
- Select the ‘As of Date’ (e.g. May 10, 2010 – the first week of classes and then select Go.
Note: Students who are placed, based on the results of their Language Assessment, into Basic Communications Skills will then need to complete Essential Communications Skills; a course fee will apply.
Your Language Assessment is written at one of our campus locations in Oakville or Brampton (see "How do I Book My Language Assessment?”). Upon arrival at your assessment location, you sign in. The invigilator who oversees your assessment asks you to provide valid photo identification such as your student card or driver’s license. Once checked in, the invigilator reviews the assessment requirements with you and distributes the assessment.
You are directed to write a formal essay on one of a choice of topics. You have one hour and fifteen minutes to complete your essay. Access to a dictionary is provided. When the 75 minutes is over, the assessments are collected by the invigilator and forwarded to a faculty grader for assessment.
All essays are marked by two Communications professors who determine your placement by evaluating the following:
- how well you focus, develop and organize your ideas,
- how you organize the essay in well structured paragraphs,
- how appropriately you express yourself, and
- how accurately you use the conventions of written language: grammar and mechanics.
Based on your assessment scores, you will consequently be placed into either Basic Communication Skills (COMM19997) or Essential Communication Skills (COMM19999).
Note: Students who are placed into Basic Communication Skills will then need to complete Essential Communication Skills; a course fee will apply.
All students in participating programs (see “Which students are required to complete a Language Assessment?” ) must successfully complete Essential Communication Skills (COMM19999) before graduation.
Therefore, if you are placed into Basic Communication Skills (COMM19997) as a result of your Language Assessment scores, you will need to take COMM19999 after completing COMM19997. You cannot graduate until you have completed Essential Communication Skills (COMM19999).
If you are placed into Basic Communication Skills as a result of your Language Assessment, you will have the option of meeting with an Assessment Centre Advisor to discuss how placement into Basic Communication Skills might impact your program of study. The Assessment Centre will provide you with further information, at a later date, regarding the offer of advisement.
Note: Students who are placed into Basic Communications Skills will then need to complete Essential Communications Skills; a course fee will apply.
For the 2010/2011 academic year, International students will be required to pay the international fees rate of $1,201.20 for ECS.
Communications classes will begin the first week of the semester. Refer to your timetable to determine the date and location of your Communications course. Communications courses are indicated on your timetable as either COMM19997 (Basic Communication Skills) or COMM19999 (Essential Communication Skills).
If you were unsuccessful in ECS in a previous term, you will need to complete this course before graduating. You may wish to speak to your Program Coordinator/Academic Advisor to discuss the options available to you. These include: registering for an additional class in a subsequent semester, registering for the course through Continuing Education, or extending your program. Course fees apply.
Remember, all students in programs requiring Essential Communication Skills must successfully complete COMM19999 prior to graduation.
If you were unsuccessful in BCS in a previous term, you will need to complete this course before you can register in Essential Communication Skills. You may wish to speak to your Program Coordinator/Academic Advisor to discuss the options available to you. These include: registering for an additional class in a subsequent semester, registering for the course through Continuing Education, or extending your program. Course fees apply.
Remember, all students in programs requiring Essential Communication Skills must successfully complete COMM19999 prior to graduation.
Yes, students registered through Continuing Education in programs requiring Essential Communication Skills are required to take ECS through Continuing Education.
Check the Continuing Education course catalogue for course listings, registration and payment information relating to Essential Communication Skills (COMM19999). Students in Continuing Education programs who are required to take ECS will need to complete their Language Assessment before the start of term. Check the Continuing Education course catalogue for details.
It is important that you write your Language Assessment before the deadline so your timetable can be completed on time. However, if you cannot write your assessment at Sheridan before the deadline, you may, through special accommodation, make arrangements to write your assessment before the end of the first week of classes. The delay in writing your assessment may have a negative effect on your timetable as class space is limited.
If you cannot complete your Language Assessment before the deadline, please call the Language Assessment Inquiry line at 905-845-9430 x33362, or 905-459-7533 x33362, and leave your name, telephone number, student ID and a description of your situation. An Assessment Centre Specialist will call you back within 2 business days and provide you with information on scheduling an alternate date for you to write your Language Assessment.