Following meetings with sector leaders, Duolingo English Test has decided to offer a new “fast-track support package”, as uneasy students delay their applications amid Graduate Route uncertainty, The PIE News can reveal.
Set to be released on May 23 – the same day as the net migration figures are due to be published by the UK government – the package will include 24-hour test turnarounds to speed up the recruitment process in July, August and September at no extra cost.
Institutions that take up the offer will be given unique coupons to get the process done twice as quickly as its usual fastest turnaround time of 48 hours.
“Processing results in 24 hours at no extra cost to the institution or student will ensure people are not timed out by a need to wait for weeks while they book and travel to a test centre, or wait to get their results,” said Michael Lynas, Duolingo’s UK country director.
Despite the Migration Advisory Committee saying that the Graduate Route should be retained in its current form, rumours have been swirling about possible steps PM Rishi Sunak could still take to curtail the visa.
Recent monthly Home Office figures showed that student visa applications had dropped by just over a quarter in the last two years – a record low since the pandemic.
Elaborating on the timeline, a representative at Duolingo told The PIE accepting institutions will be contacted on May 23 to get the plan in place for the July, August and September quick admissions.
[It] will ensure people are not timed out by a need to wait for weeks while they book and travel to a test centre
Michael Lynas, Duolingo
The process will also allow Duolingo to get new institutions that start accepting the company’s English Test set up on the same support plan in time for the peak recruitment months.
Chris Chang, deputy vice-chancellor of global engagement and student life at the University of Portsmouth said the 24-hour turnaround would indeed be a “significant boost” helping through late applications.
“We were an early adopter of the DET because we saw how innovation through AI could help us reach students not served by test centres and at lower costs.
“It worked well during the pandemic and by keeping with the DET, and seeing its evolution first hand it’s allowed us to be ahead of the curve during this crisis,” Chang continued, reflecting on how Duolingo helped and continued to help through visa delays in the pandemic and just after.
The package will also include marketing support, which will be “tailored” to accepting institutions to help them reach “target markets”.