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All entering, degree-seeking international students are given an English placement test by ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ. The purpose of the test is to evaluate international students’ English language skills in reading, listening, speaking, and writing. It is designed and administered by the English Evaluation and Placement Committee. An international standardized test such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) does not substitute.

Based on its review of appropriate materials, the English Evaluation and Placement Committee will:

1. Place the student in ESOL 118 English for Academic Purposes I, or
2. Place the student in ESOL 119 English for Academic Purposes II, or
3. Recommend the student for ENGL 110 Introduction to Academic Writing, or
4. Recommend the student for a 200-level English Literature course.

The Committee also reviews students’ English skills at the end of their semester in ESOL 118 or ESOL 119 to determine proper placement or recommendation, and a student may be required to repeat a course if insufficient progress has been made. ESOL 118 and ESOL 119 are taught for credit/no credit, and students will receive a grade of NC (no credit) until placed or recommended for a higher course.

Students will be enrolled in ESOL 118 or ESOL 119 the semester they receive such placement. Students shall not enroll in ENGL 110, ENGL 210, or an ENGL/ENGF 200-level course before they have received recommendation from the Committee. A recommendation of ENGL 110 or a recommendation of ENGL/ENGF 200-level class, however, is a recommendation only. Each advisee should know that the recommendation is based on review of the student’s writing by ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ professors and is considered to be in his or her best interests relative to academic success at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ.

International, degree-seeking students who do not test out of the ESOL sequence after two academic semesters at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ will be required to attend and pay for an intensive ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ summer language course at the end of which they will retake the English Placement Test.

Test Accommodations Option

Students currently enrolled in ESOL 118 or 119 have the option of requesting extra time (time and a half) on tests in their other classes. Students wishing to receive this help must contact their professor and the Office of Academic Support at least three days before the test on which they would like extra time.

English Placement and the College's Graduation Requirement in Writing

Neither ESOL 118 nor ESOL 119 may be used to meet the College's Level I writing requirement (W1). Upon recommendation for ENGL 110 or a 200 level English literature course, students must complete and pass with a grade of C or better one such course coded W1. The one exception to this rule concerns international students who transfer from an accredited U.S. university with a course credit in English composition; such transfers may elect to satisfy the W1 graduation requirement by passing the W1 Writing Exam administered through the College's Writing Center.