Many colleges and universities are looking towards international students as a method to increase student enrollment. However, the English language proficiency of potential students has been a stumbling block to expanded international enrollments. The steps taken by many institutions to overcome this hurdle are currently under scrutiny.
Common practices--and pitfalls
Institutions have been increasing conditional admissions, reducing the conditional cutoff for English language proficiency test scores, and offering more lenient admissions policies. In particular, a growing number of colleges are creating pathway programs so students can enroll concurrently in English as a Second Language and academic courses. Increasingly, colleges are even allowing academic credit for students' ESL course work, according to Elizabeth Redden of Inside Higher Ed.
These changes are allowing institutions to reach out to students who would not otherwise meet certain language standards and enabling these students to adjust to the U.S. higher education system in a less pressured environment.
Still, these policies are controversial for a number of reasons. For example, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is challenging the practice of issuing I-20s certifying admission to a degree program when admission is actually contingent on enrollment in an intensive English program. According to DHS, The concern with this practice is that this is essentially defrauding the immigration requirements by telling SEVP [the Student and Exchange Visitor Program] the student met the admission criteria for the degree program listed on their I-20 when they did not.┬" The practice may also be misleading because the physical location of the ESL program could differ from location specified in the I-20.
Another contentious issue is the apparent lowering of academic standards that has accompanied the rise in conditional admissions. For example, if one institution's TOEFL requirement is 79 for direct undergraduate admissions, conditional admission may require only a 68 or above. Furthermore, some institutions will likely admit students at any level of English language proficiency under conditional admissions practices.
Another possible flashpoint of this new paradigm are partnerships between institutions and private language providers. Quality could be compromised to the extent that a university doesn't have oversight over the third parties that are involved in the transaction.
Learn more
AACRAO is partnering on a webinar with representatives from the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP) to explore these and other issues.
On July 23rd, AACRAO will host a FREE webinar on recent changes to the SEVP. Conducted by policy and implementation experts at ICE, this presentation has been tailored specifically to suit the needs and concerns of AACRAO members. This hour-long presentation will cover a broad range of topics related to international enrollment; the issuance of Form I-20 for admitted students, proper handling procedures for concurrent enrollment options, acceptable course load requirements, and more.
For more information about all of AACRAO's live, interactive webinars, click here.