Critical Academic Skills for English Language Learners is required for multilingual students whose proficiency is not sufficient to foster success in their major and other courses. A speaking proficiency and listening comprehension assessment will be administered over Zoom during the first week of August to determine if a student would benefit from ESOL classes.
ESOL classes are designed to help non-native English speakers prepare for the coursework required for their degree. Critical Academic Skills for English Language Learners and other ESOL classes may be waived upon successful performance on the proficiency tests, or if one or more of the following conditions is met and supporting documentation is submitted:
- The student’s first language is English.
- The student has earned a final degree from an accredited college or university where English is the official language of instruction.
- The student has passed the equivalent of Writing Studio at an accredited college/university with a C or better, or qualifies for the equivalent transfer credit through accepted IB, AP, CLEP or ALevel test scores.
ESOL courses are taught concurrently with other coursework and do not require additional semesters or delay graduation. Three credits from Critical Academic Skills for English Language Learners will count towards a Liberal Arts General Education elective.
Any student who receives a waiver from ESOL classes and later fails a course due to language deficiencies may be required to enroll in and successfully complete ESOL classes in order to continue in their degree program.