Director: Karen Suderman
The IEP is a pre-collegiate program of study in English as a second language designed to prepare students for admission to college or career advancement. Serving groups of learners with diverse goals and needs, the program provides opportunities for life-changing cross-cultural encounters leading to sustained intercultural learning. The program consists of 20 hours per week of classroom instruction in the core academic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, research-writing, and grammar. The IEP offers language enrichment activities that may include tutoring, field trips, cultural experiences and other activities to strengthen academic language skills.
The IEP Integrated Courses and weekly meetings with conversation partners give students additional hours of English practice. IEP's program of lively intercultural learning across the curriculum (LILAC) creates partnerships between IEP classes and EMU undergraduate classes to give international students opportunities to work with American peers in completing authentic academic projects with an inter- cultural dimension
There are six proficiency levels (I –VI) in the IEP. The Step-Up program is available, upon recommendation by the IEP, to qualifying students who have successfully completed a semester in level V of the IEP. These students may enroll in one course in the EMU undergraduate program with simultaneous enrollment in the IEP. Students take placement tests to determine their level. Assessments are administered at the end of the semester to evaluate students' progress. Students who complete the level V and VI and sub- sequently enroll at EMU for an under- graduate degree may receive up to 15 SH of credit. Before entering a full-time unrestricted undergraduate program, IEP students enter the Bridge Program (see the Special Programs section).
Students may be eligible to apply for combined admission to the IEP and the undergraduate program.
Further information and application forms can be found at www.emu.edu/iep.