the Intensive English Program

Part A: The Evaluation of the Intensive English Program

at North Carolina State University

Program Description

The Intensive English Program at North Carolina State University (IEP) started in 2000. This full-time, non-credit program aims to provide intensive English instruction to non-native English students, before take undergraduate or graduate classes. The Intensive English program offers 4 courses: Reading and Vocabulary, Writing and Grammar, Listening and Note-taking and Speaking. Moreover, students can get knowledge of American culture, values, and expectations via additional activities held by IEP.

There are three proficiency levels in this program: Level 4, 5 and 6. Each level has its own degree of difficulty. On entering the program, students are required to take a placement test, focusing on vocabulary, writing, and grammar in order to assign students into appropriate levels. Students have to get TOEFL score over 60 to qualify for the IEP.

On average, there are 100 students enrolled in the Fall term, 70 in the Spring term and 15 in the Summer term. Most students are from Asia. 9 professional instructors have TESOL or NAFSA (National Association of Foreign Student Affairs). Students are required to get grade over 85 in each course and 90% of attendance to advance to the next level. Level 6 students can graduate from the IEP，if they meet this requirement. The program fee is approximately $6152 for each semester.

Purpose of Evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation is to evaluate whether the Intensive English Program is useful for students to improve their academic English skills, so evaluators can check their TOEFL scores before and after the program. Also, this evaluation aims to figure out whether the IEP enhanced students’ American culture knowledge since the Intensive English program is an agency of assisting students in better adapting their future academic life in universities.

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