Students who do not meet our English Placement Exam waiver criteria must take the exam before or during orientation prior to the start of the semester in order to finalize their registration. The results of the English Language Proficiency Exam determine placement in IEP classes. The exam results are correlated to levels in the IEP, with Level 5 representing Low Intermediate Proficiency, Level 6 representing Intermediate Proficiency, Level 7 representing Advanced Proficiency, and Exempt representing Full Proficiency.
- Students placed in Level 5, 6, or 7 will be enrolled in one IEP section concurrently with their major courses. Generally, the courses must be taken in sequence, although there are options for students who make exceptional progress to skip levels.
- Graduate Students’ IEP courses will focus on thesis and research preparation. AOS students meet the IEP exit criteria when they achieve Level 7.
- Undergraduate students whose proficiency is assessed “Exempt” will be advised to register for either English 100 (Text and Context I for International Students) or HMS 101 (Text and Context I), both of which are credit-bearing, required courses in the Humanities and Media Studies Department (322 DeKalb Hall).
Graduate students whose proficiency is assessed “Exempt” are not required to register for English courses.
We understand that sometimes the English Placement Exam doesn’t tell us all there is to know about your English skills. During the first week of class, your instructors will be doing diagnostic work to allow you to demonstrate the best of your abilities in a real academic context. If your instructor believes your placement is inaccurate, he or she will work with the director to adjust your placement. It is critical that you attend your classes from day one, and that you push yourself to do your best work then, and throughout the semester.