Conditional admission and ESL bridge programs have been mentioned together often over the last year and a half. In May 2013, theStudent Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the government entity that oversees student visitors in the United States, issued a draft guidance document regarding ESL bridge programs and conditional admission. Now, in the second semester of 2014, those draft guidance documents have been separated and are coming out in a series of draft guidance issuances. These two relatively new developments—conditional admission within university admissions departments and ESL bridge programs within intensive English programs—are common bedfellows, but they are tangentially intertwined in terms of the issues that arise because of them. Thus, splitting out the guidance into separate, staged issuances makes more sense and will provide much greater clarity to schools that issue conditional admission and to language training programs that also offer a form of ESL bridge. Following SEVP’s lead, I deal with both separately below.

The draft guidance on conditional admission seems to be aimed at modifying the practices of some universities in the United States. Some schools offer an I-20, the document a student presents to a U.S. consular officer to obtain an F-1 student visa and enter the United States, based on conditional admission. Conditional admission in the ESL world is when a student meets all of the academic requirements for admission to a U.S. postsecondary education program, but does not meet the minimum English proficiency requirement for full admission. The newly issued draft guidance for conditional admission now makes it clear that an I-20 cannot be issued unless a student fully meets the admission requirements for a specific program, including the English language proficiency requirement, if any.

The practice of some universities or colleges has been to issue an I-20 for conditionally-admitted students. The students come to the United States on the school’s I-20 and begin study in an ESL language partner program, a third-party program that is not university-based but affiliated with the university. Upon completion of the ESL program, the students enroll at the university and do not transfer the I-20; they simply matriculate into the university program that they originally applied for. The draft policy, if adopted as is, would now make it clear that this practice is no longer acceptable. It appears that once the guidance is adopted, university conditional admission can be given, a recommendation as to how to meet the English proficiency requirement can be made in the admission letter, but an I-20 cannot be issued for the program to which the student has applied. If the school does not have an intensive English program (IEP), a third-party program could issue the I-20, if accredited by a specialized accreditor for ESL programs such asCEA or ACCET, and upon completion that program could transfer the I-20 to the proper program of study at the university.

Another common practice has been for a university to issue an I-20 based on conditional admission without requiring proof of English language proficiency at the time of application. This practice is common at schools where there is an in-house IEP. The student enters the country with the university’s I-20, takes an English placement test upon arrival as part of orientation, and the low-proficiency student is assigned to take ESL courses in the language training program, but not in the undergraduate or graduate program listed on the I-20 and for which the student entered the country. The draft guidance clearly defines that English language proficiency, if required for full admission to a program of study, must be proven before an I-20 can be issued for acceptance to that program. So, it appears that upon adoption, the guidance would only allow for an I-20 to be issued for the language training program where proof of English proficiency has not been provided with the application, and one could not be issued for the program to which the student has applied if such proof is required.

As the latter example illustrates, ESL bridge programs, like intensive ESL programs, are intertwined with conditional admission practices, and university-based programs are scrambling to create and add ESL bridge programs as a specific program to their I-17 document, which is the governing document approved by SEVP granting permission to issue I-20s for the school’s programs. Within the last 5 years, as third-party providers have increased in number, so have ESL bridge programs, which offer another path to university enrollment that appeal to a large number of international students. More colleges and universities have begun to build their own bridge programs in their in-house IEPs.

For the sake of clarity, ESL bridge programs are different from another common definition of a “bridge program,” which is a program more geared toward bridging students from one school or degree program to another, such as from an associate’s degree program at a community college to a bachelor’s program at a 4-year university, or from a European 3-year program to a master’s program in the United States. An ESL bridge program bridges ESL students from high school or an ESL program into full admission in higher education in an English-speaking country. ESL bridge programs have an element of ESL as well as a credit-bearing, academic element. So, a student who is enrolled in an ESL bridge program would be enrolled in ESL classes as well as in undergraduate classes, earning units that would transfer into an undergraduate program of study. Thus, the student has one foot in ESL as support as he or she bridges over to full-time study, shortening the path to finishing a degree. This model also borrows from the foundation year, the popular model of English as a Medium of Instruction university and technical programs in the Gulf region ( Redden, 2014). In some cases, the student has a foot in two different schools depending on the model of the ESL bridge program where he or she is enrolled.

The most recently issued draft guidance (issued 26 Sep 2014) gets at the equivocation of the use of the term “bridge” in the field and establishes “pathway programs” as the umbrella term for what was previously referred to as “bridge programs.” The draft also subdivides that umbrella definition into “bridge programs” and “bridged degree programs” and is accompanied by draft fact sheets. SEVP is defining these for the purposes of adjudication, recognizing that the terms are very often interchanged within the field. Many of the elements of the original draft guidance for ESL bridge programs have been incorporated into the newest draft: ESL bridge programs and third parties must be SEVP-certified; they must list the program on the I-17; the I-20 issuer must have governance over the academic courses of the program; the program must have stated admissions standards and supporting documentation to support the I-20 issuance decision; and the program must provide coursework that counts towards graduation for a degree at the school (Student and Exchange Visitor Program, 2013). The 2013 draft guidance remains at the core of the new draft and much of that version has been incorporated into the new draft policy. While the 2013 draft guidance seemed to be aimed at clarifying who controls the academic part of the program, this new draft rolls in many of the original elements and is more of an attempt to define these programs and what is necessary to regulate them. In addition, the new draft sees that programs may use third parties for delivery of some elements of the program and warns the I-20 issuer that compliance with SEVP regulations by the third party becomes the concern of the I-20 issuing school.

In sum, SEVP, after collecting public comment last year on the joint draft guidance, is currently reissuing these draft guidance documents for public comment. The first was the reissuance of the conditional admission policy. This draft policy essentially prohibits the practice of issuing an I-20 to students who do not qualify for admission to a full academic program of study. This adjustment would prohibit the two conditional admission practices described above and clarifies that conditional admission without English proficiency may generate a letter of conditional acceptance, but not an I-20. The I-20 could only be issued once the student proves proficiency according to the school’s written policy or for admission to a bridge program, if the school has one on their I-17. SEVP has issued another draft guidance regarding a decision tree upon which to make decisions regarding a student’s eligibility, making it a bit of a failsafe against noncompliant admissions. Documentation must support all admissions decisions in all I-20 issuances and English proficiency is now a key part of the process. Most recently, SEVP issued its draft guidance on “pathway programs,” which is in its public comment period until 10 November 2014. Other guidance may be forthcoming (check the NAFSA Website or Study in the States for the latest on this trending policy guidance). So, be sure to weigh in on the policies during the public comment periods, talk to colleagues in other schools about how they are adjusting their practices to come into alignment with the guidance when finally issued, and stay informed during this time of change. In other words, stay tuned.

References

Student and Exchange Visitor Program. (2013, May). SEVP Draft Policy Guidance for Adjudicators 1210-03: Bridge Programs and Conditional Admission. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.nafsa.org/uploadedFiles/Chez_NAFSA/Find_Resources/Supporting_International_Students_And_Scholars/ISS_Issues/Issues/PG_1210-03_BridgeConditionalDraft_1.pdf

Redden, E. (2014, April 30). Bridge or back foor? Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/30/look-landscape-pathway-programs-international-students-run-cooperation-profit#sthash.vlWpHcWC.7cc4tMa7.dpbs

Resources

For most up-to-date information: NAFSA website

Where to get documents and provide feedback, and for Bridge/Pathways draft Guidance: Study in the States

SEVP

Original Guidance

Conditional Admission

I-20 English Proficiency Field

Pathway Programs (Issued 26Sep2014 and open for public comment)

Draft Bridge Programs Fact Sheet

Draft Bridged Degree Programs Fact Sheet

CEA

ACCET