News Reporter
CMU has recently joined three universities nation-wide in teaming up with Bridge Linguatec Inc. in an attempt to help foreign exchange students expand their English proficiency and ease their transition into the American academic environment.
A new school of language called Bridge Pathways will open on campus in June 2014. The program involves intensive language courses offered in eight-week sessions to help improve English proficiency and will be entirely staffed by English experts.
The eventual home for this program will be Elm Hall, located across from the University Center on 12th Street. The location means that students taking part in this intensive program will be allowed to live on campus and have access to all the school facilities.
Annie Gingerich, the coordinator of international education, said that this will be a huge benefit for the foreign exchange students.
“International students who want to study at a university want to be on campus from the beginning,” Gingerich said.
This program will open doors for students who want to come study at CMU but have previously been unable to do so because of their lower skills in English.
Foreign exchange students who come to CMU on an F-visa (meaning they are here for educational purposes) and wish to stay for the duration of their studies must first pass an English proficiency test. If they cannot pass this test, they are denied admission, even if they meet all the other academic requirements.
“This [English proficiency] is the only thing holding them back,” Executive Director of Marketing and Student Recruitment, Rick Taggart said.
The new program will allow those students to come and stay on campus while they perfect their language skills and then transition easily into their college courses.
Even though the program is set to begin this summer, the school is still waiting for final federal approval. Students will be unable to apply before this approval occurs, but it is estimated that there will be between ten and twenty students in the first session. The hope is that the program will eventually grow to 150 students on an annual basis.
The journey to make Bridge a reality began in the fall of 2012, when Gingerich first approached Taggart with the idea. They presented it to the Board of Trustees in January 2013 and were given the green light in May of that same year.
Bridge was not the only program they researched, but also the one they decided fit the university.
“There was a period where we were investigating who was the right partner in this situation,” Taggart said.
Bridge has been in operation for the last 25 years, and, according to their business website, they are involved in language instruction, teacher training and translation services around the globe. Traditionally their programs have been stand-alone operations, and they are in the beginning phase of integrating them into college campus.
Other universities implementing this program are located in Nebraska and Pennsylvania, and there is also one being established in Brazil.
armcbroo@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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