Intensive English Program (IEP)
Bridge Program
Bridge Program for High Level Intensive English Students
The Bridge Program for students in The English Language Institute (ELI)
allows high-level students to study up to eight credit hours at the
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) while completing the Intensive
English Program. Students must fulfill several requirements to
participate in the Bridge Program.
A student must be in level six, the highest level of placement, in at
least two skill areas and no lower than level five in the third skill
area. A skill area is defined as grammar/writing, reading, or
listening/speaking. The ELI Office will send a letter verifying the
student's levels to the UTA Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
A student who does not have thirty transferable university semester
hours must take the SAT and achieve a quantitative score of at least 500
(550 for engineering).
The student must have received a conditional admission from the Office
of Undergraduate Admissions at UTA.
The student must be enrolled in the ELI the semester before entering the
Bridge Program; otherwise, the student cannot be evaluated in time to
enter the Bridge Program.
Students who do not meet the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) exemptions
will have to attempt the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) or
other approved tests in order to register for course work. Students who
are not exempt or do not pass the Reading and/or Writing portion of THEA
or other approved tests, can satisfy the requirements in these areas by
completing Level 6 in the Intensive English Program. Students who fail
the Math portion will be required to enroll in Math 0301 or Math 0302.
Once the student has completed Level 6, or the student has passed the
developmental coursework in the failed area, the student will have
satisfied the TSI requirement.
The student must consult with the UTA Advising Center to select up to
eight credit hours of approved courses. These courses will be primarily
quantitative courses, such as math and science or elective courses that
do not require extensive reading. Bridge Program students must not
enroll in UTA English credit courses.
The student will study the credit courses at UTA along with a typical
load of twelve to fourteen hours a week of Intensive English. A student
may enroll for one skill of Intensive English if the student has already
exited level six in the other two skill areas. Such a student is still
restricted to eight credit hours at UTA. A Bridge Program student
should not enroll in an Intensive English class if the student has
exited that class.
When the student exits level six in all skill areas of the ELI, the
student will be admitted unconditionally to UTA as an undergraduate as
long as the student's academic record in the credit courses is
satisfactory. A student may not spend more than two semesters in the
Bridge Program. These semesters must be consecutive. This means that a
student may not take a summer off between the start and the end of the
Bridge Program.
The ELI Academic Advisor will send a list of the students who are
entering and exiting the Bridge Program to the Texas Success Initiative
Liaison and to the International Admissions Counselor.
The English Language Institute fall and spring semesters comprise
sixteen weeks, and the summer semester comprises ten weeks.
The number of Bridge Program students varies each semester from five to
fifteen students.
Grammar/Writing classes meet eight hours a week. Reading and
Listening/Speaking classes each meet six hours a week.
The English Language Institute level five and six reading and writing
classes focus on academic tasks.
In the level five and six reading classes, students develop language
proficiency by predicting, previewing, making inferences, reading for
details, analyzing, paraphrasing, and summarizing academic texts,
identifying organizational patterns, developing vocabulary, increasing
reading speed, and answering essays questions.
Autobiographical, explanatory, persuasive and argumentative writing,
paraphrasing, quoting, summarizing, documenting sources, and field,
library and Internet research are part of the level five and six writing
syllabi, as are review of discrete grammar points and complex sentence
structures. Level six students write a documented research paper.
Homework, participation, quizzes, mid-semester, and final exams evaluate
students' language proficiency.
The Academic Advisor will send a list of students who are entering and
exiting the Bridge Program and a list of students who are exiting level
six to the Texas Success Initiative Liaison.
Dianne C. Check
Academic Advisor
English Language Institute
University of Texas at Arlington
August 1, 2006
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- © 1996 University of Texas
at Arlington
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