Transition with Purpose – Pathways from English Language to Academic Study

The IELP to PSU Pathways Program is designed to provide support to students as they transition from ESL coursework to university academic coursework and degree study. Students will participate in the Pathways Program for two or three terms, depending upon the level of their IELP classes (see charts on previous page). Each term that students participate in the Pathways Program, they will enroll in one of the following Pathways seminars: Pathways Introduction, Pathways Intermediate or Pathways Final. Each seminar is a 2-credit IELP course.

The Pathways Program curriculum focuses on connecting students with resources and reinforcing academic skills necessary to be academically successful in their chosen major and in their undergraduate degree program. The program guides students to gain independence and become self-reliant and self-directed learners who are capable of utilizing the academic and personal resources and tools available to them.

The content of the Pathways seminars features two distinct concentrations:

• program and university policies and processes
• academic skills development and skills transference among disciplines

In addition to English language proficiency, international students will benefit from the following activities and preparation in order to have an academically successful university experience:

• understanding the U.S. educational system
• navigating the university structure and understanding campus resources
• understanding cultural differences in academic settings
• understanding institutional rules and services
• meeting with professors and advisors
• practicing and understanding interdisciplinary skills

The Pathways Program curriculum was developed in part based upon feedback from PSU students, faculty and advisors and was informed by a literature review of student development theories.

All international students, who intend to earn an undergraduate degree (bachelor’s or post-baccalaureate) at Portland State University and who have not earned the required scores on an English language proficiency test, are required to participate in the Pathways Program. Completion of the Pathways Program satisfies PSU’s English language proficiency requirement. A language proficiency test score is not required of students who complete the program. Students are expected to earn a 2.7 grade point average (GPA) in their level 4 and 5 classes, including the Pathways seminars, to officially meet the university’s language proficiency requirement.

Students who do not complete the Pathways Program will be required to submit a language proficiency test score to be able to move to degree study at PSU. Students who earn the required language proficiency test score while in the Pathways Program will be able to begin full-time academic study in the next term and will be waived from required participation in the program. For more information about PSU’s English language proficiency requirements, refer to the information provided by PSU International Admissions.