CEA Final Report Much to celebrate!

Overall Assessment The ELI at the University of Delaware is a well-established program which is highly respected in the field. The site visit helped to verify the program’s strengths in the areas of mission, faculty, student services and administrative structure. Other strengths include the diversity of curricular offerings. All of these strengths lead to a high degree of student and employee satisfaction in a very active program.

Mission The English Language Institute’s mission directs overarching as well as day-to-day operations of the program through its commitment to excellence and renewal. Values of meeting or exceeding students’ expectations and providing support and services are evident in how faculty and staff deal with curricular and student services issues. The mission is displayed and known by all stakeholders – students, faculty and staff and is much more than a document: it has been incorporated extremely well into the everyday life of the ELI.

Our Administrative Home Being housed in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP), the ELI has found a strong position on campus. ELI receives great support from the College administration. The ELI’s designation as an academic department within the College provides faculty with a non-tenure track promotion system that parallels that of tenured faculty in other university departments

Quality of Personnel A dedicated, experienced and long-term staff and faculty work together well in a collaborative and supportive atmosphere making use of mentoring between experienced and newer staff. In short, the staff and faculty of the ELI are a talented and experienced group of professionals whose professional growth is supported by the administration.

Faculty The current ELI faculty is composed of highly skilled professionals who meet or exceed the requirements set out in their job descriptions. The ELI has a 27 year history with a very stable faculty many of whom mentioned the supportive faculty, staff and administrators as one of the most important strengths of the program.

Professional Development Faculty members have taken advantage of numerous faculty development opportunities supported by the ELI, including attendance at professional conferences, in-house workshops, publications and leadership in professional organizations. Benefits such as tuition waivers and sabbatical opportunities are strong indications of the ELI’s commitment to faculty well-being.

Curriculum The curriculum meets the requirements of a variety of students with diverse needs through offerings at six levels and four tracks of study (academic, cultural, business and general). Teachers have the flexibility to choose the most effective methodologies to enhance the curricular goals and help students reach objectives. They often supplement lessons with creative and appropriate materials

Tutoring The system of afternoon tutoring is effective in allowing students individual help on problem areas. Many students reported that the one-on-one attention was very valuable.

Pre-arrival and Orientation The ELI students reported being very satisfied with pre-arrival information and ongoing services and support. They received timely answers to questions on e-mail and the website prior to arrival, and appreciated help from volunteers and staff upon arrival. They received excellent information and support as they settled in about homestays, dormitory and apartment options for housing.

Orientation Activities The Institute provides a wide variety of social and recreational activities to complement language acquisition. The activities are well-planned and supervised. The weekly Orientation Express gives students numerous opportunities to become involved and aware of events at the ELI, on campus, and in the community.

Requirements to be met by February, 2008 Create proficiency scale and interpretation of scale—done Need to add to written program review plan: timelines for implementation, responsible parties, details about how information is gathered. Need review plans for mission, financial resources, physical plant, factors affecting enrollment, policies—partly done

Other concerns of site review team Validity, reliability—and link to outcomes of assessments created by individual instructors Objectives not always written as observable, measurable learning outcomes

Summative Comments The program is well organized and highly professional. The high level of satisfaction among faculty and students with the program and the working environment is a testament to the ELI’s commitment to excellence.