1. Integrating the Curriculum: A New ESL Program at Middlesex County College
Richard Roy, Associate Chair of ESL/Languages and Cultures
Gary Abbott, Chair of ESL/Languages and Cultures

2. Current Program Overview
Five levels
Five to four discrete courses in each level
Writing
Reading
Structure
Phonology/Discussion
Three to four credits per course
67 credits for the entire program
Faculty
Ten full time faculty
Approximately 40 adjunct faculty

3. Current Program Overview
Resources
Three labs in Edison
Writing Lab
Phonology Lab
General Lab
One lab in the Perth Amboy Center
No current lab in the New Brunswick Center

4. Current Program Overview
Enrollment is approximately 900 students
Level 1 – 15.5%
Level 2 – 15.9%
Level 3 – 19.5%
Level 4 – 21.6%
Level 5 – 27.%

5. Student Success
Pass rates for ESL courses range from a low of 61%(Level 1ESL 060 Listening) to 94% (Level 3 ESL 086 Phonology/Discussion).
Level 4 ESL 093 Writing – 76%
Level 4 ESL 094 Reading – 75%
Level 5 ESL 099 Writing/Reading – 74%
40% of a semester are new students
15.6% of the total ESL student population progress out of ESL any given semester
25% ESL students do not return the next semester

6. Student Success Fall 2011 Spring 2012 Fall 2012 Spring 2013 Fall 2013
Table 1: Pass Rates of ESL and non-ESL Students in Content Courses
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
Fall 2012
Spring 2013
Fall 2013
ESL Pass Rate
Non-ESL Pass
ACC 101
81.8
63.5
75.0*
62.5
57.1*
51.9
83.3*
69.3
72.2
59.6
BUS 101  Ø
68.3
100.0*
76.7
72.9
50.0*
73.4 Ø 
72.7
COM 115
83.3
78.3
86.6
83.7
83.2
CSC 115
76.2
77.0
55.6
76.9
64.0
58.8
75.5
77.8
75.9
MAT 129
90.3
62.0
84.1
67.7
87.1
56.1
70.2
78.9
57.9
PSY 123
73.5
72.6
70.0
71.3
71.6
70.3
70.9
64.3
73.3
SOC 121
63.2
72.3
88.9*
42.9
70.4
61.1
69.7
69.8
*Denotes a class with fewer than ten students enrolled

7. Student Success Former ESL Students Former Developmental Students
Table 2: Pass Rates of former ESL Students in ENG 121
Former ESL Students
Former Developmental Students
Non-ESL or Developmental Students
Spring 2011
57.5
50.6
79.0
Fall 2011
73.1
61.7
71.4
Spring 2012
66.4
53.0
75.1
Fall 2012
68.2
60.0
71.5
Spring 2013
69.9
54.9
80.3

8. New Student Placement Edison Perth Amboy 1 2 3 4 5
Table 3: New Student Placement Full Time vs. Part Time at Edison and Perth Amboy
Edison
Perth Amboy 1 2 3 4 5
F 12 FT 27 31 56 52 25 10 PT 28 26 24 21 29 32 7
S 13 14 20 15 19
F 13 37 47 76 30 22 23
S 14 12 34 6 16
New student enrollment from Fall 2012 to Spring 2014 = 1218
988 in Edison – 81.1%
559 FT (56.6%); 429 PT (43.4%)
230 in Perth Amboy – 18.9%
61 FT (26.5%); 169 PT (73.5%)

9. New Student Placement Level Edison Perth Amboy Combined 1 161 16.3%
Table 4: Enrollment by Level at Edison and Perth Amboy
Level
Edison
Perth Amboy
Combined 1
161
16.3%
145
63.0%
306
25.1% 2
181
18.3% 49
21.3%
230
18.9% 3
244
24.7% 15
6.5%
259 4
280
28.3% 17
6.1%
297
24.4% 5
122
12.3%
1.7%
126
10.3%
Edison – Levels 1 and 2 = 342 (34.6%)
Perth Amboy – Levels 1 and 2 = 194 (84.3%)
Combined – Levels 1 and 2 = 536 (44.0%)

10. ESL New Students and Financial Aid Needs
Table 5: Students Receiving Financial Aid at Edison and Perth Amboy
Semester
Location
New Students
Percentage Receiving Financial Aid
Fall 2012
Edison
283
59.6%
Perth Amboy 64
92.2%
Spring 2013
121
39.7% 42
90.5%
Fall 2013
304
53.6% 71
85.9%
Spring 2014
150
40.7% 52
90.4%

11. Financial Aid and ESL Volume 1 Student Eligibility 2014-15
A student may receive FSA funds for English as a Second Language courses that are part of a larger eligible program.
If a student’s ESL coursework is connected to an eligible program of study, maximum time frame will not be an issue for these students.
ESL courses do not count against the one-year limit on remedial coursework.

12. Financial Aid and ESL Example 1 Example 2
Associate in Arts: 61 credits
ESL coursework as determined from placement testing: 54 credits
Total credit hours for customized program of study: 115 credits
Pell Grants will cover 150% x 115 = 172.5
Example 2
AAS in Computer and Information Systems: 61 credits
ESL coursework as determined from placement testing: 30 credits
Total credit hours for customized program of study: 91
Pell Grants will cover 150% x 91 = 136.5

13. Financial Aid and ESL Considerations
ESL placement testing will provide proof that ESL is a necessary part of the student’s degree program.
The Financial Aid Office in conjunction with the Registrar’s Office will need to write our SAP policy to reflect the ESL student’s program design.
ESL students would have enough Pell funding to complete ESL and their Associate’s, but may not have enough for a Bachelor’s.

14. Other Considerations
It takes 5 – 7 years to become academically proficient in a language (Hakuta, Butler, & Witt, 2000)
Open access mission of community colleges (Sullivan, 2008)
Providing opportunity and hope of a higher education to at-risk populations, such as ELLs (English Language Learners)

15. Recommendations NJCCC ESL Concept Paper Fall 2012
Integrated/combined skill courses (i.e. Reading and Writing).
English Comp I credit courses for ESL
ESL Certificate of Achievement
Increase support services

16. Recommendations
Program Cyclical Review Spring 2013 (Abbott & Roy, 2013)
Revise the program and curriculum for timely completion and sufficient academic readiness
Integrated curriculum
Aligning outcomes with the English department
Establish level testing

17. Recommendations External Consultant Report (Pomann, 2013)
Integrated/combined skill courses (i.e. Reading and Writing)
Accelerated courses
English Composition I for ESL students
Improved tutoring
ESL Certificate of Achievement

18. Recommendations Program Review Committee (Faculty Committee)
Integrated curriculum
Course level assessment/level testing
ESL resource center in lieu of the current 1 hour language lab

19. Revising the Curriculum
Creating an ESL path to Credit Level Programs
Aligning the ESL curriculum with Developmental English
Taking into consideration the Common Core requirements
Integrated Courses
Level testing
Language Resource Center

20. New Program Four levels Integrated courses 8 classes required
2 Supplemental Accent Reduction Courses
No lab component
Reading added to Level 4
40 total credits

21. Addressing Concerns Advantages Concerns
Students can progress more quickly through ESL
Students still benefit from the curriculum to be ready for College course work upon leaving the program
Concerns
Open access for Low levels ESL students
63% of new ESL Perth Amboy students and 16% of new ESL Edison students will not be able to take ESL courses – 25% of all new ESL students.

22. Moving Forward Rolling out the new program
Fall 2016 full implementation
Creating a Pre-Academic level in Continuing Education
Academic Rigor
Seamless transition process
Providing access at Perth Amboy and Edison
Developing level testing
Removing the placement testing requirement
Devising a new schedule
Transitioning current students
Professional development in teaching integrated courses

23. Future Initiatives ALP Courses Safety Net courses in Winter and Summer
Level 2 with 3
Level 3 with 4
Level 5 with ENG 121
Safety Net courses in Winter and Summer
ESL Certificate of Achievement

24. Questions