Links to assessment tools and evaluations (e.g. reports, publications) can be found with in the Assessment Plan below under “Documentation”.

A full version of the program’s Assessment Plan (i.e., with data and results can be found on file in the ELP office and the center for Teaching & Learning (Library 3 rd Floor)

Northeastern Illinois University’s Mission

Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is dedicated to both excellence and access. The most important facets of the university's mission are to offer high quality undergraduate and graduate programs to a broad spectrum of students and to foster student growth and development. To these ends, the university attaches primary importance to excellence in teaching. Since program quality is enhanced by professional activities beyond the classroom on the part of the faculty, emphasis is also given to pure and applied research and to academic and public service. Unique to Northeastern's mission are the two distinctive features of diversity and community partnerships. Because of its location in the Chicago metropolitan area, the university serves a population which is diverse in age, culture, language, and race. This diversity, a major asset, means that the academic programs utilize a variety of perspectives to enrich the teaching and learning experience and to prepare students for the multiculturalism which characterizes our society. The university's location also provides students and faculty with many opportunities to integrate field-based learning, research, and service with classroom instruction. Northeastern Illinois University preserves the finest traditions of university education, augmented by active involvement in the metropolitan area, on behalf of the residents of Illinois.

English Language Program Mission

 The primary goal of the English Language Program is to serve the richly diverse population of Northeastern by providing students with an opportunity to acquire the level of English language and written communication skills they need in order to succeed in higher education.

To accomplish this goal, the English Language Program has four primary components(Links given in the form of buttons below): the Instructional Program, Teacher/Tutor Training (for Graduate Assistants), the Writing Lab, and the International Program. Together, these components work cooperatively with academic programs throughout the university to improve the language, writing, and critical thinking skills of Northeastern’s students. The ELP’s core faculty hold tenure in the departments of Linguistics or English and continue to do scholarly work in their fields and teach in the undergraduate and graduate programs of their home departments, ensuring the quality of the program and its continued relevance to the academic mission of the university.

Academic Development Mission

Academic Development works to establish and continue liaisons between all support services within the university to support student success in a student-centered learning environment. We promote partnerships with other institutions and the community to foster student success and meet the goals of the university’s mission. The Office of Academic Development provides leadership and support for the following programs: The Accessibility Center (H.E.L.P.), Math Development (Math Lab), Reading Development (Reading Lab), Proyecto Pa’Lante, Project Success, English Language Program (Writing Lab), Academic Advising and Tutoring, Assessment and Testing, Summer Transition Program, University Seminar, Annual Cultural/Diversity Heritage Programs and the WorkForce Diversity Institute.

ELP Instructional Plan Flow Chart

Notes on Placement

Students are placed into the English Language Program based on their performance on the Writing Placement Test administered by the Office of Assessment and Testing. Furthermore, placement into the developmental versus the ESL sequence is determined from students' self-reporting of the primary language spoken in their homes. That is, students who indicate that English is their primary home language are placed into DEV 099; students who indicate a language other than English as their primary home language are placed into one of the ESL courses.

ESL sequencing into the High Intermediate (114) and Advanced (120) levels follows students' ability to demonstrate proficiency as indicated below. Sequencing into the Intermediate level (112), though typically reserved for all remaining students unable to demonstrate the defined proficiency, anticipates a minimal proficiency as follows:

Nonetheless, deficiencies may include a lack of familiarity with any combination of the following:

Student writing at this level can typically be described as having: