The UA's Center for English as a Second Language, which offers a range of programs and services to English language learners, has earned the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation's maximum approval term.
Each year, the UA's Center for English as a Second Language hosts a group of English language learners who are recipients of the prestigious Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, which is run by the U.S. Department of State.
Four decades ago, The University of Arizona initiated a program to train more than 20 engineers visiting from a university in Hermosillo, Mexico, on English language skills.
That program has since grown into a comprehensive academic service provider known as the Center for English as a Second Language, which aids students from across the world in English language acquisition by way of a range of programs and services.
This year, the center is not only celebrating its 40-year anniversary, but also its recent re-accreditation of its Intensive English Program with the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation, an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
"Accomplishing a 10-year term is a marker of our accomplishments over 40 years in terms of quality of teaching, quality of our curriculum and our active engagement and professional development," said Suzanne Panferov, director of the self-funded center, known as CESL.
Though CESL was previously accredited by the Commission, this is the first time the center has ever received a 10-year accreditation, the maximum period allotted.
"It's become more and more the industry standard in Intensive English Programs that you have accreditation. It means you're more competitive," said Nicholas Ferdinandt, associate director of CESL, which was first accredited by the Commission in 2004.
The Commission grants accreditation for one- and five-year terms, but a 10-year term goes to programs and institutions that "fully comply with the CEA standards," according to the Commission's Web site.
Ferdinandt, who was responsible for leading the self-study portion of the accreditation process, also noted that the re-accreditation makes the center the only English as a Second Language program in the state with national accreditation.
This also makes the center's program one of about 65 in the nation now holding the prestigious stamp.
"This means students have a better program; a program that is looking at itself constantly and constantly trying to get better," Ferdinandt said of the center, which is part of the UA's College of Humanities and begins its summer courses June 15.
"Essentially, the accreditation is a guarantee of that to the student," he said, adding that many sponsoring agencies and organizations of international students will support only programs that have been accredited.
The center serves about 800 students annually and trained thousands of University students from nearly 100 countries. In its more intensive programs, students are involved in upwards from 20 hours of language instruction each week.
CESL is also a longtime member of the University and College Intensive English Program, a national independent consortium and offers a range of services such as:
Panferov said the center's focus is on "quality" and in collaborating with other campus departments and units, noting that all of its instructors have earned either a master's or doctoral degree.
"We are an academic unit, but we need to be very forward thinking and collaborative in what we are doing," said Panferov, also an adjunct lecturer in the English department.
And within the last few years, CESL has begun its own network and recruiting effort and currently works with more than 125 full-time students who have conditional admission to the UA and has also worked to boost the number of contact hours students have with instructors while also adding additional measures to test the proficiency of its students.
"The students need to experience life in Tucson and in the United States," Panferov said, adding that students are also encouraged to get involved in organizations and coordinated excursions.
"We really want quality instruction where they are using the language and modern language teaching methods to be able to produce the language," she added. "That's very important."
Suzanne Panferov
520-621-1362