1:51 p.m., Feb. 9, 2011----Soon after 9/11, rumors began circulating that several of the terrorists had participated in an Intensive English Program (IEP) that wasn't accredited and hadn't followed proper immigration procedures. While this turned out to be incorrect, it did create concerns among the English learning community as to whether all of their programs were providing adequate immigration oversight and were being held accountable to high standards for the profession.

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To address this concern, the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP) and the Consortium of University Intensive English Programs (UCIEP) developed a bill to ensure all IEPs were accredited. Scott Stevens, director of the English Language Institute at the University of Delaware, who has served on the executive boards of both organizations and is currently past-vice president of AAIEP, worked with both organizations' advocacy teams to push through this federal legislation.

Their effort was rewarded on Dec. 14, 2010, when President Barack Obama signed an “Act to require the accreditation of English language training programs,” now known as Public Law 111-306. The law amends section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, specifying that English Language training programs must be “accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education.”

Stevens has been with UD for 29 years and has served as director of the English Language Institute (ELI) since 1984. As such, he has helped the ELI become one of the top-ranked programs in the United States for instruction in English as a Second Language.

To help raise the standing of the Intensive English Program profession nationwide, Stevens and his AAIEP executive board colleagues began building coalitions with other organizations that support international education, such as the Alliance for International Educators and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). In 2003, they began drafting a bill to ensure all of the approximately 800 ELI programs in the U.S. are accredited. While over 600 (including that at UD) have their accreditation, the remaining programs have no oversight.

Over the next seven years, the AAIEP advocacy team learned the intricacies of lobbying, working with staff members in Washington, D.C., attracting U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) as a sponsor, generating support from other language organizations and generating hundreds of emails and phone calls to get this passed. Carper's sponsorship of and advocacy for the bill were critical to the legislation gaining passage in the Senate.

The new law requires that visas for foreign students seeking to attend English training schools in the U.S. only be granted for students attending schools accredited by an agency recognized by the secretary of education. The law allows schools a three-year grace period to apply for and obtain their accreditation.

“We take no small measure of pride in having contributed, even in a small way, to our nation's security by having advocated for a law that will undoubtedly help ensure greater compliance with current immigration regulations, particularly in the reporting of students who fall out of status or fail to appear for registration,” says Stevens. “More importantly, prospective students and their sponsors can be reassured that the programs where they submit applications will be held accountable to standards of best practice by independent accrediting bodies.”

Now that Stevens has experienced the process, he said he is eager to take on new challenges. The AAIEP is looking to formulate new policies that impact IEPs and expand their advocacy to urge the government to do more to promote international education.

Article by Alison Burris
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson