Institution Reading Area Community College State Pennsylvania Academic Level Associate Issue Area Academic Program Website https://www.racc.edu/academics/eap-program Key Personnel Eleisha Moreno Program Focus Bilingual /ESL, Developmental Coursework Overview Reading Area Community College’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Program offers credit courses in reading, writing, listening, and speaking for bilingual Spanish/English and non-native English speakers pursuing a college credential. With a focus on the development of academic English language skills, their carefully mapped program, course competencies, along with tutoring support in their Multilingual Learning Center, prepare multilingual students for successful completion of first-year English Composition and other first-year college courses. Program Description The EAP program was redesigned in 2012 to reduce credits and accelerate students through the ESL sequence to increase enrollment and enrollee success rates and repurpose the ESL lab. Since 2012, the EAP program has evolved to consist of a standardized curriculum for each course, offer paid professional development to faculty and staff, and enhance accessibility and resources to the Multilingual Learning Center. While EAP enrollees make up only 5% of the college’s population, their program offers support for all multilingual students enrolled in credit courses through the Multilingual Learning Center. Through intentionally structured curricula, engagement in relevant and contextualized activities, and leverage of students’ use of their native languages to aid English acquisition, their program develops non-native English speakers’ proficiency in academic English to become college-ready. Outcome In Fall 2017, 59% of new Latino enrolled became college-ready in reading and writing within one year, compared to 39% in Fall 2012. From 2015-2017, an average of 31% of Latinos completed their first-year composition courses one year after their ESL enrollment, a 16% increase from 2012-2014. Learn more about Latino College Completion in Pennsylvania Return to Growing What Works Database
