Dear Students,

I can't believe it has been more than a month since my last letter for the Planet IEP website! Mrs. Bowles would probably like to give me an F (or at least an X for incomplete).

The truth is that I have been very busy working on some important changes in the IEP. I also have been working on plans for the end of the semester and for summer school. You will hear about the IEP changes later, but let's talk about the end of this semester and summer school now.

First of all, don't forget about the Institutional TOEFL on Monday, April 9, at 9:00 a.m. in the auditorium of Doyne Health Sciences building. The auditorium is Room 141. Doyne is the building behind the library and across from BBA. If you're not sure where it is, please try to locate it sometime before the test. If you are late for the test, you won't be admitted to the auditorium, so it's important for you to know where you're going!

Next week you will receive a schedule for final exams, which will be Thursday, May 3, and Friday, May 4.

You will all be invited to an end-of-semester reception on Tuesday, May 8. The reception is a kind of graduation for students who are finishing IEP this semester and a farewell party for friends you may not see over the summer.

At the reception, you will receive final grades, a final evaluation, certificates of attendance and merit (if you have earned them), and directions for registering for the summer and fall semesters. If you would like to invite guests to the reception, such as your conversation partners, close friends, or family members, please feel free to do so.

Some of you have asked me when you will receive your Institutional TOEFL score. It usually takes three weeks to get the scores after the test, so I hope they will be here by the end of April. If you receive a score above 500 on the test, you will be able to register for your summer or fall classes at that time. Level 3 students who do not receive 500 or more will have to wait until May 10-11 to register.

Now, more about registration. As I mentioned, those of you who score 500 or more on TOEFL will be able to register soon after you receive your score. First, you will need to take transitional placement tests in reading, writing, and math to determine your placement in math and freshman writing courses. Then, you will meet with an advisor who will help you register for next semester's courses.

If you do not receive 500 on TOEFL, you will go through testing, advising, and registration May 9-11. Level 3 students who have all As and Bs will take the transitional tests in reading, writing, and math on May 9. Then they will meet with advisors and register on May 10 or 11.

Students in other levels who receive more than 450 on TOEFL will be able to take the transitional test in math, meet with an advisor, and register for one or two concurrent courses for the fall semester May 9-11 as well. Concurrent courses may not be taken during summer.

The placement test for summer IEP classes will be on Thursday, May 31. Classes begin on Monday, June 4.

I urge all of you to consider taking summer IEP classes. Summer school is only 10 weeks long, and classes are usually quite small and informal. Yes, the Arkansas summer is very hot, but, as you know, all buildings at UCA are well air-conditioned! Summer school students usually enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and increased individual contact with their teachers, and they are happy to be able to finish a semester in only 10 weeks instead of 16.

This year we will have two classes, Listening/Speaking and Grammar, during the first five weeks of summer school (June 4-July 6) and two classes, Reading and Writing, during the second five weeks (July 9-August 10).

Summer classes will meet from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.

We will offer a TOEFL preparation course from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. several days a week during the first five-week session. We hope to offer several special extracurricular activities during the summer.

If you have any questions about the end-of-semester plans or about summer school, please let me know. I hope that the next six weeks will be very productive for all of you!

Sincerely,

Lynn Ramage Schaefer

Interim Coordinator,
Intensive English Program

Department of Foreign Languages
Irby Hall #207
University of Central Arkansas
Conway, AR 72035
tel: (501) 450-5120
lynnr@mail.uca.edu