鶹ѰBoulder's International English Center turns 50
Since 1975, the International English Center (IEC) has brought the world to CU—educating students from more than 50 different countries through innovative, high-quality English language instruction and cultural enrichment. The center is thrilled to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year with international partners, 鶹ѰBoulder and the wider Boulder community.
Creating an international bridge at CU
Fulbright Scholars at graduation
In the summer of 1974, Larry Fisher, a Peace Corps volunteer freshly back from teaching English in Turkey, taught in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for international students at 鶹ѰBoulder. He and some fellow returning Peace Corps volunteer teachers discussed the need for a formal Intensive English Program (IEP) at 鶹ѰBoulder.
Fisher created a proposal and pitched it to George Goulette at Continuing Education and Ruth Purkable from what was then called the Office of International Education. Sold on the idea, Goulette andPurkable appliedto the Colorado Commission on Higher Educationfor permission to establish an IEPat 鶹ѰBoulder.
With approval granted, the IEC was born, and Jean Engler served as its first director. Fisher was among the first IEC faculty members hired and worked at the center for another 43 years, retiring in 2018.
鶹ѰBoulder’s International English Center opened its doors with44 students, mostly from the Arabian Gulf countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia and a few students from South America and Japan. During its first year, the IEC welcomed 357 students from 22 countries.
Over the years, it has served a diverse local and international population: college-bound students, Boulder community members, pre-service teachers, refugees, international professionals and others.
As the center’s primary purpose was to prepare international students for university-level work, securing a formal pathway to the university was key. In 2013, theDean’s Council approved a Conditional Admissions Program for international undergraduate students, and the IEC’s new Academic Bridge Program (now known as Pathway to CU) was born.
Along with intensive English language instruction, the program includes assignments designed to help students adapt to U.S. academic culture. The program has since expanded to allow higher-level students the option of taking credit-bearing classes while continuing to refine their English skills at the IEC.
International partners and programs
IEC students collaborate on one of the experiential learning projects that form the foundation of the center's curriculum
IEC is proud to have created programs for the U.S. State Department, such as the Fulbright Pre-Academic Program, which prepares international grantees for graduate studies at U.S. universities, and the EducationUSA Academy, which helps international high school students through the process of applying to college in the U.S.
The center’s other custom programs have trained Brazilian educators to teach English; helped Mexican military personnel develop their professional communication skills; introduced undergraduates from the United Arab Emirates to space science; and prepared the Governor of Acré, Brazil, for meetings with leaders at 鶹Ѱand contacts at renewable energy laboratories.
The IEC has partnered with the Governors Climate and Forestry Fund; the ministries of Education in Bolivia, Brazil and Chile; the Kuwait Cultural Office; numerous Japanese universities, including Tokyo Denki, Juntendo and Tokyo Keizai; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in Indonesia; the Mexican ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education; Secretaries of the Mexican Military (SEMAR and SEDENA); the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission; the Royal Thai Air Force and Army; Royal Thai Scholars; and Yamagata (sister city to Boulder) Prefecture in Japan.
Partnerships closer to home
Students in IEC elective Earth Matters at NCAR
Although “international” is in its name, the IEC also has served the state of Colorado, 鶹ѰBoulder and the local community.
Along with the IEPs at the University of Denver and 鶹ѰDenver, the IEC—led by Larry Fisher—helped found the Colorado affiliate of TESOL International, a professional organization that seeks to advance expertise in English language teaching. The Colorado branch, now known as, has grown exponentially, with IEC faculty playing a prominent role by holding many offices in the organization and arranging and presenting at its yearly conference.
Closer to home, the IEC is always developing valued partnerships with 鶹ѰBoulder departments. TheIEC has contracted withInternational Student and Scholar Services to provide free English language tutoring to undergraduates and graduate students, as well as workshops for students, staff and faculty.
The center collaborates with 鶹ѰHuman Resources on the Employees English Program (EEP), which offers free English language classes for frontline service employees of the university. The EEP also connects to the Department of Linguistics in an arrangement where Raichle Farrelly matches her students with IEC cooperating teachers to assist in the classroom.
The IEC has a second conditional admission agreement with Colorado Law for its Master of Laws candidates whose English does not yet meet its language proficiency requirements; these students are required to complete the IEC’s Legal English Program, a comprehensive course of study that helps smooth the transition to law school.
Finally, with the Leeds School of Business, the IEC recently launched a hybrid international student graduate school preparation workshop.
In these ways, the IEC delivers a wide range of English language and academic culture support services, positioning itself as the campus hub for international English language instruction.
Decades of change
International Fulbright grantees visit Golden West Senior Living as part of their service-learning project
Throughout its 50-year history, the IEC has weathered many physical and metaphorical upheavals. Initially a part of Continuing Education, the IEC was shifted to Academic Services during the 1980s and then returned to Continuing Education in 1990 with an academic link to the Linguistics Department.
The Academy Building, the center’s original physical home, suffered a devastating fire in 1980, necessitating a temporary relocation to University Hill’s Primary School; after several years in university-owned buildings on Grandview Avenue, the IEC settled in its current location on the Hill in 1999.
The center’s successive leaders have grown adept at adapting to global and domestic political changes and responding to international currency fluctuations and enrollment trends, in addition to pivoting when a global pandemic made overseas travel difficult or impossible.
In 2000, the center became one of the first IEPs to be accredited by the new Commission on English Language Program Accreditation. That new distinction requires the IEC to maintain the highest standards in itsfaculty, which means all must have a master's or doctorate in TESOL or applied linguistics. With this expertise, IEC faculty create meaningful and relevant experiential learning projects—the foundation of the center’s curriculum—so students engage in activities that mimic real-world tasks, preparing them for future academic and professional success.
From analog past to digital future
Indonesian IISMA scholarship recipients share their culture during their studies at CU
The IEC has come a long way from its founding in 1975, when faculty only had analog tools at their disposal. Fisher recalls, “I set up the first IEC computer lab with hand-me-down IBM PCs from engineering…green screens, no mouse, no network. That lab was one of the first on campus connected to the internet (or Arpanet) which could send only text, no pictures, no sound. We had one of the very early online 鶹Ѱwebpages and online courses.”
Nowadays, IEC faculty utilize digital tools in the classroom extensively and receive ongoing training in educational technology, in addition to staying current on best practices in second language acquisition and teaching.
The center, with current director Graham Douglas at the helm, recently launched IEC Online to bring its quality English language instruction to homes across the world. As the first campus unit to fully adopt Canvas for all its courses, the IEC is well positioned to succeed in the virtual education space.
The IEC’s mission of promoting intercultural communication is as vital as ever, and it will continue to confront the constantly challenging international education landscape with innovation and creativity. The center will celebrate its half-century on Nov. 20 with international student alumni, faculty and campus partners.