CU Boulder tries to recruit more international students with new admission policies.

March 12 is the first day of class of spring session in the International English Center (IEC). 265 students from various countries and areas like China, South Korea, India, Saudi Arabia and Thailand participate in this program.

The International English Center is operated by the Continuing Education department at CU. The IEC's one-year program of intensive English instruction, combined with orientation to university customs, academic preparation, and an introduction to life in the United States, provides students from all parts of the world with a unique opportunity to learn the English language in a motivating academic atmosphere.

“I feel not very uncomfortable, because these guys are very kind, and you can share you country's culture with them,” said HengKang Ye, a 19-year-old Chinese student at the IEC.

Students here at the International English Center have two important goals: improving their language skills and getting into CU colleges through excellent communication language instructions.

The IEC provides a bridge to the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU). The IEC works closely with the CU Office of Admissions to facilitate the process for students who want to apply.

In 2011, CU-Boulder applied a new policy in its international student enrollment. In an effort to recruit more international students to the Boulder campus, CU will no longer require foreign applicants to submit standardized SAT or ACT test scores with their applications. This policy is very beneficial for students in both the IEC and all other parts of the world intending to apply to CU.

“The SAT is Scholastic Aptitude Test, it is a test that is universally accepted by the majority of the U.S domestic institutions. It's designed to give a reading on one piece of the students' ability to be successful in college,” Said Kevin MacLennan, director of Admission at CU.

MacLennan also emphasized the impact of this policy change, “I think one of the things we could possibly have is we might have more applicants in the admissions process, making it more competitive.”

The policy change is based on the consideration that students overseas have had difficulty accessing official SAT test sites. This is especially true in eastern African countries and China, which are top feeder countries for international students to the Boulder campus.

Dropping SAT scores for international applicants does not mean CU lowers its enrollment requirements. CU is instead toughening its English-language proficiency requirements, which have been a better predictor of how well international students perform in university classrooms, according to officials. The Minimum requirement of TOEFL increased from 61 to 75.

TOEFL is a language skill test (separated into four sections: reading, listening, speaking and writing) in order to evaluate student’s English level, which is widely accepted by American institutions in recruiting students whose native language is not English. The scale for the Internet TOEFL test ranges from 0 to 120.

Over the past year, CU has increased its foreign student enrollment by 23 percent. Enrollment of foreign students last fall reached a record high, with 1,492 international students counted in the campus census. This includes both undergraduates and graduates, making up about 5 percent of the total student body.

Countries like China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Japan were the main source countries for international students.

Take China as an example. The total Chinese student number, including both undergraduates and graduates, has reached 342, accounting for about 22 percent in the total foreign student body.

“I have been here in CU-Boulder for almost one year, and I feel like, being part of the international students, I have seen a lot of international students coming during this one year. And I feel like it definitely promotes the diversity on our campus,” said Yu Chen Wu, a Chinese undergraduate.

Even though Enrollment of foreign students at CU last fall reached a record high, CU is still nowhere near other Pac-12 schools such as USC (which enrolls 8,615 international students) or the UCLA (which enrolls 6,249 foreign students).

According to Brittany Anas of The Daily Camera, CU's goal is to bring 900 new international students to campus every year until there are 2,500 to 3,000 foreign students on campus.

Not only will foreign students generate more revenues for the campus, they will also play a key role in promoting diversity and internationalizing the campus.

The International English center will continue to expand its programs. It hopes to boost its own enrollment to bring more undergraduates here to study.

As Carlos Miron, manager of student service said, “Higher education, the business community, become more globalized and more interconnected... I think that the intercultural and cross-cultural aspect of students coming and studying at IEC, as I mentioned, benefits not only them, but the communities we live in.”