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Announcement: CU Denver is Celebrating 50 Years

Whether you’re an alumnus, current student, member of the faculty and staff, donor, or neighbor, you’re a valuable part of the CU Denver community. Help us celebrate the last 50 years and a future that works for all.

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    Donate to the International Student Emergency Fund

    CU Denver Day of Giving is April 6!

    CU Denver is committed to making education work for all; this includes international students who are abruptly faced with a financial crisis. Unexpected disasters at home – massive flooding, earthquakes, medical emergencies, losses in family incomes -- have affected more than one of the university’s international students.

    Donate Today
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    ESL Academy Students Contribute High GPA’s

    Preparing International Students to Succeed in CU Denver Classrooms

    May 11, 2014
    prepare for university success

    Along with the excitement of this spring’s 2014 graduation week on the downtown campus of the University of Colorado Denver, another significant graduation is taking place at CU Denver’s ESL Academy. This May marks the 12th ESL Academy graduation since its founding in January 2012. Dozens of graduates of the ESL Academy have continued on into degree programs at the university, studying in disciplines ranging from architecture to engineering to public health. The students, from countries including Costa Rica, Iraq, Lebanon, Lithuania, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Venezuela, Colombia, South Korea, and Qatar, arrive at the Academy to prepare for success in both undergraduate and graduate university programs.

    Charged with preparing international students for the academic rigor of graduate level studies, the ESL Academy has created a very challenging formula for success. It is a winning formula:  a skills and content-based curriculum, positive motivational techniques to promote the use of English outside of the classroom, and selective admissions.

    Rebecca Fisher, Founding Director and current English Language Specialist, said,  “The high GPA’s of the graduate level students, between 3.2 and 3.7, reflect the expertise and hard work in the business of intensive language acquisition.  Nowadays, English is a commodity, and students want to see results.  We have built a multifaceted approach to effectively teaching more than English; we promote appropriate behavior in the classroom, major-specific research, and academic writing norms.  I’m so glad that our alumni are successful in their degree programs.”

    Academy alumni Noor Alibrahim agrees.  “I’m taking three classes this term and my other international friends were like, ‘Wow! How can you do that your first term?’ and I told them that I was just ready after the ESL Academy.”  Noor currently is working toward a master’s degree in the School of Education and Human Development.

    Abdusamea Elfaid, another alumni who is enrolled as an electrical engineering master’s candidate, noted his sense of satisfaction writing computer code and having more time to sleep.  “At the Academy, I only slept four hours a night.  ESL classes, eat, homework, and sleep.  That was it; that was my life for six months.  It’s all worth it now, though, because I feel so comfortable in my degree classes.  I love writing code.”

    Even with adequate preparation, some students still need more exposure to university life to be fully at ease. Sukainah Alsaihati, the first ESL Academy graduate who completed all five levels of the Academy, is now enrolled in the electrical engineering program. “While I am proud to be one of the few Saudi women in my major, it’s also a little bit intimidating because there are so many guys!”

    Current Acting Director, Marcel Bolintiam, is pleased with the high quality of the ESL Academy graduates.  “The mission of the ESL Academy is to prepare students for academic success in their degree program at the University of Colorado Denver and in their future careers. These results give us confidence in the quality of the ESL Academy program and its graduates. We are pleased to contribute to the success of international students and look forward to celebrating the completion of their degree programs.”

    LEARN MORE

    For more information about the ESL Academy, visit online:
    ESL.ucdenver.edu.

     
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    International College Beijing

    See Description
    Published Jul 26, 2012
    ICB is a joint education program between the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) in Denver, Colorado, USA, and China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This partnership, formed in 1994, was one of the first of its kind approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. ICB is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in the U.S. and maintains a reputation as a challenging, robust academic program.

    Study Abroad

    See Description
    Published Oct 19, 2016
    The CU Denver Office of Global Education is committed to providing every University of Colorado Denver student a wide range of engaging and affordable international study, research and clinical opportunities to help you globalize your academic and professional future.

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