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Firm foundations
The biggest growth area in UK ELT at the moment seems to be foundation year programmes. This is unsurprising as the number of international students heading to the UK is increasing and many need not only academic English but help with other specialist subjects. Russian high school programmes, for example, finish a year earlier than those in the UK, which means Russians almost always need a foundation year programme before they do a degree.
There are two types of foundation programme. One has its course content validated by a UK university, and successful students are guaranteed a university place. These programmes, run in both state and private sectors, offer courses in specialist subjects together with academic English. The minimum qualifications to look for among the teaching staff, according to Baleap, which inspects many university programmes, is a diploma in EFL and/or a masters. Serious private sector organisations require the same.
The other kind of foundation programme does not have validated courses and does not actually guarantee a university place. At best these foundation years offer a good top-up in a specialist subject and/or a solid programme of academic English. At worst they stick international students at the back of classes run by native speakers or casually employ English language teachers with nothing more than a four-week introductory certificate to teach Ielts exam courses and 'study skills'.
From 2009, foreign students who wish to study at private institions and who need visas will need to be enrolled in a college accredited by the British Accreditation Council (BAC) or a language school covered by Accreditation UK. Unfortunately, as one source close to Accreditation UK admits, 'Foundation years fall down a crack in the system.' The BAC inspects only specialist subjects while Accreditation UK inspects only English-language teaching. Foundation programmes should offer both, so neither body can scrutinise them fully. Nor does either scheme make any distinction between programmes that guarantee university places and those that don't.
It follows that accreditation by either of the above bodies will not tell you if a foundation programme guarantees a university place. Baleap inspection, which has much higher requirements for content and teaching qualifications, covers only the state university sector at the moment.
So how can an agent, a parent or student possibly know which foundation programme to choose to guarantee entry to a university degree course? They need to ask some very tough questions. If the student has already chosen a university, they can simply ask the admissions office. The university may run its own foundation programme or outsource it to a state college, private college or a language school while guaranteeing degree places to successful students.
In either case, it is important to check what assistance may be available in finding another university if the student fails. 'If a student [barely] fails the foundation year, we help them find a place somewhere else,' says Claire Ballard of Reading University's International Office.
An increasing number of universities have private-sector partners who run foundation programmes on the university campus. Students can also enrol direct with these partners and get help choosing a university subsequently. Most of these on-campus organisations have formal arrangements with other universities for students who don't quite make the grade. Study Group, for example, run International Study Centres in nine British universities but many more universities accept people on their foundation programme.
Rather than partnerships, Into is involved in joint ventures, currently with three British universities, which means the university remains responsible for academic quality. Again universities other than those directly involved with Into will accept their course. Into's on-campus centres are purpose-built and house more than just foundation-year programmes: they offer language courses for those whose English is weak through to English-language support for students during their degrees.
For students who haven't decided which university to go to, they can consider a foundation year at an accredited college. These programmes are formally accepted by a number of university partners. For example, the programme at Bellerbys College, part of Study Group, is accepted by forty British universities. There are language schools too which have good validated courses, though unsurprisingly it tends to be the top-of-the-range schools which offer validated programmes. The programme run by the Bell School in Cambridge, a famous name in language schools, is formally accepted by twelve universities and students are guaranteed a place at a university on successful completion of the course, according to chief executive David Pottinger.
Some language schools are building reputations in specialist subjects as well as English. IH London has a business programme and another for science and engineering. These are accepted as entry qualifications for specific degree courses in universities such as King's College London; Queen Mary, University of London; and Nottingham University. Since the specialist courses in mathematics, physics, economics and business are not inspected under Accreditation UK, they have their own external examiner from Imperial College London.
Proper validated foundation years with highly qualified teachers do not come cheap. University-run courses cost in the £7,500–13,000 range for non-EU students and the private-sector fees are much the same. Courses without validation can be much cheaper. During the research for this article we came across a foundation programme at £4,000 a year which claimed it was 'an alternative to A levels or IB'. That's strange – it wasn't on the list of A-level equivalents from UCAS, the central body for university admissions.
Choosing a foundation programme: a checklist
1. Always check what help is offered to students who fail their foundation year. Many universities allow students to sit their exams again. All good foundation year programmes should help students who fail to find an alternative university.
2. All private-sector foundation years should have their course content validated by a university. Look for a list of partner universities that have a formal arrangement, sometimes called a continuation agreement, to accept the programme. An informal list of universities where their students have subsequently been admitted is not sufficient.
3. Avoid courses that claim to be 'an alternative to A levels and IB'.
4. Check entry requirements are not unrealistically low. Students should need a high school diploma and, to be confident of passing in a year, an Ielts score of around 5.
5. Check the teaching qualifications of staff:
a) Subject specialists. Universities employ teachers with doctorates and teaching experience, while in the private sector a state teaching qualification in their subject is the minimum.
b) English language teachers should have at least a diploma and/or a masters in a relevant area; a certificate alone is not sufficient. Avoid programmes which rely on casual hourly paid teachers.
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