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Registration & Orientation

Find information about registration and orietnation and plan the start of your journey to the Intensive English Institute.

Registration Welcome

Welcome to the IEI! We are so glad you chose us. All Spring 2024 new students must be available to register on January 8, 2024. More details about registration will be coming in your admission email. Check your email for important updates and your registration time.

Arrival

The Intensive English Institute's offices are currently being renovated. Please check your admission email for updates on the location of registration events.

Registration

When you arrive at the IEI for the first time, please bring the following:

  • Your passport.
  • The I-20 that the IEI issued to you or your DS-2019 (J-1 students).
  • The completed Immunization History Form that was sent to you via email.

During Registration, the following will happen:

  • Payment of IEI Tuition and University Fees. Review the options for paying tuition as well as the withdrawal policy.
  • University Student ID Card ("I-Card"): IEI students receive a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student identification card once their tuition and fees are paid.
  • Campus Computer and Email Orientation: During this orientation, students will get their campus Net ID (user name) and passwords which will let them use the computer labs on campus. They will also get their U of I email accounts and learn how to use them.
  • McKinley Health Center Visit & TB Screening: As new students on the University of Illinois campus, all IEI students must be screened for tuberculosis (TB) at the beginning of the first semester they are on campus. This is a requirement of the university. During orientation week, IEI students are assigned to go with a group to McKinley Health Center for this required screening. Bring your student ID card, the McKinley Health Information Form you were sent when you were accepted as an IEI student, and the forms you are given at registration. Be sure to bring with you any records that show when you have had immunizations for measles, mumps, rubella, or tetanus. If you cannot show that you have had these required immunizations, the nurses at McKinley will give them to you (at your own cost). If you have any questions about the immunizations or about any possible side effects, ask the nurses. The TB screening must be done in the U.S., not in your home country. More information can be found on the McKinley Health Center website.
  • English Placement Test: During registration week, you will take a placement test. You will be tested in 5 areas: writing; grammar, reading, listening, and oral communication. The oral interview will be scheduled separately from the rest of the test. The rest of the test takes about 2 hours. All students must take the IEI placement test at the time scheduled by the IEI office. Only students who have completed registration may take this test. If you have registered and you miss the test, you must pay a $150 late testing fee.

You will be placed into the appropriate IEI level according to your EPT results. You will receive your placement when you receive your class scheduleat the end of orientation week. There are many factors that affect test performance. For this reason, your teachers will observe your English performance carefully during the first week of class to be sure you are placed in the correct level. The IEI will contact you by the beginning of Week 2 of classes if your teachers believe your placement level was incorrect.

However, if you believe your placement level is incorrect, please follow the Placement Appeal Process. Formal appeals are due by 5 p.m. at the end of Week 1. Appeals will not be considered after that date.

Orientation

Below are some of the orientations that students will attend during Registration and Orientation Week.

  • Good Language Learner Orientation: In this orientation, students review strategies that will help them be successful as IEI students. 
  • Health and Well-being Orientation: In this orientation, students learn about resources available on campus to keep them healthy, both mentally and physically.
  • Safety Orientation: This orientation by a University of Illinois police officer gives students safety tips and resources available on the U of I campus.
  • Zoom Orientation: Since most IEI classes have an online component this term, this orientation helps students get comfortable with Zoom - the program that the IEI uses to deliver its online classes.
  • Walking Tours: These tours help familiarize students with the University of Illinois campus and community.