IEPs: Beyond the Numbers

This decade hasn’t been easy for intensive English programs (IEPs), which are commonly referred to as English-language programs (ELPs). After the COVID-19 pandemic brought student mobility to a near standstill, programs large and small closed their doors at colleges and universities across the United States. But the last two years have seen significant rebounds: In 2023, nearly 68,000 international students studied at IEPs in the United States, a 6 percent increase from the previous calendar year and a number gradually approaching prepandemic enrollments, according to Open Doors data.

However, both the supply and demand sides of the equation have shifted since the heady days of the mid-2010s, when most IEPs hit an enrollment high-water mark. Now, IEPs must adapt to remain competitive, their leaders say.

“When looking at IEPs, the focus has been on F-1 students and degree matriculation, but our scope and point of view has broadened,” says Daryl Bish, assistant director for the University of Florida English Language Institute and president of EnglishUSA, an association of accredited English language programs in the United States.

Here are five things to keep in mind about the future of IEPs and the students who attend them.

The numbers only tell part of the story.

The overall contours of IEP enrollment are well known: steady numbers through 2010, followed by dramatic growth in enrollees, sparked in no small part by foreign government programs and scholarships. Enrollment peaked at more than 133,000 students in 2015, followed by repeated year-over-year declines that continued until