OSU considers outsourcing ELI department

Goal of improving services, reducing costs brings talks with British development company

By: Daniel Acee

Posted: 6/4/08

The English Language Institute at OSU is currently under negotiation of whether it will continue its 43 years of self-sustenance or outsource the institute to a company outside the U.S.

OSU's Provost Dr. Sabah Randhawa has been in contact with Andrew Colin, the CEO of INTO, a British property development company recently. They are negotiating a joint venture in which both parties will benefit from an ELI program that is run by INTO and will deliver a greater amount of foreign exchange students to OSU. INTO claims the students they bring will be undergraduates paying full tuition.

With an international marketing setup, which includes regionally specific people from INTO to help bring in students from many areas around the world, they are expecting their recruiting techniques to build long term relationships with different countries. In turn, this would create an ongoing supply of international students.

There has also been talk about INTO constructing additional instructional facilities to potentially house international students and more room for ELI specific classes.

INTO plans on recruiting heavily from China because it is currently the location drawing the largest number of exchange students. With OSU's decrease in budget each year, the program could provide an increase in profit for OSU.

If OSU signs over the ELI, they will be under the management of INTO.

The current mission of faculty and staff in the ELI is to assist foreign language students with classes and help them become comfortable with the American culture in order to have a positive experience here.

"This just seems a little weird to me," said Steven Lentz, a senior majoring in pre-medicine.

"You would think that it would be important to OSU to keep their own program and staff instead of outsource to a private foreign company."

Lentz was not the only one that found the situation curious. Many other students and ELI faculty are confused with the issue at hand.

Questions have also surfaced from around the world in different publications.

England's "Times Higher Education" states that Colin has been described by the University and College Union as leading the privatization of UK higher education. He has put 8.5 million English pounds into this company, but plans on being beyond his break-even point in the company's third year.

Some faculty and staff of the ELI at OSU have brought up some questions about how this process is going to work and how it will affect their positions at the university.

People are concerned about the legal aspects of a public university involved in a joint venture with a private venture capital/property development corporation.

Others wonder if OSU can provide high quality campus housing and classroom space for students that are participating in INTO's study abroad program that will match the high price that they will be paying.

Most important to the OSU staff is why the provost and other administration involved in the process are not involving the expertise of OSU's ELI to help make the decisions. The ELI is nearly finished with a two year accreditation process with the Commission of English Language Program Accreditation.

"This seems like another way to screw more teachers out of their jobs," said Tanner Koenig, senior in economic agriculture science and two year roommate with an international student.

"The ELI has done a good job helping my international student friends, and they put too much effort in to their program for OSU to sell them like this."

To learn more about this situation, visit INTO's website at

intouniversitypartnerships.com

or go to OSU's ELI website at oregonstate.edu/dept/eli/.

Daniel Acee, senior reporter

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231