Oral Proficiency Policy for Instructional Personnel
Introduction
It is the conviction of the Board of Governors for Higher Education that all students attending public institutions of higher education in Rhode Island are entitled to be instructed by persons proficient in the English language. Therefore, the Board of Governors has established this policy on oral English language proficiency; the commissioner of Higher Education will promulgate the policy; and the presidents of the three public institutions of higher education will administer the policy.
Policy
It is the intention of the Board of Governors for Higher Education that each person who provides classroom instruction to undergraduate students at any of the public institutions of higher education in Rhode Island shall be orally proficient in the English language. (Classroom instruction shall include lectures, laboratories, seminars, recitation sessions, and other settings where students are taught in groups.)
Accordingly, each public institution of higher education shall establish appropriate policies and programs to assess, and where necessary improve, the oral English language proficiency of all newly hired teaching personnel. Only those persons who demonstrate oral proficiency in English shall be permitted to deliver classroom instruction.
Each institution shall report to the commissioner by August 30, 1993, the policies adopted and the programs implemented to fulfill this directive.
