Students may take the EPI a maximum of 3 times and only one time per semester. Students who fail the EPI must complete one English improvement activity in order to be eligible to retake the EPI. The English improvement activity must be completed during a semester after the most recent EPI.

Example: A student fails the EPI in Fall 2020 and wants to retake the EPI in Spring 2021. To do this, the student must enroll in one of the approved ESL courses during Spring 2021, or complete approved tutoring before the Spring 2021 EPI date. Even if the student was tutored or was enrolled in an ESL class during Fall 2020, he or she must still take another ESL course (or complete additional tutoring) in Spring 2021 to be eligible to retake the EPI in Spring 2021.

English improvement activities (only one is required, though both may be selected):

1. Take an approved ESL course: Enroll in one of the three ITA-focused ESL courses (ESL 504, 506, or 510). 

Students who choose an ESL course as an improvement activity may retake the EPI that same semester. Students who plan to do this will be assigned an EPI date that is late in the semester, so they can complete most of the ESL coursework prior to their interview. Students must satisfactorily complete the ESL course in order for their EPI score to be considered official.

  OR

2. Work with a tutor. Complete at least 8 weeks of tutoring with an approved EPI tutor. Please note that tutors are not employed by the university. They offer their services on a freelance basis and charge for their services.

If the student selects tutoring for the improvement activity, the following requirements apply:

• Students must meet with the tutor at least once a week for a minimum of 8 weeks. The tutoring must be completed after the most recent EPI. Note: Plan ahead! You should start your 8 weeks of tutoring by (or ideally before) the beginning of the semester during which you plan to retake the EPI. Start searching for a tutor at least 4-6 weeks before you plan to start tutoring.
  
• Students who received a 4 on the EPI must complete a minimum of 10 hours of tutoring.
• Students with an EPI score of 3 must complete a minimum of 20 hours of tutoring before retaking the EPI.
• Following are dates by which tutoring must start for students to be eligible to retake the EPI in SPRING 2021.

SPRING 2021 EPI Exam Date	Start tutoring no later than
Week of April 12	February 14
Week of April 19	February 21
Week of April 26	February 28
Week of May 3	March 7

• A letter from the tutor detailing the work that was completed as well as dates and times of tutoring must be submitted to the EPI Coordinator, citl-epi@illinois.edu, at least one week prior to any subsequent English Proficiency Interview. Tutors have the appropriate contact information for submitting the completed form.

Individual language assessment meeting

Students who receive a 3 on their second EPI attempt are strongly encouraged to arrange for an individual language assessment meeting with the ESL-ITA Coordinator in the Linguistics Department, Dr. Suzanne Franks. This one-hour consultation is free of charge. At this meeting, the student will be given a diagnostic exam. Based on that exam, a study plan will be developed to guide the student’s oral English improvement.