The J-bar is placed on certain international students' records to require them to go through English screening before they can register for classes.

How do international students know if they have a J-bar?

When international students check in at the International Office, they will be given a slip of paper indicating whether or not they have a J-bar. The paper will also explain what they need to do to remove it.

Why are certain students given a J-bar?

There are two ways for a J-bar to be placed on a student record.   The first is the automatic J-bar.   This is placed on any international student record with a TOEFL below 600 (250cbt) or a low GRE verbal score.   The second way for a J-bar to appear on a student record is for a department to contact ESL Services and ask that a J-bar be placed on a particular student.

How is the J-bar removed?

In order to remove a J-bar, international students must go through an English screening, which is done by ESL Services' faculty in the International Office. This screening is done during the same time frame that the International Office does new international student check in.

The screening consists of a 30-minute essay and a 15-minute oral interview.   After the screening is done, the results are discussed with the students and they are informed whether there is a requirement for further coursework in English.   If English classes are required, then information on those classes is provided to the students, and a copy of the requirement is sent to the students' individual departments.  Information on the classes offered by ESL Services can be found here.

Once the students have participated in the screening, the J-bar is removed or waived.  If requirements for additional English coursework are not fulfilled, the J-bar appears again for the following semester.