IMPORTANT: Update on UBC's Language Requirements

I hope most of you were in attendance this afternoon when representatives from UBC came to speak to us. In case you were not there, or in case you did not understand/missed this piece of information, I am repeating it here because changes have been made for students applying for admission in September 2010. It pertains the language requirements both for admission and to take first-year English courses.

English Language Requirement for Admission (you must meet one of the following criteria to have your application considered for admission):

• Three consecutive years of full-time education in English in Canada, including BC grade 12 English (or its equivalence), OR
• Four or more consecutive years at an eligible international secondary school that uses English as the language of instruction, OR
• A minimum 70% on the provincial exam of either English 12 or English Literature 12, OR
• Reaching the competence level in one of the UBC-recognized language admission tests (click here for more details)

Following admission, most first-year UBC students are required to take 6 credits of English courses (each course is worth 3 credits). To do so, UBC also has a language proficiency requirement, which can be waived if:

• You have a best mark of 75% or above in English 12 (formerly, the mark is 80%; this lower requirement is new for this year).
• You have achieved a level 5 on the Language Proficiency Index (LPI) exam.
  

Failure to meet the first-year English requirements does NOT affect your admission to UBC. However, you would have to take either non-credit courses to improve your English competency, or re-write the LPI until you have a level 5.

This information is new for applicants for the September 2010 term. If you are not clear on this information, please come and see me, or ask the recruitment officer at UBC (I have her contact information).

LPI Registration Reminder

For students who are planning to write the LPI exam at Templeton on December 3, you have about 1 week left to register for the exam.

FYI, UBC, SFU, and several other post-secondary schools have a basic literacy entrance requirement. Depending on your English 12 blended mark (i.e. course mark + provincial exam mark), that entrance requirement may be met if your English 12 mark is high enough. However, because your provincial exam mark is worth 40% of your blended mark, it is our recommendation that you sign up and write the LPI.

Two entries have been created earlier to explain the registration procedure. If you have not registered yet, please go to these posts again. Remember, registration must be completed by November 22!

For registration done online, click here
For registration via mail/fax, click here (be mindful of postal delay - my recommendation is: by this time, this would not be the method of registration you should choose)

Any questions, please come in to see me ASAP.

LPI Registration (via fax, mail, or in person)

For those of you who wish to register for the LPI through fax, mail, or in person, you must first print out the application form. To do so, go first to LPI’s registration page by clicking here.

As you move down the screen, you will see a place where the application form can be found. See the screen shot below. Click onto the “this form” hyperlink.

Print the registration form, which looks like the figure below:
Read through the important information, and fill out P.7 of the form, which looks like this:
Make sure you write down Dec 3 and 3:30 as the exam date and time. Templeton Secondary would be the location to which you are writing the exam for the ONE AND ONLY school sitting.

Complete the remainder of the registration form and submit it in the method you choose (fax, mail, or in person). Remember: if you are sending the registration in by mail, the LPI office MUST receive your registration form BEFORE November 22 in order to register you for the Dec 3 school sitting. If you are applying in person, the LPI office closes at 4:00 p.m. daily.

Still having trouble? Come see me, and we will try to figure it out together.

LPI Online Registration (Tutorial)

A number of students have approached me and have asked about the way to register for the language proficiency index (LPI) exam. Apparently, a number of you are having trouble registering.

The first thing you need to decide is the method of payment. If you are using a credit card, you can register online or via a fax. If you want to pay with a cheque, then you must mail your application in. If you want to pay using debit, then you must go directly to the LPI office to register. (Sorry, but it does not appear that the LPI office would take cash)

Because I have received a number of questions regarding the online registration process, I’ll spend more time talking about it here.

First, go to the LPI online registration site: Click Here

You will then see a screen like the one below, click on the link that takes you to the secondary school registration page.

Once in this page, go to its very bottom, where you can check off the “terms and conditions” button. Then, click “continue” (see screen shot below):
This will take you to the high school online registration page. After filling out your personal identification information, go to the second section where you’d see a pull-down menu. Click onto it, and find Templeton. As a Templeton student, you can only register to write an in-school exam at your home school.

Complete the remainder of the registration form. Click “submit,” and you are SET!

Still having trouble? Come see me, and we will try to figure it out together.

Remember: registration closes at midnight, November 22. Register early - this is the ONLY sitting you will be allowed to write at the school.