The mission that drives all the programs within English as a Second Language Programs (ESL Credit, TAPE, and others) at the University of Iowa is to:

• Provide students whose first language is not English with high quality language instruction as well as a cultural, social, and academic orientation to the United States.
• Support international students in meeting their academic and non-academic needs as they transition from their native countries to the US and the UI community
• Serve UI offices, departments, faculty, and staff by assisting them in their efforts to ensure the success of their international students and create respectful, diverse, and inclusive environments
• Provide high quality linguistic and cultural instruction for graduate teaching assistants and other learners with specialized English needs
• Develop and administer high quality English language proficiency assessments
• Provide extensive training, mentoring, and supervision to students enrolled in the TESL focus in the Department of Linguistics
• Contribute to the growth of the field through professional productivity and leadership activities