In 2019, the United States hosted the largest number of international higher education students worldwide, and many chose to begin their education at a community college. As a result, community college ESL programs face a critical task. This quantitative study explored the effectiveness of ESL coursework on the academic success of international students in an English 101 gateway course. The sample for the study included two cohorts of international students enrolled at an urban American community college in the Midwest United States in the fall of 2017 and fall 2018. The study compared student performance in English 101 among international students enrolled in English 101 after level I, II or III coursework in a traditional ESL program with international students placed directly into English 101 following standardized English-language testing. Gender, academic major, and race/ethnicity were included as independent variables and were accounted for in the analysis. The study found no significant difference between student performance in the English 101 course after ESL training compared to students who directly took the course. Furthermore, the number of ESL levels taken by international students in either cohort had no significant impact on performance in English 101, suggesting international students were appropriately placed into an ESL level according to their English-language proficiency. As for the independent variables, none had a bearing on student performance in either cohort. The study did find a significant number of international students took the gateway English 101 course more than once, while 41% of students in the 2017 cohort and 38% in the 2018 cohort did not re-enroll in college in the following academic year. Several recommendations for identifying the geographical regions and home countries of international students and measuring the effectiveness of online ESL courses on international student performance in English 101 are offered. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]