Video of the Week – IREX: 1968-2008

There are many organizations both here in the United States and abroad that work to send students, scholars and citizens abroad. One such organization is IREX (International Research & Exchange Board) in Washington, D.C. whose mission it is to “provide leadership and innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society development.”
The following video (9:36) from the IREX YouTube channel highlights the 40 year history of the organization. In addition to the IREX YouTube channel you can connect with IREX on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Amanda Knox’s Family Speaks Out on The Oprah Show

Yesterday I received an e-mail from a colleague who I took classes with a few years ago at Loyola University Chicago. It was nice to hear from her as it has been some time. She was on the road working on e-mail with the television on and two separate shows mentioned/focused on study abroad so she sent me a message as she knows of my interest of how international education/exchanges are portrayed in film and on television (see below for links to previous IHEC Blog posts on this subject).


The first show was the family of Amanda Knox speaking out on The Oprah Show. You can watch some snippets from the show here. The Amanda Knox case was also the topic of a post entitled “In Poor Taste? A Comedy Fundraiser for Amanda Knox’s Appeal” over on the Melibee Global blog (one of my favorite international education blogs!) just the day before The Oprah Show.

The second show is listed in now listed in the comments section of the list of movies and television programs where the characters go abroad which you can link to below.

Related IHEC Blog posts:

List of Movies/Television Programs where the Characters go Abroad

Portrayal of Exchange Students in Movies and on TV in the U.S. – Part Deux

Portrayal of Exchange Students in Movies and on TV in the U.S.

Additional Open Doors 2009 Data Tables Recently Released

The Institute of International Education (IIE) has recently released new Open Doors data on international student enrollments and study abroad participation at U.S. community colleges, international scholars in the U.S. and intensive English language program enrollments in the U.S. Click on the links below to access these new data tables:


Community College Data Resource

International Scholars in the United States

Intensive English Language Program Enrollments in the United States

If you are interested in adding the print edition of Open Doors 2009 to your office or personal library you can order it by clicking on this link Open Doors 2009: Report on International Educational Exchange (Open Doors//Institute of International Education) (affiliate link)

Photo credit:  srqpix

The conference where NAFSA was born

The following are some of my very brief research notes that I thought I would share on IHEC Blog:


In 1948, the Conference on International Student Exchange was organized and held at the University of Michigan. The purpose of this conference was “to assist the educational institutions and agencies of the United States to develop an expanding international cultural relations program, particularly through student exchange.” Representatives attended the conference from colleges and universities from all over the United States, Peru, India, and Canada, as well as representatives from independent and government agencies interested in international education. As a result, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, was organized and has served as a key leader in international education to this day.
There is, of couse, so much more interesting history on the early days of the organizaiton.  For a brief 60 year history of NAFSA (two pages) chick here. 

Referencing back to my January 20th IHEC Blog Resources of Interest Found in the “Bury Book International Education Library & Archive” post I wanted to highlight an additional piece of literature related to this post that I am fortunate to have in my personal collection:

Hugh M. Jenkins  (1979, September).  Leafing Through the History and Future of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs: A Glance Back, A Glimpse Forward.  Washington, DC:  National Associtation for Foreign Student Affairs.

Research Notes on the National Defense Education Act of 1958

The following are some brief notes I typed up during my research activities for some class earlier in my doctoral program. Since I’m not using these notes in any of my current research/writing activities I thought I would post them to IHEC Blog as they are interesting:

In 1957, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) launched the tiny Sputnik I satellite, thus beating the Untied States in innovation and exploration of the new frontier of outer space. As a result, the United States Congress passed the National Defense Education Act of 1958.1 The National Defense Education Act highlighted the critical importance of education to national defense and was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 2, 1958. By passing this legislation, the United States Congress understood that the defense and security of the United States were bound with education.2  The National Defense and Education Act provided federal funding to colleges and universities in order to develop graduate programs focusing on mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages and area studies. In addition, The National Defense Education Act created the Graduate Fellowship Program and the National Defense Student Loan Program, the precursor to the Perkins Loan Program, which was the first federal student aid program for low-income students.

The National Defense Education Act authorized one billion dollars of federal aid for twelve separate programs outlined in its ten Titles. The National Defense Education Act had a substantial impact on graduate education and research during its time, however, as with all federal funding programs; The National Defense Education Act also had its share of critics. Despite the controversies and concerns, The National Defense Education Act of 1958 was landmark legislation that brought significant federal attention to higher education and how it was funded, both at the institutional level as well as at the individual student level.

If you are interested in reading more about the National Defense Education Act of 1958 you can do so here and here.

1 Often referred to as NDEA.
2 Richard D. Scarfo. “The History of Title VI and Fulbright-Hays,” in International Education in the New Global Era: Proceedings of a National Policy Conference on the Higher Education Act, Title VI, and Fulbright-Hays Programs, ed. John N. Hawkins, Carlos Manuel Haro, Miriam A. Kazanjian, Gilbert W. Merkx and David Wiley. (Los Angeles: International Studies and Overseas Programs, University of California Los Angeles, 1998): 23.

Video of the Week - Know Before You Go: Preparing for Safe Study Abroad

Know Before You Go is the title of a new study abroad safety video prepared by Sara’s Wish Foundation. I have watched the video several times and think it is excellent. Find the time to watch this 7:14 minute video and then share with others you know who will be studying and travelling abroad.



THE SARA’S WISH FOUNDATION


In 1996, Sara Schewe, a student at Georgetown University, was killed, along with 3 other students from her program, while taking a bus in India to see the Taj Mahal. Since that time, Charles and Anne Schewe have dedicated themselves to bringing awareness on how to minimize safety issues while traveling abroad.

Since 1996, there have been a number of advances in the materials and information available from the U.S. government, colleges, universities and study abroad programs, other organizations, as well as support available through insurance and emergency assistance providers. There have also been domestic and international meetings and workshops supporting improved health and safety policies and procedures to support U.S. college and university students.

Sara's Wish Foundation has collaborated with some of these organizations to develop the video "Know Before You Go", and to put together the information you will find on their website. The information and links are intended to help inform students, parents, and friends who may go abroad or support others who do, that knowing more about good study abroad program practices and health and safety challenges in countries around the world can help students have a healthy and safe time abroad.

Foreign travel and study abroad remains an invaluable learning experience, broadening a student's world view and enhancing the college experience. While there have been advancements in the field since this incident to ensure student safety, precautions must still be taken, students and families need to research about benefits and risks associated with a particular location and/or program, and understand that the quality of support does vary from institution to institution and from program to program. It is Sara's Wish Foundation's hope that together we can avoid tragedies and difficulties as students begin that wondrous adventure to broaden their lives.

You can learn more about Sara’s Wish Foundation and all the good work they are doing at http://www.saraswish.org/

The Role Educational Exchanges Played in Georgia’s Rose Revolution?

As I continue to research and read (sometimes scan) for my dissertation proposal I hope to post to IHEC Blog or IHEC Blog’s Facebook Page from time to time about interesting books, reports, blogs, data or other interesting items that I think IHEC Blog readers will find interesting. One such item that I have found to be of interest is a new (2009) book by Lincoln A. Mitchell entitled “Uncertain Democracy: U.S. Foreign Policy and Georgia's Rose Revolution.”  In his book, Mitchell discusses international educational exchanges and study tours and states that these programs “contributed to the conditions that made a democratic breakthrough in Georgia possible…[but] they played a secondary and indirect role.” I haven’t read all of the book yet but have found it to be a good read and I’ve learned much about Georgia and the Rose Revolution.

Here is a link to the book on Google Books where you can search “exchange” to read relevant snippets of the book.

If you want to learn more about or to purchase this book please click on the photo of the book cover above.

U.S. Students Studying Abroad and U.S. Public Diplomacy Efforts: A Historical Review

In three weeks I’ll be presenting on the topic “U.S. Students Study Abroad and U.S. Public diplomacy Efforts: A Historical Review” during the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) annual conference being held in Chicago. My presentation is part of a larger panel discussion entitled “Comparative Perspectives on Measuring the Impact of Study Abroad: Life, Society, and Public Diplomacy Re-imagined”. I will be joined on this panel by session chair and panelists Jae-Eun Jon who will be presenting on the topic “Study Abroad Experience and Its Influence on Subsequent Life: Three Large-Scale Studies” and Louis Berends who will be presenting on the topic “The Impact of Study Abroad on STEM Field Students: Assessing Work Related Experiences and other ‘Non-Credit’ Programs Abroad”. We will also be joined by Gerald Fry who will serve as our discussant. You can learn more about our session here.  If will be attending the CIES conference and our session fits into your schedule please come or swing by after the session to say hello.

This will be my first CIES conference and my participation will be limited to presenting at this session as I have to get back to Hyde Park to my full-time job and get the kids from school.

World Education Services now Recognized as the Recipient of Verified Chinese Degrees for the United States and Canada

Last night I spent several hours searching through and clearing out my various e-mail inboxes and Google Reader looking for resources that would be helpful for my dissertation research and I came across a recent announcement from World Education Services, Inc. (WES) that I wanted to post about to IHEC Blog.

According to a January 20, 2010 WES press release, they have signed an official memorandum of understanding with the China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC). CDGDC is the “authorized agent responsible for verifying Chinese degrees for the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. The CDGDC is the legal entity that provides verification of degree certificates, diplomas and other related educational materials conferred by Chinese education institutions.”

You can read more about this new agreement here.

U.S. Summit & Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy

I’m a little late in posting to IHEC Blog about the upcoming U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy. Exciting news out of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy! The following news is a taken from the Center’s website and is being posted with permission of my colleague Derek Forsythe from the Center:

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD), in partnership with the U.S. State Department and in support of more than 1000 U.S. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) conducting citizen diplomacy activities, will convene a historic U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy on November 16-19, 2010 in Washington, DC. The goal of the Summit and ten year Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy is to double the number of American volunteers of all ages involved in international activities at home or abroad, from an estimated 60 million today to 120 million by 2020.

The U.S. Summit & Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy supports current efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Judith McHale to make global citizen diplomacy a national priority. Secretary of State Clinton will serve as Honorary Summit Chair alongside an Honorary Citizen Diplomat Chair. The President is being called upon to speak at the event, the first since President Eisenhower addressed a similar gathering on September 11, 1956 to call Americans to greater involvement in international relations. Fifty-four years later in an increasingly globalized world, the call is as relevant and urgent as ever.

You can learn more about the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy at http://www.uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org/summit/

IHEC Blog is now an Amazon Associate

As frequent IHEC Blog readers know, from time to time I occasionally review or highlight a new book that I find interesting. Almost every book that I review or highlight is linked to Amazon.com in case anyone would be interested in purchasing. I will still continue to post to IHEC Blog about new and forthcoming publications in the field that may be of interest to readers. What will be new is that you will now see a new format in how I display the book on IHEC Blog and it will be in the form of an image with a bit of Amazon branding included (occasionally just a link but more often an image and link). The small amount of revenue that may be generated from this venture will help support the continuation and future enhancements of IHEC Blog and related activities.

Please note that all proceeds from IHEC Blog's Kindle edition will be donated to UNICEF.

Video of the Week – Parisian Love

While I didn't watch the Super Bowl I caught one commercial and in my opinion it was a good one. It was the Google "Parisian Love" commercial and it starts with the search "study abroad paris france" and the commercial becomes even more enjoyable after that. Perhaps it's been aired on Television before (I don't watch much TV) but to have it aired during the Super Bowl was a nice $3 million move by Google. I'm also thankful that CBS allowed this commercial to be broadcast.

Congratulations to CEA Global Education, Global Learning Semesters, AIFS and Studyabroad.com for showing up in the search!

Survey on Social Media in International Student Recruiting and Outreach

If you are in international student recruitment, outreach and admissions field please consider taking a new survey being conducted by GlobalCampus on the use of social media in international student recruiting and outreach. I’ve been communicating with my colleague Nicolle Merrill from GlobalCampus about this survey and I’m excited to see the results. I found the following snippets from Nicolle’s blog post introducing the survey to be quite interesting and I’m posting them with her permission:

NAFSA’s Nov/Dec issue of International Educator featured the Brave New World of Recruiting, declaring Internet recruiting “is here to stay.” Facebook is taking over admissions Universities are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon.

“Social media tools, like Facebook, Twitter and blogs, are key to communicating with this generation of students,” said Joyce Smith, CEO of NACAC . University admissions are keen on using social networking sites to promote their schools, engage alumni and attract future students to their schools.

While we at GlobalCampus agree, we’ve spent many months wondering about the specifics of those social media strategies and engagements. Beyond using social media there are loads of questions about effectiveness and measurement of social media outreach: What are the benefits and drawbacks of using social media in Internet recruiting? How is the target audience responding to social media outreach? How is social media outreach improving recruiting results? Perhaps the single more important question to ask: How do universities measure the results of social media for Internet recruiting?

You can learn more about and access this survey here.

Photo credit: Ivan Walsh

Remember to vote in the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010 competition

Voting in the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010 competition ends Feb. 14th. Check out all of the nominated blogs at http://www.lexiophiles.com/ix09/vote-for-ix10-here. IHEC Blog is nominated again this year and last year was voted #10 blog in the competition. So far in this competition, IHEC Blog only has 11 votes and is way out of the competition so if you have free minute IHEC Blog could use your vote!

Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India

Some time ago I learned about the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and a relatively new publication that they produced that caught my attention and I thought I'd post to IHEC Blog about it.

First, a little something about the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (or L'Institut indo-canadien Shastri). According to their website, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute is “a binational organization that promotes understanding between India and Canada through academic activities and exchanges and their mission is to improve the quality of life of the peoples of Canada and India by building and strengthening intellectual and cultural linkages through research, dialogue and exchange.” I’m really interested in the work of these types of educational exchange organizations as well as their history so I spent quite a bit of time checking out their entire website to learn more of what they are all about. Check out the work of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute here.

Something that really caught my attention was new publication entitled “Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India” produced by Sarah Hawkins (Communications Officer at the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute). I, like most people working in the field of international education, receive much programmatic literature that I try to at least look at but often times recycle before too long. For me, the "Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India" is different and I found myself reading it and appreciating the value in the information provided. This thirteen page publication is well produced and provides Canadian students with an excellent overview of all of the academic and work/volunteer opportunities available in India. The information is not overwhelming for the students (and people like me) and allows for easy, informative and engaging reading. Check out the “Canadian Student Handbook on Opportunities in India” here.

I don’t see IHEC Blog heading down the marketing advice avenue (I’ll save that for Chris Brogan although I doubt he will delve into the international educaiton profession) but I have, receive and read much literature (both scholarly and practical) that I just may comment on from time to time about it on IHEC Blog.

The NAFSA Committee on Research and Evaluation (1958)

Many colleagues and IHEC Blog readers know that I have a strong interest in the history of the field of international education and predominately its history in the United States. I'm no historian. I just find it quite interesting and worthwhile to study.

During my three year tenure on NAFSA's Subcommittee on Information Management (focused primarily on publications) from 2006-2008 I had meetings in Washington, D.C. after NAFSA's Winter Leadership Meetings (WLM) and then a two and a half day meeting in the NAFSA library of their main office each August. I would always try to arrive to the NAFSA office as soon as possible in the morning and would spend breaks searching though their bookshelves for interesting and historical pieces of literature. I came across some really great stuff and would scribble quick notes before the meetings would resume. Just the other day I came across some of my messy notes and thought I would share as I think those interested in research and evaluation (and history) in the history of the field will enjoy. Of special note, similar efforts are currently underway by the Teaching, Learning & Scholarship (TLS) team at NAFSA and these efforts have a very nice connection to one of the members of this 1958 committee listed below. Stay tuned to IHEC Blog for more on this (as we approach the upcoming NAFSA conference in Kansas City) and in particular the TLS sessions during the conference!

Here is a little bit of historical information that I found to be of interest:

In 1958, the Committee on Research and Evaluation of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers embarked on a project to publish reviews of significant research studies in inter-cultural exchanges, together with a discusion of their implicaitons for campus foreign student programs. ~ M. Robert B. Klinger, Chairman of Committee, 1959-1960

Committee members:

- Arthur Feraru, Chief, Office of Operations, Research Evaluations, IIE

- Russell G. HAnson, Assoc. Counselor, Internatioanl Center, University of Michigan

- Erin Hubbeit, Internatioanl Educaitonal Exchange Service, Department of State

- M. Robert B. Klinger, Counselor, International Center, University of Michigan

- Virgil R. Lougheed, Foreign Student Adviser, Wayne State University

- Joseph A. Mestenhauser, Asst. to Foreign Student Adviser, University of Minnesota

- Lois D. Novas, Foreign Sudent Adviser, Columbia University

- Robert D. Porter, Foreign Student Adviser, University of Washington

- Werner Warmbrum, Foreign Student Adviser, Stanford University

Source: NAFSA Studies and Papers Research Series, Number 1

Research Studies in Inter-cultural Education: Reviews and Implicaitons for Exchange of Persons

Edited by Werner Warmbrum

Published by NAFSA, New York, 1960

Photo credit: Brittany G

What should I research for my dissertation?

After 3.5 years of night classes in downtown Chicago and then reading for and writing my comprehensive examinations (all while working full-time and having one then two and now three kids) I have been at the dissertation proposal stage for sometime now. However, I changed my topic a little over a year ago because I turned it into a chapter entitled “Qualitative Standards and Learning Outcomes for Study Abroad” for the upcoming book A History of Study Abroad: 1965 to Present to be published in March 2010 by Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad (I believe that everyone attending the upcoming Forum on Education Abroad conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA will get a copy of the book).

If I was explaining my current idea for a dissertation topic in a Twitter post it would look something like this: “Dissertation to be: Towards the Development of a Methodology to Measure Public Diplomacy Outcomes of International Education Programs”. I’m not trying to minimize a dissertation by talking about it in 140 characters. It’s just that this is all I have right now…an idea that is very interesting to me but now I need to figure out if this is a good idea for a dissertation topic and, if so, how I would even go about researching this.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Okay, back to my lunch hour of reading all the resources on the Interagency Working Group (IAWG) on U.S. Government-Sponsored International Exchanges and Training website at http://www.iawg.gov/. Maybe I can focus my dissertation somehow on IAWG???

Photo credit: ionntag

Video of the Week - American Education Abroad at WACDC

For this video of the week I selected this April 1, 2008 panel discussion hosted by the World Affairs Council in Washington, D.C. I think it is a great discussion on international educational exchanges and public diplomacy and I recommend scheduling time to watch it. Please note that it runs one hour and twenty-five minutes so plan accordingly. I have copied and pasted the video description below:

“In the face of growing negative global opinion, international views of American education may hold a key in improving US diplomatic relationships by fostering better understanding between the US and peoples around the world. Join our panelists as they examine the role played by American education abroad and the long term impact of this highly regarded American export. Moderated by Dr. Mark G. Pomar: President of the International Research and Exchange Board. Panelists: The Honorable Julia Chang Bloch: President of the US-China Education Trust Dr. Allan Goodman: President and CEO of the Institute of International Education Dr. Joseph G. Jabbra: President of the Lebanese American University”

You might also find the many other videos on the World Affairs Council YouTube channel to be of interest which you can access here.

USCCD Online Database of Non-Profit U.S. Citizen Diplomacy Organizations now over 1,000 Resources

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) announced the launch of a comprehensive expansion of resources and search capabilities for their online database of non-profit U.S. Citizen Diplomacy organizations. Their database now has over 1,000 resources and has grown over 300% from last year!

Check out the database and put it on the radar of those who you think will be interested.

This is the first IHEC Blog post about the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy in 2010 but it will not be the last. Great things are happening in Des Moines, Iowa so stay tuned! Rather than hear about all of the great resources and initiatives happening at The Center from me why not sign up to receive updates directly from them which can do right on their homepage at http://www.uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org/ (you can access the updated database from their homepage as well).

Emergency Assistance for Haitian Students on U.S. Campuses

Last week, the Institute of International Education (IIE) announced that they will provide emergency grants to Haitian students studying in the United States. The Haiti-EAS (Emergency Assistance for Students) is available to provide grants up to $2,000 to Haitian students who are experiencing “serious financial difficulties due to the recent tragedy in their home country. Nomination forms should be submitted to IIE by February 12, 2010.

U.S. campus administrators can learn more about this generous support for their Haitian student population at www.iie.org/HaitiEAS

Photo credit: ChrisM70

IHEC Blog nominated for the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010

Yesterday I received news that IHEC Blog was nominated for the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010 competition held by Lexiophiles and bab.la. Voting is open through February 14th so if you have a few free minutes between now and the end of voting period please take a few (maybe several) to look at the various nominated blogs and cast your vote here!

Additionally, you may find my other website/blog International Education Blogs & News (IEB&N) to be of interest. You can access IEB&N here.

International Higher Education Consulting Blog (Kindle Edition)

Yes, you can now get IHEC Blog on the Kindle! I want to thank Penny Schouten (@PennySchouten) for suggesting this a few months ago. I finally found a few minutes this past week to investigate and that’s all that it really took to make it happen.

The main concern I have is that Amazon charges a monthly subscription fee. My intent with making IHEC Blog available on the Kindle was accessibility for readers and not pennies in my pocket. Additionally, Amazon set the monthly subscription fee at $1.99 while some blogs are available on the Kindle for only $0.99 a month and I’m not sure why. I would prefer the IHEC Blog Kindle Edition to be free. If you do subscribe I would love to hear what you think and if you could take a moment to provide a customer review I would appreciate it.  If you are interested in subscribing to IHEC Blog's Kindle Edition plesase click on the photo above and you will be directed to Amazon.com.

With a monthly subscription I’m not sure how many people will subscribe. Again, I didn’t do this to make money and any revenue generated by Kindle subscriptions I will donate to UNICEF. Even if you don’t have a Kindle or don’t want to subscribe to IHEC Blog please consider making a cash donation to UNICEF!

I have something else in the works for the mobile user and it will be free (assuming I read all the fine print correctly) so stay tuned…