Research Subjects Needed for Research Study on Refugees and U.S. Higher Education

A research project on refugees and enrollment in U.S. higher education is underway. Any assistance in either completing the survey yourself, if you meet the criteria of course, or forwarding to and informing prospective research subjects would be great. Note that I am not involved in this research...just helping to spread the word. More information available at https://bit.ly/3gzHsWs

Call for Chapter Proposals: “Future Agenda for Internationalization in Higher Education: Next Generation Insights into Research, Policy, and Practice”

Editors Douglas Proctor (Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education) and Laura Rumbley (Boston College Center for International Higher Education) are pleased to launch a call for chapter proposals for an edited collection focusing on next generation perspectives on the internationalization of higher education. The title for the volume Future Agenda for Internationalization in Higher Education: Next Generation Insightsinto Research, Policy, and Practice.

As part of Routledge's "Internationalization in Higher Education" series, this book will focus on new contexts for internationalization in higher education, new topics of enquiry, and new or innovative modes or methodologies of research. As the title suggests, the book will also give primacy to next generation perspectives from emerging researchers and analysts.

The call for proposals and key timelines are now available online at www.nextgenizn.org. This website also contains background information about the rationales for the book and its structure, as well as bios for the editors. 

What I really like about the approach Douglas and Laura are taking with this book is the focus on "next generation" perspectives.  For the purposes of this book, the editors define next generation authors as:

• early career individuals with fewer than 10 years of post-PhD or professional experience
• advanced doctoral students with particularly strong potential as thoughtful and innovative scholars, or
• individuals who may be more established in their careers but who have a particularly “forward thinking” perspective to share on the future of internationalization. 

If you are interested in submitting a chapter proposal I strongly recommend that you visit the website at www.nextgenizn.org.

Disclosure:  I make no profit nor any other type of financial gain from posting about this call for chapter proposals

"Student Segmentation for an Effective International Enrollment Strategy" - A New Research Report by World Education Services

The following research report came on my radar by World Education Services (WES) and I thought IHEC Blog readers would find this to be of interest.

The report, entitled “Student Segmentation for an Effective International Enrollment Strategy,” examines four types of U.S.–bound international students, based on their academic preparedness and financial resources. 

The report identifies the following student segments:

• Explorers are students with high financial resources and low academic preparedness. They are the most likely to need assistance during the application, as 39% of them chose application requirements as one of their most sought-after areas of information. 
• Highfliers are students with high financial resources and high academic preparedness, and family support is key to their financial independence. 69% of survey respondents indicated family or friends as their main source of funding. 
• Strivers are students with low financial resources and high academic preparedness. 61% of Strivers indicated that they rely on institutional financial aid, and 35% said they will take out loans to finance their studies. 
• Strugglers are students with low financial resources and low academic preparedness. Strugglers are the least interested in learning about the reputation of a school, indicating that they have lower expectations for quality. 

These insights are integral for U.S. universities and colleges that want to effectively attract and enroll the best fit international students. The report expands the scope of last year’s report and provides a deeper understanding of international student segments at a more granular level. The report highlights differences in prospective international students’ information seeking behavior by level of education — bachelor’s and master’s degree — and key source countries — China, India and Saudi Arabia.

You can access more information about the report via the WES World Education News & Reviews (WENR) website and while you are there you may want to take 20 seconds and subscribe to the free WENR Newsletter as it's well worth it!

Graduate Student Research at 2014 NAFSA National Conference in San Diego

Are you a graduate student in international education interested in presenting your research? If yes, I was wondering if you would be interested in presenting your research at 2014 NAFSA national conference in San Diego. The name of the session will be “Graduate Student Research” where students will present their research and then the audience will be giving feedback. Presentation will be 5-7 minutes long. We will have a Skype talk to discuss the details of this panel before submitting the proposal. This can be a wonderful opportunity to present at national conference and receive feedback from professionals in the field.

If you know other people who would be interested, send me their names and contact information.

The deadline for NAFSA 2014 conference is August 1st. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested.

Hope to hear from you!

Yuliya

Yuliya Kartoshkina, PhD Student at University of North Dakota
2014 NAFSA Annual Conference Committee Member for TLS
E-mail: yuliya.kartoshkina@email.und.edu

Call for nominations: 2013 Award for Innovative Research & Scholarship in Internationalization

I'm posting the following to IHEC Blog at the request of the NAFSA TLS KC team.

The Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (TLS) Knowledge Community of NAFSA is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2012 Award for Innovative Research & Scholarship in Internationalization, and Call for Nominations for the 2013 selection process.

This annual award honors those who have made substantial contributions to theory and practice that can be applied across the field of international education. The award specifically honors "path-breaking" research and scholarship, from veterans and early to mid-career researchers alike, that has changed how we as international educators advance our work. The 2012 Award for Innovative Research & Scholarship in Internationalization goes to Bruce La Brack for providing a deep understanding of how culture concepts across multiple disciplines, including anthropology and intercultural communications, are actually learned and interpreted by students, and how micro level interventions, including re-entry programs, can be used to improve student learning. His work highlights the complexities of how internationalization changes individuals and how theory can be applied to practice. Congratulations to La Brack on this award and his many contributions to the international education field! A call for nominations and criteria for the 2013 selection cycle have been posted at www.nafsa.org/TLSaward. Nominations should be done by a peer or can be self-nominations, and must be accompanied by copies of works/publications to be reviewed. Nomination materials and questions should be addressed to tlsaward@nafsa.org. Nominations will be accepted until July 29, 2012.

We hope you will consider nominating a colleague, or nominating yourself, and participating in this new effort to recognize innovative research.

Sincerely,

The TLS Leadership Team

Analysis of the Research and Literature on Diversity in Education Abroad A Synopsis

The following document is an executive summary (in bullet point format) of some research I did a few years ago for my invited presentation at the Colloquium on Diversity in Education Abroad: How to Change the Picture  hosted by the Academy for Educational Development on May 2, 2006 in Washington, DC.  My annotated bibliography on underrepresentation in education abroad is in desperate need of an update and then I think I need to analyze the literature again to see what, if anything, has changed.  Anyways, just thought I would share here on IHEC Blog.

Analysis of Research & Literature on Diversity in Ed. Abroad-A Synopsis by Comp, 2008

Nominations needed for the Award for Innovative Research & Scholarship in Internationalization (a NAFSA TLS endeavor)

Nominations are still needed for the NAFSA TLS Award for Innovative Research and Scholarship in Internationalization! 

The nomination process is not too cumbersome -- it's easier than it looks. You just need to send a short statement to tlsaward@nafsa.org with an explanation of who you are nominating and why (make sure to emphasize theory to practice connections), as well as links or citations to relevant work. A one-page statement or even a long paragraph would be fine, as long as you state the case well. Full details can be found at here and the criteria is available here.

~The Award for Innovative Research & Scholarship in Internationalization~ a NAFSA TLS endeavor

The Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (TLS) Knowledge Community of NAFSA is excited to announce the formal creation of its first award, and a call for nominations for the 2012 recipient:

~The Award for Innovative Research & Scholarship in Internationalization~

This annual award will honor those who have made substantial contributions to theoretical and practical questions that can be applied across the field of international education. We are specifically looking for "path-breaking" research & scholarship, from veterans and early to mid-career researchers alike, that has changed how we as international educators advance our work.

The inaugural award was given in 2010 to Josef Mestenhauser, former president of NAFSA and research pioneer. Professor Mestenhauser has also agreed to be a member of the first selection committee that will be reviewing nominations this summer. A group of experienced international educators and researchers will round out the committee, to be chaired by Dr. Rosalind Raby.

We are hoping to give the next award to an individual in early 2012.  A call for nominations and criteria have been posted at www.nafsa.org/TLSaward. Nominations should be done by a peer or can be self-nominations, and must be accompanied by copies of works/publications to be reviewed. Nomination materials and questions should be addressed to tlsaward@nafsa.org

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN AND WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL JULY 15, 2011. THE RECIPIENT WILL BE SELECTED BY NOVEMBER 30, 2011.

We hope you will consider nominating a colleague or nominating yourself, and participating in this new effort to recognize innovative research within NAFSA and our field.

We should also thank the TLS working group that put together the criteria and process for the award, and who will continue to serve on the selection committee along with Dr. Mestenhauser.

Louis Berends, Research & Scholarship Network Leader, TLS & University Relations Manager, SIT Study Abroad
Bryan McAllister-Grande, past Research & Scholarship Network Leader and Associate Director, Office of Global Affairs, Brandeis University
Rosalind Raby, Director, California Colleges for International Education
Melinda Wood, researcher for the Office of the Chancellor and Lecturer, University of Hawaii

CIEE Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships are back!

I’m very happy to learn that CIEE is offering the Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships again!  Following is a brief description of the Ping Fellowship that I copied and pasted from the February 16, 2011 CIEE News I received via e-mail.

CIEE is pleased, once again, to offer the Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships, providing support for doctoral research focused on U.S. undergraduate study abroad.

We invite Directors of Graduate Studies (or in the absence of a departmental DGS, a Chair) to nominate a qualified doctoral candidate for a Ping Fellowship. These Fellowships, funded through a small endowment, are named after Dr. Charles Ping, President Emeritus of Ohio University and a long-time former Chairman of the CIEE Board of Directors. 

During the 2011-2012 academic year, CIEE will provide up to two $20,000 Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships to outstanding doctoral candidates. Please visit the CIEE website for details about eligibility, requirements, and the nomination of candidates.

Thank you for letting interested parties know about the Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships, and for nominating qualified doctoral candidates. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Mick VandeBerg at mvandeberg@ciee.org. 

NAFSA Poster Sessions Focusing on International Education Research or the Links between Scholarship and Practice

I'm re-posting the following SECUSS-L post by my colleague Bryan McAllister-Grande about the upcoming proposal submission deadline for two NAFSA Vancouver poster sessions with his permission (there are other poster sessions as well which you should consider as well):

Following are two different poster sessions that involve international education research or the links between scholarship and practice. The poster fair proposal deadline is coming up next Wednesday, December 15 -- there is still plenty of time to get a brief idea together.

*International Education to What End? Peace & Justice and Global Citizenship Revisited*
In partnership with the Peace, Justice & Citizen Diplomacy special interest group, this poster fair showcases the connections and synergies between on- and off-campus international education and education for peace and justice. It introduces relevant concepts such as global citizenship and public/citizen diplomacy, and demonstrates ways in which international educators currently play a role in fostering peace and justice. The fair also presents resources and relevant research available for this work.   Poster Fair organizers are Samantha Martin (martins@newpaltz.edu) and Bryan McAllister-Grande (bgrande@brandeis.edu).

*International Education Research*
Posters feature the most recent innovative and in-depth qualitative and quantitative research in the field of international education. They highlight important findings, perspectives, and academic inquiries in order to stimulate collaboration and provide tangible professional resources and educational understanding. Organizer is Yuliya Kartoshkina (yuliya.kartoshkina@und.edu)

You can find all relevant information and the online proposal system at
http://www.nafsa.org/annualconference/default.aspx?id=3199

Please don't hesitate to contact the organizers for questions or to brainstorm ideas.


Screen shot by http://davidcomp.wordpress.com/

International Student Support in European Higher Education. Needs, Solutions, and Challenges ~ New ACA Publication

The Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) announces a new publication entitled International Student Support in European Higher Education: Needs, Solutions, and Challenges by Maria Kelo, Tim Rogers (with Laura E. Rumbley).  I learned about this new publication from Laura Rumbley, Deputy Director of the Academic Cooperation Association, and I think many IHEC Blog readers might find it of interest.  I have copied and pasted most of the press release about this new publication below:

A new publication by the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) examines the international student services landscape in six different countries and suggests a ‘code of good practice’ for international student support within European higher education. ACA finds that appropriate support for full-degree international students make for both good policy and practice.

The Academic Cooperation Association (ACA), a Brussels-based higher education think tank, has just published a study on international student services in European higher education. This publication is an outcome of a Commission-funded project undertaken by ACA in the period 2008-2010, under the name ENATIS - Enhancing attractiveness through international student services. The study focused on six European countries—Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom—with regard

to support services provision to full-degree students coming from outside Europe. The role of national-level organisations and advisory bodies was examined, as were the experiences of 3-5 institutions in each country. International students were also consulted directly, through student focus group sessions as well as via a quantitative survey that garnered 1278 responses from international students studying in the six countries included in the study.

Notable findings include the fact that some 80 percent of students regard the availability of services as either “very important” or “partly important” when it comes to making a decision about where to study. Meanwhile, individual institutions and national-level organisations appear to be increasingly responsive to the needs of international students, with the study countries and institutions providing many examples of creative and effective approaches to meeting student needs. The use of information and communication technologies to connect with international students, the involvement of fellow students (domestic and international) to assist the international student population, and the proactive steps to ease the burden of administrative red tape and legal complexities are important examples of positive trends seen in a variety of contexts.

Key challenges remain, however. Among the most prominent, the study finds that information for students must be paced more appropriately, or made available in a more à la carte fashion. Careful attention must also be paid so that certain types of full-degree international students are not ‘lost through the cracks’ (for example, those who matriculate directly into degree programmes and are therefore not overtly identified as ‘international’ with distinct needs). Additionally—and quite notably—

institutions offering English-taught programmes in non-English speaking countries face a special responsibility to develop communication and support strategies that meet the needs of students who are not proficient in the host country language.

Ultimately, if Europe is to position itself as a destination of choice for large numbers of international students from around the world, the investment made by students to come to Europe needs to be matched by a meaningful response on the part of host countries and institutions to provide useful guidance for the ‘whole student’. More information on the book can be found on the ACA website here.

  

Inquiries for the authors can be addressed to:

Laura E. Rumbley

Deputy Director

Academic Cooperation Association

15 rue d’Egmont / Egmontstraat

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

Email: laura.rumbley@aca-secretariat.be

The book can be ordered from:

Lemmens Medien GmbH

Matthias-Grünewald-Str. 1-3, D-53175 Bonn

Tel.: ++49 228 42 13 70

Fax: +49 228 42 13 729, E-Mail: info@lemmens.de

IHEC Blog Interview with Gayle Woodruff about the NAFSA Teaching, Learning & Scholarship knowledge community

During the most recent NAFSA annual conference I had the chance to interview my good friend Gayle Woodruff from the University of Minnesota about NAFSA's Teaching, Learning and Scholarship (TLS) knowledge community.  Gayle and I have presented and co-authored a chapter together (with two other colleagues) on issues pertaining to diversifying the study abroad student profile and we served on the TLS team together.  In this video Gayle, current Chair of TLS, introduces herself and gives a brief overview of what TLS is all about.

The TLS knowledge community consists of the following three networks:

Research and Scholarship network

Intercultural Communication & Training network

Internationalizing Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum

Lot's of really great things are happening in the TLS knowledge community and I encourage all IHEC Blog readers to visit their webpage here, attend TLS related sessions, workshops and seminars at future NAFSA conferences and to get involved with this group!

Annotated International Education Bibliographies

For many, many years I have been compiling annotated bibliographies on international education in the United States [primarily on U.S. students abroad but dabbling a little in international students literature].  It has been some time since I made a significant update to any of these bibliographies and I’m slowly working to update these and as soon as I complete my dissertation (hopefully by spring 2011 but possibly autumn 2011) I’ll begin working on these updates on a more frequent basis.  In the meantime, you can access all of the annotated bibliographies I have compiled (or have been involved with) at http://davidcomp.wordpress.com/research-projects/ [1]

Education Abroad and It’s Value in the Job Market ©

Faculty Members Abroad ©

Female Students Abroad ©

GLBTQ Students Abroad ©

Heritage Seeking in Education Abroad ©

Research on Underrepresentation in Education Abroad: An Annotated Bibliography ©

Research Bibliographies and Abstracts on Study Abroad ©

Annotated Bibliography of Research on International Students in the U.S. ©

Photo credit:  dfulmer

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[1] Please note that all of these bibliographies are copyright protected but anyone may use, distribute, manipulate, embed or use any way as long as proper citation is given and as much as possible linked back to  http://davidcomp.wordpress.com/research-projects/

Literature obtained during the NAFSA Annual Conference & IHEC Blog Posts this Week

During the NAFSA conference I always find time to stroll through the exhibit hall.  I sometimes find it to be the most educational part of the conference.  To be sure, I’m always on the hunt for chotchkies for my kids and I think this year I did not disappoint!  I also started collecting pins (not buttons) from all of the various booths and I have a nice little collection going for the past three years.  More important, however, is that strolling through the exhibit hall provides an excellent opportunity for me to brush up on my anthropological and field/observational research skills (though I have no formal training in this area).  I find it very educational to see how various institutions, organizations, companies and countries present themselves to the field and I always find it fascinating to sit back and watch all of the people from all over the world interacting and working to establish exchanges/agreements as the exhibit hall is so much more than an us [U.S.] and them transaction.

Another practice of mine in the exhibit hall is searching for and collecting reports and books for my various research activities and to be housed in my Bury Book International Education Library & Archive.  NAFSA 2010 was exceptionally good to me as you can see from the photo pictured with this post (includes much of the literature I picked-up).  This week I will be highlighting some of literature I picked-up in the exhibit hall as well as some of the literature I was given (Many thanks IIE and MIUSA).  Additionally, I hope to post about a new publication about study abroad in the U.S. that I recently received.  To end this week I plan to post my video interview with Christopher Murphy, Senior Publications Director at NAFSA, as we discussed writing and publishing with NAFSA.

In case you missed my tweet (with photo) from #nafsa10 about the new CIEE Occasional Paper #32 titled “Study Abroad and its Transformative Power” by Gerald W. Fry, R. Michael Paige, Jae-Eun Jon, Jon Dillow and Kyoung-Ah Nam I thought I would put this great new publication on your radar.  CIEE has resurrected their popular Occasional Papers series and based on my conversation with a colleague at CIEE involved with bringing this new Occasional Paper to the field there will hopefully be more to come in the future!  You can access the Study Abroad and its Transformative Power Occasional Paper #32 here and all of the CIEE Occasional Papers here.

Dissertation Proposal Writing -Stage 2

There will be a limited number of IHEC Blog posts (and Facebook and Twitter posts) this week as I'm on the second stage of my dissertation proposal writing (all is getting down to the wire) and all my focus outside of my family and job is on reading and writing.  The photo to the left are the books I had the pleasure of consulting last night and will revisit again tonight.  It will be a late one again tonight!  We'll see what happens...

Research and Scholarship Forum: A preview of NAFSA conference sessions and seminars

The following is a more or less copy and paste job from a message that my colleague Bryan McAllister-Grande, from Brandeis University and the NAFSA Research/Scholarship Network Leader, recently posted to the Research and Scholarship Network.  I am reposting it to IHEC Blog with his permission.  I'm actually involved with one of the seminars and one of the meetings listed and will post more about them as the conference approaches.

Over the next few weeks, as the NAFSA conference in Kansas City approaches, we'll be highlighting some network sessions, seminars, and events that you might have particular interest in. Today, I'm going to preview some of these below. To find out what's going on overall in the Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship community, visit the TLS "Experience" page here.

Research based Seminars

·  Strategies for Implementing Peace and Justice Initiatives in International Education
 Thursday, 6/3 - 2:00 PM

International educators strive to actualize NAFSA's Values Statement through study of developments in peace, justice, and civil society; and by building knowledge and programs that yield skills in coalition-building, conflict resolution, and citizen diplomacy. This seminar focuses on new ideas in this area and how they can be applied in our work.  More here.
 

·  From Theory to Practice and Back: Applying Social Science Theory to International Education
Thursday, 6/3 - 2:00 PM

Explore ways to improve your practice through intentional and reflective use of relevant social science theories. Using case problems and sample theories, you will learn to apply theoretical approaches to achieve the highest impact for your educational efforts. Theories to be explored include examples from international relations, modernization, and peace and justice studies. More  here.

·   Advancing Internationalization on Our Campuses Through Research
 Friday, 6/4 - 8:00 AM

As individuals or individual institutions, our research efforts are admirable and growing. But what might be done if we merged our efforts into some kind of collective research agenda?  This seminar will work towards creating a research agenda when considering U.S. international education policy goals, including policy goals on education abroad, international students and scholars, campus internationalization, and others. More here.

Expert Speakers

·  Internationalizing the Academic Self: Learning and Teaching in International Higher Education (Guest faculty member Gavin Sanderson, University of South Australia)
Wednesday, 6/2 - 1:30 PM

This interactive session draws on theory and research to illuminate personal and professional characteristics that underpin university teachers' internationalized outlooks and classroom practices. It promotes a range of items in relation to an 'ideal teacher' that have the potential to assist lecturers to further develop their international and intercultural perspectives. More here.
 

·  Global Regionalisms and Higher Education (Guest faculty member Kris Olds, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Thursday, 6/3 - 8:00 AM

Despite ubiquitous rhetoric about globalization, most mobility (of knowledge, students, and researchers) remains regional or inter-regional in scope. This seminar focuses on the nature of these global regionalisms, and identifies implications for NAFSAns. It will also focus on the use of a geographic lens to explore the international education landscape.
 

·  View all the "Expert Speaker" seminars here.

Open Meetings, Networking, and Food for Thought

·  TLS Networking Reception - all are welcome
Monday 5/31 - 5:00 PM
  

·  TLS Knowledge Community Update - "The State of Research Innovation"
 Tuesday 6/1 - 1:15 PM

Our annual knowledge community update is a chance to hear what we're working on, how you can get involved, and also network with like-minded colleagues. The update will include an award presentation to Prof. Joe Mestenhauser and his comments on "the state of research innovation" in international education.
 

·  Graduate Student Research Roundtable
 Wednesday 6/2 - 3:45 PM
 
Our annual gathering of graduate students from across the world who are interested in international education research. We'll break off intro groups based on topics of interest to participants.

Poster Sessions - Wednesday morning

·  International Education to What End? Peace and Justice and Global Citizenship Revisited
Wednesday 6/2 - 9:00 AM
Details here
 

·  International Education Research
Wednesday 6/2 - 9:00 AM
Details here

Sessions

For a full list of TLS-related sessions during the conference, visit here.

Tracking and Analyzing Research in International Education in the Digital Age

Over the next few days (starting tomorrow) the NAFSA Research and Scholarship network will be hosting an informal, open online discussion for graduate students and all other colleagues interested in research on international education at www.nafsa.org/RSforums. The topic is:

"Tracking and Analyzing Research in International Education in the Digital Age”

I will be serving as a guest poster along with my colleague Stuart Hughes of the Cunningham Library, Australian Council for Educational Research (http://www.idp.com/research/database_of_research.aspx).

All are welcome to join the discussion by posting comments and replying.

This discussion is part of the launch of an effort to build a wider community of graduate students engaged in international education research. 

Photo credit: jurvetson

Survey on Trends and Practices in International Recruitment and Enrollment

World Education Services (WES) is conducting a survey to gain better insights about the trends and practices in international recruitment and enrollment.  This would take approximately 10-12 minutes of your time.  Responses will be confidential and will not be associate with your individual or institutional identity.  WES will share the results of the survey with participants as a summary report.  If you have about 10 minutes please consider completing this survey which you can access here.


Photo credit:  blprnt_van

The NAFSA Research & Scholarship Network Ventures into Social Medial Waters

Over the weekend my colleague Bryan McAllister-Grande, the NAFSA Research and Scholarship Network Leader, posted to the network discussion board about his plans to establish a social media presence for the Network (it’s free to join all NAFSA networks by the way).  This post today is mostly a copy and paste job (with Bryan’s permission) with a few comments from me inserted:

Over the coming months, we're going to be taking the (somewhat reluctant) plunge into social media and trying out a few new communications features for the Network. Although the main activity will continue to happen on these discussion boards, those of you using other tools may want to check these out for access to quicker and sometimes better information. I hope this allows for some more widespread participation and interactivity, as well.

This experimenting is also part of a specific effort to reach out to graduate students across the world and create a wider community of graduate students engaged in international education research. More details on this coming soon.

For the moment, follow or join these if you'd like:

RS Network on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IEResearchNAFSA
Will be used primarily for tracking and sharing latest research in the field (my commentary: I’m a big fan of Twitter and it is where I get most of my international education related news and information and I have met some really great people that I look forward to meeting in person soon.)

RS Network on Facebook: http://bit.ly/b3Qp6G
Will be used primarily for networking with graduate students, although also for general discussion and tracking links. Anyone is welcome to post info, links, etc. (my commentary: I was slow to adopt Facebook into my new media toolbox but I really like “Fan pages” and use IHEC Blog’s Facebook page frequently)

RS Network "Notes": http://bit.ly/alV7HS

These will be short blog-style posts and thought-pieces published every so often.  Please let me know if you'd like to author a guest "note" or would like us to feature one of your own blog entries on our notes page. Our first guest entry is from David Comp, (indeed a re-post of his own blog entry), appropriately on "free international education resources" including social media resources. (my commentary: thanks Bryan for including my post as a guest entry!  I hope people find the list to be helpful and if anyone knows of other resources that should be added to the list please leave a comment on that post and I’ll take a look.  Additionally, I really like how Bryan is using the “Notes” section and will begin to adapt my Facebook use for IHEC Blog to include this practice!)

RS Network on Academia.edu: http://bit.ly/d6E45g

Academia.edu is a fairly new site, a kind of "Facebook for professors." We created a research area called "NAFSA Graduate Studies in International Education" but there are a host of other research interests related to international education to follow as well. (my commentary: I have had a profile on Academia.edu for some time now [needs some updating] and I really like it.  It provides some interesting and useful metrics for me personally and has allowed me to connect with some other great people I most likely would not have connected with otherwise)

my commentary: Some more great things happening in the NAFSA Research and Scholarship Network (and the NAFSA Teaching, Learning and Scholarship Knowledge Community as a whole) and I recommend joining all of their networks to be plugged in [again...they are free]!  I'll be posting soon about something interesting and hopefully informative that is scheduled for next week on the Research & Scholarship Network and you need to subscribe to check it out.