Links of Interest for Week of January 15th to 28th

I apologize for not pulling together my Links of Interest post last week Friday and for not getting this post up sooner this Friday. Here are two weeks worth of interesting links that I posted to and pulled from Twitter. I hope you find some of them of interest:

Open World Leadership Center (@OWprogram) Congressional Testimony

Recruiting International Students in India: A Good Practices Guidebook (via @IDPDRIE)

Recent AAC&U Publications: Immigration, Study Abroad, and Global Learning

81% of Indians who earned PhD in science/engineering in 2002 stayed in the US after five years- Wall Street Journal (via @DrEducationBlog)

The International Student Blog now available as an iPhone application

Robert Sterling Clark Foundation's new initiative on International Cultural Engagement

International Education & Re-entry academic course syllabi

Implementation and collaboration in the United States-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program (via @IDPDRIE)

Has Ireland dropped the ball on attracting international students?

International Students and U.S. Global Power in the Long 20th Century

Interesting article "Study Abroad -- Pricey and Priceless" on WSJ Market Watch

Joint Statement on the Expansion of Educational Exchanges between the United States and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia

Ewha seeks diversity in globalization

France wants international students for influence, not income (via @ChangeHigherEd)

Motivations and Experiences of UK Students Studying Abroad (PDF) (via @Beerkens)

Who Plans (Not) to Study Abroad? An Examination of U.S. Student Intent (via @IDPDRIE)

Controversial Visa Bans Lifted (on two scholars)

Study Abroad Experience Inspires a Recent Graduate to Help Local Youth Think Globally

Coping with Anti-Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most out of Studying Abroad (via @IDPDRIE)

CAS Standards for International Student Programs

USCCD Launches Haiti Resource Page for Citizen Diplomats (via @CitizenDiplomat)

Vietnam is fastest-growing market of intl students coming to U.S.: new IIE report reveals their attitudes/perceptions (via @IIEglobal)

"Does Soft Power Matter? A Comparative Analysis of Student Exchange Programs 1980-2006" by Atkinson (2010)

‘Amerikaku’ Shows the Stories of Indonesian Students in the USA

International Education history buffs may want to sneak in a trip to the Special Collections of the Univ. of Arkansas

Studies, toolkits & reports that provide strategic context for conceiving an inst. mission for study abroad on @NAFSA

IREX Annual Reports dating back to 1969-70

NAFSA Resource Library Education Abroad Bibliographies

U.S. Public and Cultural Diplomacy Timeline (October 1999-December 2009) (via @PDCouncil)

The Art of Engagement: Trends in U.S. Cultural Exchange and International Programming (via @PDCouncil)

Study Abroad Perspectives on Institutional Operations

Photo credit: meddygarnet

Video of the Week – Introduction to the Open World Program

Heard of the Open World Program before? I’ve been aware of their existence for only a few months and I’ve been following them on Twitter and really like what they are about.

After watching the video I recommend checking out their website to learn more about them and if you are on Twitter follow them at http://twitter.com/OWProgram.

How can we Establish a National Longitudinal Survey on Study Abroad in the United States?

This question has been on my mind for several years and I thought I would post some of my random thoughts on this topic to IHEC Blog. My interest in a national longitdinal study abroad survey dates back to the Roundtable for International Education Researchers held by the American Council on Education (after the 2004 NAFSA conference in Baltimore) that I was invited to participate in. I was excited because I found myself on a list of invitees of some of the best higher education and international education scholars around and I was asked to present a brief overview to the group of scholars on what research is needed to promote better practice and to assist practitioners in the field.

One of the scholars invited to the Roundtable but was unable to attend was George Kuh from the School of Education at Indiana University. If you don't who George Kuh is you might know of his work on the NSSE: National Survey of Student Engagement (he founded NSSE). I was hoping to engage Mr. Kuh in a discussion on the feasibility of such a similar study on study abroad in the United States and to generate ideas to move forward on this. I, of course, was disapointed that I was not able to meet him.

So here we are six years later and the idea of a national longitudinal survey on study abroad continues to enter my mind from time to time. The topic comes up from time to time in discussions I have with colleagues at conferences but I don't hear more talk about this on a national level. We, of course, have the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange which I think is a great data collection effort but what I'm thinking about is different. This national longitudinal study on study abroad is only part of a much larger operation I dream about and what some of us have referred to as a Clearinghouse on Sudy Abroad and what inspired me to start collecting literature for my "Bury Book International Education Library & Archive".

Some of the questions that come to my mind as I type this include:

- How do we go about starting such a study?

- How much would this all cost?

- Where would be the home base for such a study?

- Is such a study even needed for the field of study abroad in the U.S. and, if so, what data do we want to collect?

- How can I start/contribute to this effort with a full-time job and a dissertation to write?

I'm curious what other IHEC Blog readers think about this?

Photo credit: Jamiesrabbits

U.S. Senate voted to Reject Sen. Coburn's (R-Okla.) Amendment to H.J. Res 45

This IHEC Blog post is a follow-up to my Take Action post on Monday and is taken, in predominately, from the NAFSA Legislative Update that was just sent out to those who have registered for ACT and is posted with the permission Kari Lantos from NAFSA.

Last night, the Senate voted to reject Senator Coburn's (R-Okla.) amendment to H.J. Res 45 that would have rescinded $120 billion in federal funding for all agencies. Among other things, Sen. Coburn's amendment would have had a negative impact on funding for the Department of State's Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program; the Defense Department's National Security Education Program; the Department of Education's Title VI and Fulbright Hays Programs; and the Office of International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation.

Speaking in opposition of the amendment to rescind federal funding, Senator Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, defended funding for international exchange programs. He said, "I would tell the Senator from Oklahoma that if you look over the last 10 years, there have been significant [funding] shortfalls in many of these [exchange] programs, and in personnel. The [funding] increases began first at the request of former President George W. Bush, and then followed by President Obama because they realized the need for us to have these programs for our own security." He went on to say, "Rather than cut funding, Senators on both sides of the aisle have consistently urged the Appropriations Committee to increase funding to expand our efforts to promote better understanding of the United States. If we had funded all the requests for increases, [the exchanges budget] would be considerably more than it was."

In order to complete action on the bill and move the debate Sen. Coburn's amendment forward, his overall amendment was divided into four divisions. The sections of the amendment focused on reducing funding for all federal agencies made up Division III of the amendment. All but one of the divisions was rejected by the Senate. The portion of the amendment that passed - Division I - requires the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to routinely evaluate programs to "identify programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives with duplicative goals" and submit an annual report to Congress outlining those findings.

To see which Senators voted "yea" or "nay" to Division III of Senator Coburn's amendment to reduce overall federal funding, including funding for international education programs, click here.

Nominate and then Vote in the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs Competition

Last year bab.la and their blog Lexiophiles launched the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs competition. International Higher Education Consulting Blog was nominated in that competition and was voted the #10 International Education and Experience Blog for 2009.

It’s now time for the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010, also known as IX10. Lexiophiles and bab.la are looking for the top 100 blogs about life abroad and the nomination period remains open until January 31st. The voting period will be open from February 1st to 14th and the results will be announced on February 18th. I will be sure to post a reminder to vote for your favorite international exchange and experience blog before the end of the competition.

If you have a favorite international exchange and experience blog (or two or three!) please take a moment to send an e-mail with the blog(s) URL to priscila@bab.la.

Those of you interested in international education blogs and new media might find International Education Blogs & News (IEB&N) to be of interest. I started IEB&N about a year ago as I came up with the idea on the flight home from the Forum on Education Abroad's 2009 annual conference in Portland.

NAFSA Action Alert: Urge Your Senators to Vote NO on Amendment to H.J.Res 45Take Action!

The following IHEC Blog post is from NAFSA’s Action Alert sent out via e-mail this morning and is posted in it’s entirety with the permission of Kari Lantos at NAFSA. If you support this initiative (and are a U.S. citizen) please take a minute to write to your Senators. It’s fast and easy and while you are taking action on this issue please consider taking action here on other issues related to international education.

Urge Your Senators to Vote NO on Amendment to H.J.Res 45Take Action!

Senator Coburn Amendment Would Consolidate Several International Education Programs

The Senate is currently considering a joint resolution (H.J.Res. 45) to increase the statutory limit on the public debt. Senator Coburn has offered an amendment to the bill that would require the consolidation of many government programs, including several international education programs. On Senator Coburn's list of duplicative international education programs that need to be consolidated are: the Department of Education's Title VI Programs and Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Program; the Department of State's Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program; the Defense Department's National Security Education Program; and the Office International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. This amendment is scheduled to be debated this week.

Clearly, the reduction or elimination of these programs would have a negative impact on many students and campuses in the U.S. Please call your Senator to ask that they vote NO to this amendment, which among other things, would have a negative impact on the global education of American students. Sample talking points can be found on the Take Action Center.

While we don't know what chance this amendment has for passing, we don't want to miss this great opportunity to educate your members of Congress about the importance of international education. Please call your Senators today!

Video of the Week - Testimonial from Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program Alumna

Testimonial from Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program alumna Musleehat Hamadu from Howard University about her experience in Ghana and advice for future applicants for the Gilman Scholarship.



You can watch more videos about the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program on their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/gilmanscholarship