Videos of the Week - Interview with NAFSA President Chris Viers

As the NAFSA: Association of International Educators annual conference approaches next week I thought I would highlight several videos of one interview with NAFSA President Christopher Viers.  In these interview segments Chris talks about NAFSA's past, present and future as well as shares his thoughts on NAFSA's strategic plan.  I first met Chris back in February 2005 when we were members of the Teaching, Learning and Scholarship Task Force and I've always liked the way he thinks about NAFSA and advancing international education.  I'm not sure I have the videos in the correct order but I think that is okay.

Video of the Week - Welcome to Our World - UWEC

I chose the following video as my video of the week as I went to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC) for my undergraduate studies and was a Resident Assistant for the ESL program for two summers.  Eau Claire has a long history in international education activities and it is the reason I decided to attend UWEC.

IIE Annual Report Archive (1920-2009) Available Online

I just learned that the Institute of International Education (IIE) established an archive of all of their Annual Reports (1920-2009) and made them available on their website in .PDF format.  There are many things I like about this and for those of you who are interested in the history of international education you will find these publications to be very interesting and helpful in your research.  IIE's Annual Reports not only provide valuable information on the organization and its work but they also provide an excellent historical timeline of the field of international education.  The Annual Reports from the early decades are perhaps the most interesting to me as these publications are such valuable pieces of historical literature on the field of international education.  You can access the IIE Annual Report Archive here.

"Connecting Our World" - NAFSA's New Grassroots Advocacy Effort

Next Monday (May 24^th) NAFSA: Association of International Educators will launch a new website for their grassroots advocacy efforts called “Connecting Our World.”  According to an e-mail sent to me (and everyone else who has taken action on an international education related policy issue through NAFSA’s ACT) by Kari Lantos (Manager of Grassroots Outreach at NAFSA):

Connecting Our World will make it easier than ever for you to directly support grassroots advocacy initiatives, share your passion for international education with others, and participate in ongoing conversations about the advocacy topics in international education that matter most to you. Connecting Our World is designed to build on the success of your grassroots efforts and, with your help, attract an even broader global community of advocates to NAFSA's efforts to support international education.

As the new destination for all aspects of our grassroots advocacy efforts, Connecting Our World will replace what you currently know as ACT (the Advocacy-Centered Team). Beginning on Monday, "ACT" will become "Connecting Our World."

I'll post briefly about the new website next week!

Photo credit:  Muffet

Are you listening?

I'm very pleased to present this guest post by Nicolle Merrill from Global Campus.  I've gotten to know Nicolle via various social media networks and I'm a big fan of what she is doing in the field of international education.  Here is Nicolle's post:

"Join the conversation” has been shouted from the virtual rooftops of thought leaders, bloggers and online communities throughout the social media landscape. Facebook tells us to stay connected. Twitter asks us what we’re doing. LinkedIn tells us relationships matter.

If you’re reading this, you already know social media is a hot topic in US higher education. Recently, I came across a brilliant find on mycollegeguide.com: a list of over 200 universities and colleges using Twitter and Facebook. While comprehensive, the focus is mainly on domestic outreach for US universities and colleges with no representation from institutions abroad. The list left me wondering, where is the conversation for international higher education?

The upcoming NAFSA (#nafsa10) annual conference will feature two workshops on social media use in international education. If previous higher education conferences in the past year are any indication, many will be attending these sessions.  It would be beneficial to those of us in international higher education to start the discussion before we get to NAFSA.

The best way to learn about social media is to observe others in your field. Twitter and Facebook are different tools with different audiences. As we grow to understand social media and its uses for international education, we should be paying attention and “listening” to each other.

In an effort to jumpstart the social media for international higher education, I’ve started a list. Using Google, Twitter and Facebook targeted searches, I found 53 schools with international departments on Facebook and 32 on Twitter. Many departments on the two lists are international admissions, though some are International Student and Scholars Services, international programs and study abroad. Some of these institutions are located outside of the US. Searching for international departments on social networking sites is challenging. Organizational structures and communication responsibilities vary by institution and often international outreach takes place on a single Facebook or Twitter account. However, as this list shows, some international departments have branched out on their own.

Check out this list. See what others in international education are doing. How do their social media activities compare to yours?

Not on this list? Leave a comment below with your university’s international social media accounts (Twitter and/or Facebook) and we’ll add it to a list to share with the international higher education community.

International departments and programs on Facebook:

Aarhus University School of Business

Anglia Ruskin University

Australian Catholic University

Brunel University West London

Cardiff University

Carelton University

Farleigh Dickinson University

Golden Gate University

Grand Valley State University

Highline Community College

InHolland University of Applied Sciences

International Balkan University

Iowa State University

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Maryville College

Minnesota State University Mankato

Montana State University

Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai

Northcentral Technical College

Northwestern University

Nova Scotia Community College

NY Institute of Technology

Ohio State University

Oklahoma City University

Polytechnic Institute of Bragança

Portland State University

Purdue University

San Francisco State University

Sonoma State American Language Institute

St. Joseph's University

SUNY at Brockport

Tiffin University

UC Davis

Universidad de Navarra

Universitas Gadjah Mada

University at Buffalo

University de Huelva

University of Alberta

University of Arkansas Fayetteville

University of Arkansas Little Rock

University of Berkley

University of Bridgeport

University of Dhaka

University of Glasgow

University of Groningen

University of Herfordshire

University of Huddersfield

University of Minnesota

University of Oregon

University of Otago

University of San Francisco

University of St Thomas

Wakaito International

Western Kentucky University

International offices and programs on Twitter:

Arizona State University

Capilano University

Cardiff University

Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Filton College

Harvard University

Hawaii Community College Intensive English Program

Indiana University

Institute of Technology Carlow

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Maryville College

Michigan State University

National College of Ireland

Nova Scotia Community College

Portland State University

Queen's University International Centre

Saxion University

UC Berkeley

UC Davis

Universitas Gadjah Mada

University College London

University of Adelaide

University of Huddersfield

University of Limerick IED

University of Minnesota Duluth

University of Mississippi

University of Missouri

University of Nottingham

University of Otago

University of York

Vancouver Community College

Waterford Institute of Technology

Nicolle Merrill helps universities and colleges run global online recruiting campaigns on GlobalCampus. She spends a ridiculous amount of time running two Twitter accounts, @pdxnicolle and @GlobalCampus, and loves #hashtags.

Photo credit: webtreats

Is it a good thing to send 1,000,000 U.S. students abroad?

I asked this question over on IHEC Blog's Facebook page last week and thought I would ask here as well.

For the record, I support the Simon legislation and the goal of sending 1,000,000 U.S. students to study abroad. For the sake of discussion I wonder, from a public diplomacy perspective, if it a good thing to send so many students abroad?

What are your thoughts on this?

Note: I'm trying something new with this post as I'm using a blogging application on my iPhone as I'm sitting here at Houston Hobby airport on my way home from a meeting at IIE Houston today. I can't add links nor upload photos/videos so I probably won't use this much but I'm trying to find something useful for NAFSA/other conferences as I don't want to carry a heavy laptop around.

Video of the Week - African Student Exchange Program

For this video of the week I found this video about the Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES) that highlights three young high school students from Africa including a young Muslim a student from Kenya who is living with a Jewish host family to be of interest.  I'm a big fan of high school level exchange programs (having participated two times on my high school's exchange program with a high school in Rosenheim, Germany) and I plan to most more about this level of exchange in the coming months to IHEC Blog.