Mark your calendars! VietAbroader’s annual summer study abroad conferences will take place this year in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on Friday, 15 July and in Hanoi on Saturday, 16 July.
In the spirit of mentorship and social responsibility, the VietAbroader Study Abroad Conference (VAC), entitled “Passing of the Torch,” was first launched in 2005 to empower high potential Vietnamese students to realize their dreams of overseas study. The conference comprises different workshops regarding the US university application process and college life, together with a College Fair attended by more than fifty US colleges and universities. Following the successes of VAC 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010, this year VAC 2011 strives to carry on the tradition, to build the bridge between Vietnamese students and American colleges and universities.
Memo to US Higher Education Colleagues: This is one of the marquee events for Vietnamese students and parents with an interest in studying in the USA organized by the premier student-run organization in the field. In addition to all of the benefits for the attendees, the conferences offer unparalleled sponsorship opportunities for US colleges and universities. There are also sponsorship opportunities for companies. For more information, check out these PDF files:
VietAbroader Study Abroad Conference 2010 Post-Conference Report (1.43 Mb)
VAC 2011 Institutional Sponsor Proposal (7.42 Mb)
VAC 2011 Institutional Benefits (179 Kb)
VAC 2011 Corporate Benefits (182 Kb)
Below are some excerpts from the participants’ response section of the 2010 post-conference report…
VietAbroader’s strongest asset has always been its close-knit and dedicated student community. VAC 2010 continued to build on this tradition. We attracted more than 1600 applications to attend our conferences, and 500 participants from over 30 high schools in Viet Nam were selected based on their strong academic foundations, leadership potential, and openness to learning.
In order to find out areas for improvement, so that successive conferences will be better run, more relevant, and more engaging, we prepared an online survey form to sent out to all participants. Of more than 500 participants who attend the conferences, 417 replied.
We asked them to score our conference on a rank of 100, breaking into 10 sections. The average score is 79 – with a lowest score of 70 and highest 91.
Participants registered high satisfaction with our staffs and guest speakers, with an average score of 8.3 for helpfulness of the organizers and 8.2 for knowledge of the guest speakers. Participants were impressed with the new changes in this year’s conferences, especially the new mentor-mentee system, the community college talk show, and the new room for those who have had basic information about studying in the U.S.
Most remarkably, almost all participants responded that VAC 2010 helped inspired them to pursue higher education in the U.S., with a score of 8.8 in that section. A record high of 96.3% of participants indicated that they would recommend next year’s VAC for their friends.
Below are some feedbacks from our participants in the survey:
“The organizers are very approachable and friendly. Even though the conference was behind schedule, the organizers’ enthusiasm more than made up for it.”
“I really like VietAbroader Conference because it is by far the most interactive of all study abroad conferences I have attended. The new room for students who have had basic information about studying abroad is particularly helpful, especially the essay counseling session. Thanks to it I now have the answers for writing essays which I have had for so long.”
“I like how the organizers have extended the community college talk show to those who cannot attend the first one. It showed their dedication and care for the participants. All of the guest speakers are great!”
Disclosure: I’m one of VietAbroader’s advisers.
Please feel free to email me at markashwill(AT)capstonevietnam.com for more information.
P.S.: I’m checking with Mr. Gates about this and will let you know what I hear…
Education Makes Strange Bedfellows
29/03/2011Consider this: IIE’s main sponsor is the US Department of State. In the fiscal year ending 30 September 2009 (the most up-to-date information available on its website) IIE’s total revenues were $363,511,000, of which $333,781,000 was for sponsored programs. Over half (51%) of IIE’s funding was from “US government agencies,” primarily the State Department, for its administration of the Fulbright Program.
While State and Commerce officially represent the same government, they don’t exactly see eye to eye when it comes to the role of that government in promoting US higher education. The former issued a policy statement in 2009 forbidding its 450 EducationUSA advising centers around the world from developing partnerships with private-sector recruiting agents who have contracts with individual U.S. higher education institutions.
This statement is nothing new; it is merely a reiteration of existing policy and a thinly veiled warning to those centers and advisers, who, for financial, or perhaps loftier, reasons might decide to work with agents. What is news, however, is the internecine battle being waged in the corridors of the Departments of State and Commerce in Washington, D.C. and in the field.
It is an example of one cabinet level agency, responsible for carrying out the U.S. government’s public diplomacy mission, pitted against another, which promotes U.S. exports, in a struggle to determine which official voice will prevail.
In a country briefing in Vietnam, for example, this scenario plays out as follows: a Public Affairs officer (i.e., representing State) speaks disapprovingly of working with agents and extols the virtues of providing “free, comprehensive and unbiased information” through an EducationUSA center to a group of U.S. higher education recruiters while a Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) staff member (i.e., representing Commerce) whispers to those sitting nearby about how FCS can help match U.S. schools with agents through one of its fee-based services (e.g., Gold Key Service). Meanwhile, at the IIE US higher education fair briefing, the country director parrots the EducationUSA party line about agency-based recruitment (i.e., it’s a “no-no”).
Better To Bend Than Break
When I was country director of IIE in Vietnam (2005-09), one of the organization’s highest priorities was “business development.” Always on the prowl for new sources of revenue, never resting on its laurels or assuming that existing pipelines of revenue would always flow freely: a good strategy for a nonprofit in an era of financial crisis. Add the fact that IIE has recently lost some major State Department contracts and, suddenly, the prospect of partnering with its main sponsor’s nemesis becomes more palatable.
So, the participating US colleges and universities will spend 6 and 8 April involved in a speed dating variation of agent matchmaking and recruiting students in a joint FCS/IIE education fair. Chalk one up for business development and practicality.
Categories: Commentary, Events, Updates
Tags: education agents, higher education fairs, Vietnamese students
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