I had the pleasure of spending part of Christmas Eve at Chu Van An High School to celebrate the founding of the International Club. In addition to delivering some remarks (my company, Capstone Vietnam, is a major sponsor of the club in 2012), presenting flowers and a sponsorship certificate, and participating in a lucky draw, my colleagues and I sat back and enjoyed the many talented performers “doing their thing” on stage and in the aisles. One of the more memorable acts was a breakdancing Santa, who rocked the house.
As I mentioned in my mercifully short speech to a restless audience of (mostly) students who were waiting with rapt anticipation for the various performances by their peers, I’ve noticed in the time that I have lived here just how open many young Vietnamese are to the world, how interested they are in learning foreign languages and about other cultures and, in growing numbers, traveling, participating in short-term internship and work programs, and studying overseas.
A word about Chu Van An High School (Trường Trung học Quốc gia Chu Văn An): It’s one of the three public magnet high schools in Hanoi, along with Hanoi-Amsterdam High School and Nguyen Hue High School. Established by French authorities in 1908 as the High School of the Protectorate (Lycée du Protectorat), it’s one of the oldest high schools in Indochina. (In case you’re interested in knowing who Chu Van An is, click here.)
The things we do in the name of community outreach.
It is well-known that the majority of Vietnamese students begin their US higher education at a community college (two-year school) as a gateway to a four-year college or university to complete their bachelor’s degree.
A community college program in Washington state that allows student to earn a Washington high school diploma and a university transfer associate degree in just two years, is all the rage among Vietnamese students and parents. Green River Community College, for example, which calls this program High School Completion Plus, highlights the key advantages on its website: Save Time and Money, Earn Dual Degrees and Fast Track.
In addition to saving time and money, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, high school completion programs enable students to make a smooth linguistic and cultural adjustment and better prepare them for study at a four-year college or university. For Vietnamese parents of means who cannot afford an overseas boarding school (40-50k per year) these programs are a cost-effective and attractive option for their children to obtain a quality education, something that is in short supply at home. There are about 22 Washington community colleges that actively recruit international students.
High School Completion Programs & Student Visas
Based on my experience, consular officers set the bar a bit higher for those who wish to participate in these programs. The student must be able to explain why s/he is transferring from a Vietnamese high school (in some cases a talented and gifted school) to a high school completion program in the US and what her/his long-term plans are. The legislation (PDF) on which the high school completion program is based was enacted by the Washington State Legislature in March 1990 and updated in September 2011.
Vietnamese Students & Washington State
According to the Open Doors 2011 Fact Sheet for Washington (PDF), Vietnam ranks 3rd among all places of origin with 9.4% of total international student enrollment in that state of 17,811, which amounts to 1674 students. This amounts to just over 11% of total Vietnamese enrollment at US colleges and universities in 2010/11.
With more than 260,000 students from China and India enrolled in the US, many American institutions are over-reliant on these two markets for meeting their international student recruitment goals. With the budget cuts, self-financed students are becoming increasingly important and Chinese undergraduate students are a lucrative and fast-growing segment. However, there are already concerns about concentration of Chinese students in some campuses and India had been showing stagnancy in last few years. This indicates that institutions need to look beyond China and India and cultivate other source countries.
At another level, there is a “stock market” mentality emerging in international student enrollment domain where stakeholders closely watch annual shifts in enrollment figures. However, it is important to look into long-term trends of emerging and declining markets. Here are some contrasting trends with four markets–two declining and two growing.
Japan and Indonesia have declined quite drastically. Decline in Japan is a due to changing demographics resulting in decline of college going pipeline. For Indonesia, decline in US numbers could be explained by attractiveness of Australia and Malaysia due to cost and proximity. Indonesia is second largest source country for Malaysia and third largest source country for Australia.
In contrast to Japan and Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam have shown robust growth over a decade. Vietnamese students in the US have grown by more than six times in a decade. Even Australia gained from the demand of Vietnamese students by 167% in four years from 9,634 in 2007 to 25,788 in 2010. Likewise, Nepalese students in the US have grown by nearly three times in a decade. Australia saw a strong growth in Nepalese students from 9,106 in 2007 to 22,019 in 2010 (142% in four years).
This growth in internationally mobile students from Nepal and Vietnam is primarily driven by growing aspirations of expanding educated classes which in turn is supported by economic development. Both Vietnam and Nepal saw their GDPs grew by nearly three-times in a decade.
Note: This is obviously a static image. (I’m having a problem importing the “plugin” that I need to make this work properly.) If you are interested in exploring the data, click here.
For as long as cities have existed, people have needed spaces where communities can gather and individuals can meet, find diversions, and conduct business. In various times and places, public markets, city parks, wide sidewalks, village and city squares, malls around national monuments, and other organized and unorganized public spaces have filled these roles. In recent years, however, even the idea of public space has come under threat from a variety of private and state interests.
This film is the story of one such place, Thong Nhat (Reunification) Park, the largest park in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
This is a park I have visited and enjoyed on many occasions – one of the recreational gems of Hanoi. In fact, I included it in some video I took for a segment entitled Vietnam Today that I contributed to IN FOCUS: Vietnam, a project developed six or seven years ago by the Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Union College Partnership for Global Education (PGE) in support of its study abroad program in Hanoi.
Chalk one up for the public good over private gain (i.e., greed)!
Fifty-five percent of students wish to work for foreign-invested companies, making these institutions the top choice of working environment for graduates, according to an annual survey conducted by human resource consulting firm Nhan Viet Management Group.
The one question that this article did not address is WHY? Below are some comments from Vietnamese university students and recent graduates whose opinions I solicited:
Reasons
Foreign-invested companies may offer better economic incentives: higher wage, promotions
International and professional working environment: more diverse workforce, allowing employees to interact with different people and enrich their cultural understanding
Strict and rigorous working environment with no unfair treatment, bureaucracy or corruption (contrary to most Vietnamese companies)
Professional development opportunities
Fairly competitive atmosphere; a competitive atmosphere in which they MUST learn and develop or else they would be fired
Working for foreign companies may sound “cool” to youngsters, satisfying their self-esteem need; becoming the pride of their family and getting admiration from their friends
Seeing a growing number of friends working in international companies may also create peer pressure that drives more and more graduates to do the same
Interesting and challenging tasks in which they can demonstrate their leadership and managerial capacities, their English abilities and creativity besides specialised knowledge.
Additional Comments
I think 55% maybe still an understatement, at least in the scope of my university.
In my mother’s bank, the job is quite tedious and mechanical with no scope for creativity and improvement. Therefore, after a few years, the staff’s English knowledge and soft skills seem to erode.
State-run companies are often notorious for non-transparent recruitment process, regulations, remuneration policies, etc. This knowledge is passed on from previous generations, who often are the youngsters’ parents and relatives, and insiders. Therefore, it may be another reason for graduates to prefer working for foreigners in the belief of a more fair place.
For me personally, I don’t take the issue of whether working for Vietnamese or international companies too seriously; as long as I love the job and am given enough chance to develop and prove myself in a professional working environment.
These are all the reasons why many young people want to work for foreign invested firms. (I myself would like to work for one of those companies, too.:-))
Photo: Tuoi Tre
These perceptions bode well for foreign companies but not so well for their Vietnamese counterparts. This is not to say that all Vietnamese companies, be they privately-owned or state-run, conform to these generalizations. There are a growing number of such companies that defy the stereotype. (On a personal note, I’m a satisfied customer of some, including one owned by the military.) Overall, I see this sort of competition as a favorable trend for young Vietnamese, 1.5 million of whom enter the labor market every year, according to the World Bank. In the long-term it will help raise the bar for everyone, including consumers.
Columbia Southern University (CSU), a nationally accredited (NA), for-profit online university based in Orange, Alabama, USA, is probably the most profitable US institution of higher education in Vietnam. CSU has 28,000 students in 22 countries and territories around the world with significant concentrations in Vietnam, China and Hong Kong. As its website notes, it “offers 23 degree and 23 certificate programs are available in a variety of popular fields such as fire science, criminal justice, business administration, information technology, human resource management and occupational safety and health.”
Raking It In
Since it began operating in Vietnam, CSU has earned an estimated $18 million in tuition and fees with 2000 MBA graduates. (Here is a link to the original Vietnamese language version of this article.) According to an official source, CSU currently has 405 active students from Vietnam. That number was expected to increase last July by 100-200 students, which translates into nearly $5 million in tuition revenue. One indication of the extent to which CSU is priming the pump is a recent advertising blitz, including standing banners that sprout up like mushrooms in the lobbies of upscale apartment buildings, elevator ads in said apartment buildings, lest you’re lacking for visual stimulation on the ride up, and banner ads on popular websites.
All in The Family
CSU is essentially a family business run by Robert Mayes, Jr., MBA, president, his sister, Chantell Cooley, executive vice president of admissions/partnership development, and her husband, Tommy Cooley, BS, vice president of business affairs. According to their bios, they’re all “pioneers in online education.” A family friend, Jimmy Weaver, BA, is the controller. CSU was founded in 1993 by Dr. Robert G. Mayes, a respected educator who died in 2005. Robert Mayes, Jr., his mother, Minnie Mayes, and Tommy Cooley also have business ties to Liberty Christian University, Inc. in Pensacola, Florida.
National Accreditation (NA)
CSU, which appears on my list of nationally accredited US schools active in Vietnam, is accredited (NA) by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Contrary to what DETC and NA school representatives will tell you, comparing nationally accredited schools to their regionally accredited counterparts is like comparing apples and oranges. One of my favorite examples, always good for a chuckle in public presentations here, is the Bergin University of Canine Studies in California, where you can earn a BS or MS degree in Cynology (i.e., the study of dogs).
Spreading the Wealth
One major source of income for CSU is the US military through the many enlisted personnel who enroll in CSU online degree programs. The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) and Veterans Affairs approves tuition assistance for all active-duty and retired military members. More than half of the CSU student body is currently comprised of active-duty military. CSU, which bills itself as a “military friendly college,” is one of approximately 140 schools approved to offer upfront tuition assistance through the U.S. Army centralized tuition assistance portal, GoArmyEd. According to the CSU website, Completely online programs, open enrollment, flexible courses and affordable tuition allow Servicemembers to achieve a quality education while preserving our nation’s freedom.
Faculty
The CSU website notes that “At CSU, highly qualified and diverse faculty members are available to offer students individualized attention, advice, and support throughout each course. Our faculty members are recognized leaders within their professions and bring beneficial real-world experience to each course.” While a number of CSU faculty do have degrees from highly regarded and, in some cases, prestigious institutions, others list degrees from CSU, North Central University, a regionally accredited for-profit online university in Arizona, the University of Phoenix, a regionally accredited for-profit institution in Arizona, California Coast University (NA), Grantham University (NA), Southern California University (NA), etc.
On the Homefront
Orange, Alabama is not a bad place to run a for-profit university. It has everything a business needs to thrive: low taxes, low overhead, and low salaries. According to iTen Wired, CSU spent $2 million on salaries for 64 CSU employees in Baldwin County in 2006. The end result is high net profit. CSU’s “campus,” such as it is, is a 68,310 square foot three-story building completed in 2009 and featured prominently in most of its advertising. (See the pic at the top of this post. Below is a satellite view of the CSU building and the surrounding area.) It was assessed at $1.2 million in 2009. Construction is underway on a second building at the new 20-acre campus.
Courtesy of Google Maps
Credit Transfer/Degree Recognition
As I alluded to earlier, the difference between national and regional (“gold standard”) accreditation is like night and day. This is the reason why most RA schools will not accept credits or degrees from their NA counterparts. For example, a student with a BS degree in Business Administration from CSU would find it exceedingly difficult to pursue a MBA or other graduate degree at a RA school. While I can’t speak for CSU, many NA schools commit a sin of omission by not informing prospective students of this fact.
This article on Go 4 Learning! entitled Is Columbia Southern University A Scam? provides a succinct and accurate overview of this issue. This response also points out one of the limitations of a NA degree:
The Guy says: June 23, 2011 at 3:46 pm
I was going to take courses at Columbia Southern University so that they would transfer to Portland State University. Before enrolling at Columbia Southern I called Portland State University and asked if they took transfer credit from Columbia Southern. Portland State’s reply: No, we don’t take transfer credits from Columbia Southern University.
The Global Institute of Strategic Management (GISM), which has close ties to Akamai University, a Hawaii-based school that appears on my list of unaccredited US institutions, has a logo that bears a striking resemblance to the Great Seal of a certain US federal executive department charged with implementing that country’s foreign policy. Compare the above logo with that on the US Department of State homepage and cast your vote.
GISM’s affiliation with Akamai is so intimate that Ben Lee, its President and Director, is also the Vice President for Asia-Pacific Business Programs at Akamai and Douglass Capogrossi, GISM’s Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Director, is the president of Akamai. I give GISM credit for one thing – chutzpah. If you’re going to lie, lie big.
But wait, there’s more! GISM (address: 193 Kino`ole Street, Hilo, Hawaii, 96720 USA) is located in the same suite of offices as Akamai University (address: 187 Kino`ole Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA) at the Hilo Hotel. These cozy connections are not uncommon in the often murky and sometimes incestuous world of rogue providers.
I spent an afternoon last week interviewing candidates for the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam – Hanoi Chapter (AmCham Hanoi) Scholarship Program. My fellow panelists and I were charged with evaluating their interpersonal skills, achievement orientation, analytical skills and problem-solving skills through a series of questions. In addition, the students had to respond to a pre-assigned topic about a hypothetical situation for which they had five (5) minutes to prepare before the 15-minute English language interview.
We interviewed students from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, semi-finalists who had been selected from among 300 applicants. AmCham selected the top 150 students to take an English language exam. From that group 75 of the best students were selected to take an online assessment called ProfileXT, which measures potential and predicts job performance, in addition to thinking and reasoning, occupational interests and behavioral traits. (The result of each student was matched to the average winning student profile from the previous year’s competition.)
Since the scholarship program is “looking for smart, quick-thinking, confident students who show the ability to clearly communicate their ideas under pressure,” our job was to evaluate and rank them on that basis. For most it was their first formal interview experience, a kind of “job interview lite.” It was fascinating and inspiring to learn about their passions and dreams. It some cases, they were directly related to their majors; in others, totally unrelated.
Most expressed the desire to study overseas and earn at least a Master’s degree. They all indicated a strong commitment to making their mark in a particular field and contributing to Vietnamese society in some way. In a country in which “good help is (often) hard to find” because of shortcomings in the educational system most of these young people are the type of employee I would want working for my company.
Congratulations to the 2011 AmCham Scholars, who will be recognized at an award ceremony this Sunday in Hanoi. They will receive the following cash and in-kind benefits:
8,000,000 VND ($400) in cash (25); 2,500,000 VND ($125) in cash (25-honorable mention)
A free job skills training course taught by American business leaders in Hanoi
Admission to the AmCham Scholars Alumni Club
Resume exposure to the HR departments of AmCham Hanoi’s member companies
Priority for possible internship positions
In addition to the the AmCham Scholarships, which are useful to all concerned and a great source of encouragement to the recipients, my hope is that the US corporate community in Vietnam will consider funding more substantial scholarships that would send a select group of outstanding young Vietnamese women and men to study in non-degree and graduate degree programs in the US.
Vietnam offers a multitude of experiences for U.S. students who want to go off the beaten path. Most programs range from a few weeks to a semester and involve a variety of fields of academic study. US students who choose Vietnam as a study abroad destination are members of a rather exclusive club. Last year, there were fewer than 700 (686 to be exact), according to the Open Doors 2011 international academic mobility report. Below is a list of some study abroad programs offered in Vietnam:
CET Academic Programs offers two programs: 1) Vietnamese Studies & Service-Learning in HCMC (fall and spring semesters); and 2) Vietnam Summer Service in Rural Vietnam. Both include service learning components.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges offers a fall semester program for its students and those from Union College that begins in HCMC and moves to Hanoi, where the group spends most of its time.
Lewis and Clark College’s East Asian Studies program offers location-specific options for its majors. Located in HCMC, its Vietnam program focuses on a broad interdisciplinary introduction to a variety of topics about Vietnam.
Loyola University Chicago offers a semester-long program in Vietnam. Students are placed in an internship in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), in addition to taking academic courses such as Vietnamese language, religions of Asia, Vietnamese literature, the culture and politics of Vietnam, and Vietnamese history.
SUNY Brockport’s Vietnam Project is the first US study-abroad program of its kind in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. A blend of study and service in Danang provides the opportunity for US students from any college or university and any academic major to study Vietnamese language, culture, history, and politics while providing community service in central Vietnam.
The School for International Training’s Vietnam study abroad program offers a social, cultural, and economic overview of the country. A development-focused program, students are urged to conduct field work which explores the challenges of development in specific areas within Vietnam.
Westfield State University offers a two-week summer program that takes students to Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Led by Tom Gardner, associate professor of communication, the program has two academic tracks: 1) examine a particular aspect of the U.S.-Vietnam War and compare Vietnamese accounts of particular episodes in that war or effects of the war with coverage of the same aspects by U.S. mainstream media (e.g., the use of Agent Orange); and 2) examine contemporary Vietnamese mass media and the impact of that media on attitudes and beliefs among Vietnamese college-age youth.
The programs described below are regional in nature.
Eastern Michigan University offers a program called Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand Cultural History Program. This program is offered to both EMU students and students enrolled at other universities. This six-credit program is 24 days in length. Students are involved in both a major cultural tour of historical sites in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia as well as an academic study involving the cultural and history of the Asian countries. Program participants must be enrolled in a religion course along with either a history or political science course, which offers students an interdisciplinary survey of the country.
The University of Miami offers a faculty-led international study program called China & Vietnam – Water Resources: Science, Policy and Law. This course is a three-credit course available at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The program is available for students interested in water management issues, including the hydrologic cycle, groundwater, water and ecosystems, water and public health, wetland restoration, etc. The program gives students the opportunity to learn about water management in countries that do not have a widespread publicly-managed water supply.
Marist College offers an Asia Summer Abroad Program known as ASAP. This program is a 15-credit program that takes place for 15 weeks in the summer. The ASAP program is open to business majors and minors who wish to receive experience in the international business world. Students will spend time in approximately nine Asian nations, including Vietnam. This program gives students the experience of studying a fast-paced international business environment that can only be obtained by leaving the United States.
Elaine Hirsch is kind of a jack-of-all-interests, from education and history to medicine and videogames. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things instead. She currently writes for an online master’s degree resource.
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I had the pleasure of spending part of Christmas Eve at Chu Van An High School to celebrate the founding of the International Club. In addition to delivering some remarks (my company, Capstone Vietnam, is a major sponsor of the club in 2012), presenting flowers and a sponsorship certificate, and participating in a lucky draw, my colleagues and I sat back and enjoyed the many talented performers “doing their thing” on stage and in the aisles. One of the more memorable acts was a breakdancing Santa, who rocked the house. 
High School Completion Programs in Washington State: Off to a “Running Start”
28/12/2011A community college program in Washington state that allows student to earn a Washington high school diploma and a university transfer associate degree in just two years, is all the rage among Vietnamese students and parents. Green River Community College, for example, which calls this program High School Completion Plus, highlights the key advantages on its website: Save Time and Money, Earn Dual Degrees and Fast Track.
In addition to saving time and money, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, high school completion programs enable students to make a smooth linguistic and cultural adjustment and better prepare them for study at a four-year college or university. For Vietnamese parents of means who cannot afford an overseas boarding school (40-50k per year) these programs are a cost-effective and attractive option for their children to obtain a quality education, something that is in short supply at home. There are about 22 Washington community colleges that actively recruit international students.
High School Completion Programs & Student Visas
Based on my experience, consular officers set the bar a bit higher for those who wish to participate in these programs. The student must be able to explain why s/he is transferring from a Vietnamese high school (in some cases a talented and gifted school) to a high school completion program in the US and what her/his long-term plans are. The legislation (PDF) on which the high school completion program is based was enacted by the Washington State Legislature in March 1990 and updated in September 2011.
Vietnamese Students & Washington State
According to the Open Doors 2011 Fact Sheet for Washington (PDF), Vietnam ranks 3rd among all places of origin with 9.4% of total international student enrollment in that state of 17,811, which amounts to 1674 students. This amounts to just over 11% of total Vietnamese enrollment at US colleges and universities in 2010/11.
Categories: Commentary, Programs
Tags: community colleges, high school completion programs, high school students, Vietnamese students, visa policy
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