Guiding Students to the Highest Bidder

23/05/202323/05/2023 maavn Commentary commission-based recruitment, education agents, fatal flaw

Credit: Fatal Flaw Literary Magazine I recently had a video chat with a US secondary colleague who expressed frustration over how hard it is to work with education agents in Vietnam, many of whom seem mostly concerned with the amount of the commission they will receive for each student. Since this particular high school's commission … Continue reading Guiding Students to the Highest Bidder

This Land is Whose Land?

19/05/2023 maavn Commentary buffy sainte-marie, mali obomsawin, pete seeger, this land is your land, woody guthrie

This unattributed meme about sums it up. This famous song by Woody Guthrie recently popped into my head . It's a catchy tune that I liked it as a child before I learned that much of US history, which parallels that of my family history, including the good, the bad, and the ugly, has been … Continue reading This Land is Whose Land?

2022 SEVIS by the Numbers Report: Vietnam

17/05/202317/05/2023 maavn Commentary, Updates international students, sevis by the numbers, study in the USA, vietnam, Vietnamese students

While the periodic SEVIS updates, sometimes monthly, other times quarterly, contain real-time statistics, the annual reports present cumulative totals. According to the 2022 report (PDF download), the total number of SEVIS records for active F-1 and M-1 students was 1,362,157 in 2022, an increase of 10.1% from 2021 and the largest number since 2019. There … Continue reading 2022 SEVIS by the Numbers Report: Vietnam

Fulbright University Vietnam Board Member Shows His True Colors

10/05/202310/05/2023 maavn Articles, Commentary bard college, bob kerrey, fulbright university vietnam, fundraising, jeffrey epstein, leon botstein, philanthropy

It may seem, at first blush, an unlikely connection: Leon Botstein, the president of Bard, one of the country’s most progressive colleges, and Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced billionaire accused of sexually abusing teenage girls. Leon Botstein has led Bard College for nearly five decades. Credit: Richard Beaven for The New York Times Leon Botstein (LB), … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam Board Member Shows His True Colors

The Toad That Lived to See Another Day

08/05/2023 maavn Commentary hanoi, toad, vietnam

One of her/his distant cousins. Recently, a rather well-fed toad found its way into my car, a first since I began driving a lifetime ago. I was transporting a couple of plants and trees to my Hanoi office and the critter must have been hiding in one of the pots. When my wife came to … Continue reading The Toad That Lived to See Another Day

Not All Phở is Created Equal; That’s Phở Sure!

28/04/2023 maavn Commentary hanoi, hcmc, ho chi minh city, Mama Phở, phở bò, Phở Thìn

Phở Thìn's Hanoi Location It's not often that I write a restaurant review. I think the last one was about a hole-in-the-wall noodle shop in downtown Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), long since relocated to the suburbs, that had the best wonton noodles I've ever had. This one is about Phở Thìn, a veritable Hanoi … Continue reading Not All Phở is Created Equal; That’s Phở Sure!

“When HE internationalisation operates as an industry”

26/04/2023 maavn Articles, Commentary international student recruitment, international students, internationalization, us-centric

There is a facade of higher education internationalisation that paints an idealistic picture of providing students with a global experience, stressing collaboration in research and strengthening ties among universities worldwide. Image: iStock This spot-on article by Philip G. Altbach and Hans de Wit asserts that internationalization primarily refers to revenue generation through international student recruitment. … Continue reading “When HE internationalisation operates as an industry”

Reflections on a Dirty Industry

14/04/202317/04/2023 maavn Commentary commission-based recruitment, international education, international student recruitment, international students, overseas study, success without integrity is failure, vietnam

No, not that industry, which is literally dirty and a major contributor to global climate change. I'm referring to international student recruitment, which is often a figuratively dirty industry. A US higher education colleague who has been around the block a few times recently asked me this question: "At the risk of sounding like a … Continue reading Reflections on a Dirty Industry

“Is Gun Violence Scaring Off International Students?”

12/04/2023 maavn Commentary gun violence, international student recruitment, international students, mass shootings, study in the USA, Vietnamese students

Image: iStock The author of this 10 April 2023 Inside Higher Ed article requested an interview with me because he had read some blog posts and a 2022 University World News article I wrote about gun violence and international student recruitment. The result is one reason why I ask to see a draft, as I … Continue reading “Is Gun Violence Scaring Off International Students?”

Working for the Man: Part II

10/04/2023 maavn Commentary exploitation, illegal immigrants, neoliberal capitalism, working for the man

Think of this post as a follow-up to the original, which appeared in August 2020. In that post I described some of the part-time jobs that I held as undergraduate as a way of supplementing my income. Mainly, they were rich - figuratively speaking - learning experiences. (For many, they are way to make a … Continue reading Working for the Man: Part II

An International Educator in Viet Nam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue