Year: 2011

Virtual Student Fair Helps Vietnamese Students Learn About US Study Opportunities

Mark A. Ashwill Announcement, Events , ,

Vietnamese young people who are thinking about studying in the US will have  yet another useful source of information at their disposal: the Hobsons Virtual Student Fairs (VSF) on 17 September.   The VSF is free and open to students from across Vietnam who are interested in pursuing a bachelor’s or a graduate degree at a U.S. university.  … Continue reading Virtual Student Fair Helps Vietnamese Students Learn About US Study Opportunities

Vietnamese Student Visa Applications to Australia Drop by 31%

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , , ,

A Guest Post By Justin Birch Australia has enjoyed its status as the number one destination for Vietnamese university students but it shouldn't get too comfortable.  A recent report released by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship reveals that offshore applications from Vietnamese students dropped by 31%.  This decrease is not the largest, however, with India’s applications having … Continue reading Vietnamese Student Visa Applications to Australia Drop by 31%

A (Video) Message from the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, David Shear

Mark A. Ashwill Announcement ,

Since excitement about the imminent arrival of Ambassador David Shear is reaching fever pitch, if recent traffic to this blog is any indication (i.e., search engine terms from the past day include david shear, david b. shear, david bruce shear, david shear vietnam, david shear wife), I thought I would share with you a YouTube video produced … Continue reading A (Video) Message from the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, David Shear

Chutzpah & Unaccredited (US) Higher Education Providers

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary , , , ,

Chutzpah (pronounced /ˈhʊtspə/) is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The word derives from the Hebrew word ḥuṣpâ (חֻצְפָּה), meaning "insolence", "audacity", and "impertinence."  This word, one of my favorites, describes with great precision a recent email exchange I had with the representative of an unaccredited California-based school.  … Continue reading Chutzpah & Unaccredited (US) Higher Education Providers

Of Web Metrics and Analytics: Who Visits This Blog and Why?

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

 As of last month, according to Netcraft, a UK-based company that provides “monthly Internet research reports on the hosting industry and specialises in phishing detection and countermeasures,” there are  107,400,000 active websites in the world.   (There are more than three times as many hostnames.) International Educator’s three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 3,906,230.  Who Visits These Humble … Continue reading Of Web Metrics and Analytics: Who Visits This Blog and Why?

A Year Ago Today

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , , ,

Today is the first anniversary of the day that An International Educator received the most traffic ever in a 24-hour period - 1,315 views.  The catalyst?   An interview in the Vietnamese language media (i.e., Tuổi Trẻ Online) about unaccredited US schools in Vietnam that spread like wildfire.   2010-07-30 Title Views Home page 1,015 US-Based or Affiliated … Continue reading A Year Ago Today

Good Question, Vietnam!

Mark A. Ashwill Announcement, Books ,

I'm resurrecting a unique people-to-people diplomacy project that I've had on the back burner for a few years.   It gives Vietnamese, mostly but not exclusively young people, the opportunity to ask questions about any aspect of U.S. society and culture that interests them.  I then identify  U.S. colleagues and others (e.g., Vietnamese who have studied in the US for at … Continue reading Good Question, Vietnam!

Meeting with University of Houston MBA Students

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , , ,

A few Saturday mornings ago, I spent a couple of hours in a conference room at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi speaking to a group of MBA students from the University of Houston (UH).  Most had just arrived for a nine-day study tour (7-15 July) that would take them to Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Ho … Continue reading Meeting with University of Houston MBA Students

SEVIS General Summary Quarterly Review: June 2011

Mark A. Ashwill Updates ,

 This quarterly report (PDF) is a statistical breakdown of the system’s performance and trends in foreign student representation in U.S. academic and exchange programs. As of 30 June 2011, SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) contained records for 1,142,830 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors, and their dependents. The total number of records for all … Continue reading SEVIS General Summary Quarterly Review: June 2011