Calling a Spade a Spade: Stanley Karnow, Stanley McChrystal & Vietnam

03/02/201303/02/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary american war in vietnam, US-Vietnam relations, vietnam, vietnam war

Below is a recent exchange on the Vietnam Studies Group (VSG) listserv. Members include Vietnam scholars and practitioners, current and former diplomats and spooks ("agents or people involved in espionage"), journalists, non-governmental (NGO) organization staff, etc. Quite a few are overseas Vietnamese (Việt kiều). Read from the bottom up. Bernard Kalb, the journalist and former US State Department spokesman during … Continue reading Calling a Spade a Spade: Stanley Karnow, Stanley McChrystal & Vietnam

SEVIS by the Numbers

28/01/201309/04/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Reports, Updates international academic mobility, international student recruitment, international students, Vietnamese students

SEVIS by the Numbers is a statistical breakdown of the (SEVIS) system's performance and trends in foreign student representation in US academic and exchange programs. Below is the "latest" SEVIS by the Numbers update. (Note: The PPT file has since been removed from the SEVIS website.) What used to be quarterly updates appear to have changed to biannual … Continue reading SEVIS by the Numbers

Study Abroad Consultant Regulations Tightened

23/01/201323/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Updates education agents, educational advising, overseas study, vietnam development

The winds of change are blowing in the regulation and oversight of education agents in Vietnam This is the result of recent scandals and demands from the public for closer scrutiny of education agents. It seems that the Wild West environment in which many of these businesses have operated is going the way of the dinosaur, … Continue reading Study Abroad Consultant Regulations Tightened

Winning the Hearts & Minds of Young Vietnamese

22/01/201330/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates public diplomacy, soft power, vietnam, Vietnamese students, wikileaks

Note: If you’re an employee of the US State Department, do not pass go, do not collect $200, close this tab immediately. This post contains a “sensitive” Wikileaks cable that originated in the US Embassy-Hanoi and commentary on the same. If you read it, you are breaking the law, not to mention disobeying Madam Secretary. Please pardon … Continue reading Winning the Hearts & Minds of Young Vietnamese

Over 100,000 Vietnamese Studied Overseas in 2012

16/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Articles academic globalization, international students, knowledge-based economy, overseas study, vietnamese higher education

Last year around this time, I wrote a post about about the 100,000+ Vietnamese students who studied in 49 countries and territories in 2011, according to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET). 90% of them were self-financing. I conservatively estimated the investment in overseas study to be in the $1+ billion range. This year's report, released early … Continue reading Over 100,000 Vietnamese Studied Overseas in 2012

Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam

14/01/201314/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Books, Commentary american war, US-Vietnam relations, vietnam, vietnam war, war crimes

This post is quite obviously NOT about education or US-Vietnam educational exchange. It's about history, its impact on the present, and the United States' (in)ability to overcome its past. The German word that describes this process, Vergangenheitsbewältigung, implies dealing with, learning from, but also overcoming the past. It's about a horrible truth that Nick Turse tells his fellow citizens and the world about … Continue reading Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam

The “Agent Issue”: Yes, No, Maybe

12/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary education agents

aka "Talking Out of Both Sides of Its Mouth" - The US State Department will have nothing to do with education agents, the US Commerce Department facilitates agent matchmaking for US institutions of higher education as part of its Gold Key Service and the US Homeland Security Department sponsors an "Agent Internet Lounge" at a … Continue reading The “Agent Issue”: Yes, No, Maybe

My Top 15 Personal Favorites

11/01/201311/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Updates academic globalization, brain circulation, civil society, education reform, emerging economies, Facebook, international academic mobility, international student recruitment, Internet penetration, US-Vietnam educational exchange, vietnam development

Last year, I wrote a total of 84 posts, an average of 7 per month. Below are some of my favorite posts starting with one from February and ending with one from last month. Collectively, they cover a lot of ground - from updates and personal stories to commentaries and analyses. If You’ve Got It, Flaunt … Continue reading My Top 15 Personal Favorites

“Unaccredited foreign universities to be fined”

02/01/201302/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary accreditation, diploma mills, unaccredited schools

No, not in the USA, unfortunately, but in Kenya. This is a textbook example of how one country can learn from another in the finest tradition of comparative education in particular and comparative studies in general. In this case, Kenya and the US have a teacher-student relationship. Shut down the unaccredited education companies (or for-profit enterprises masquerading … Continue reading “Unaccredited foreign universities to be fined”

Ten Most Popular Posts of 2012

01/01/201301/01/2013 Mark A. Ashwill Announcement community colleges, corruption, diploma mills, nationalism, visa policy

It’s that time of year again. First, I would like to wish you, dear reader, a New Year filled with happiness, good health, peace and prosperity. Secondly, I hope that you’ve been found something on these pages – bits and pieces of useful information, an insight, an idea - that is some benefit to you. People visit … Continue reading Ten Most Popular Posts of 2012

An International Educator in Vietnam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue

Year: 2013