Author: Mark A. Ashwill

“US education co-operation brings positive changes”

Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary ,

A good interview with Steve Maxner, chairman of the board of directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), which appeared in the 19 July 2010 issue of the English language daily, Viet Nam News.  (Dr. Maxner is also director of the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University.) A little-known fact about the origins of the … Continue reading “US education co-operation brings positive changes”

Terms People Use to Stumble Upon Your Blog…

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , , , ,

When I look at my stats to see how many thousands of people are reading my blog day in and day out (ok, I'm exaggerating :-)), one of the items that appears is "Search Engine Terms," defined very straightforwardly by WordPress as "terms people used to find your blog."  It gives me an impressionistic view … Continue reading Terms People Use to Stumble Upon Your Blog…

In Retrospect: The 1st Alumni Conference for US-Educated Vietnamese

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Events ,

It was just over a year ago (i.e., 25 July 2009) that the first ever alumni conference for US-educated Vietnamese was held in Ho Chi Minh City.  The conference announcement stated that "This historic conference will bring together Vietnamese alumni of regionally accredited US colleges and universities in order to learn about and celebrate their many achievements, … Continue reading In Retrospect: The 1st Alumni Conference for US-Educated Vietnamese

TEDxSaigon 2010 — 3D: Dream, Diversity and Development

Mark A. Ashwill Conferences, Events , ,

Dear Idea, My name is Saigon. I’ve grown up from war, and over the past decade, my economic growth has been quite compelling, compared with other cities in Vietnam, as well as neighboring countries - which is accompanied by increasing income inequalities, friction between consumption choices, difference in cultural identities, and loosened social ties. However, … Continue reading TEDxSaigon 2010 — 3D: Dream, Diversity and Development

Beware of Accreditation Mills

Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Updates ,

Some unaccredited universities and colleges, including a few that enroll Vietnamese students, claim to be accredited.  This is an attempt to persuade prospective students that they are legitimate, thereby increasing their enrollment and revenue.  One example is Atlantic International University (AIU) in Hawaii, which states on its website that it is "accredited" by Accrediting Commission International (ACI).  In … Continue reading Beware of Accreditation Mills

“More Vietnamese students to be gifted by 2020”

Mark A. Ashwill Articles ,

This is one of my favorite recent headlines in the English language media here.  Is it something in the water?  A more liberal definition of "gifted"?  At any rate, the plan is to build at least one high school for gifted students in each city/province with the goal of placing about 2% of high school students … Continue reading “More Vietnamese students to be gifted by 2020”

SEVIS By The Numbers: June 2010 Snapshot

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 2010, SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) contained records for 1,084,122 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors, and their dependents.  The total number of records for all … Continue reading SEVIS By The Numbers: June 2010 Snapshot

Vietnam Ranks Among Top 20 Countries on the Internet

Mark A. Ashwill Articles , ,

According to Pingdom, a Swedish company whose "focus lies on covering the uptime monitoring needs of 90% of the companies in the world," there are a total of 1.8 billion Internet users in the world (i.e., about 27% of the human race).    Vietnam ranks 20th just behind Canada.   24.3 million Vietnamese are connected to the Internet, which … Continue reading Vietnam Ranks Among Top 20 Countries on the Internet

Empower Vietnamese Youth

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , , , ,

Empower :  to promote the self-actualization or influence of.  This is a fitting slogan for VietAbroader (VA), a non-profit, student-run organization "dedicated to helping Vietnamese youth pursue higher education abroad and attracting talent (back) to Viet Nam."  (Follow this link to learn about VA's values.) During my first trip to Vietnam in January 1996, a US diplomat … Continue reading Empower Vietnamese Youth