Author: Mark A. Ashwill

An Ode to International Student Recruiters

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary , , ,

One of the privileges and pleasures of my work is watching colleagues connect with young Vietnamese who are interested in overseas study, be it at a fair, coffee talk, info session, or individual meeting at a hotel.  Traveling to Viet Nam and other sending countries is still one of the most effective ways to recruit … Continue reading An Ode to International Student Recruiters

Catholicism, the Vietnamese Language, & Student Recruitment in Viet Nam

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , ,

NOTE:  Don't worry, dear reader, I will have connected the dots, more or less, by the end of this post.  🙂 Among the various legacies of French colonialism, loosely defined, including colonial architecture, baguettes, butter, economic exploitation, war, and various words (bia-bière-beer, bơ-beurre-butter, bồ-beau-lover, cà phê-café--coffee, lavabo=sink, phô mai-fromage-cheese) was the introduction of Catholicism, which dates … Continue reading Catholicism, the Vietnamese Language, & Student Recruitment in Viet Nam

Dr. Mark Ashwill to Lead 3rd Annual Riding the Wave Viet Nam Recruitment Seminar at NAFSA 2018

Mark A. Ashwill Announcement , , , ,

Here's an announcement about what has become an annual event at the NAFSA annual conference. If you dislike change, you're going to dislike irrelevance even more. ---Eric Shinseki Capstone Vietnam is pleased to announce that Mark Ashwill, Managing Director and Co-Founder, will speak at an unofficial, pre-conference Viet Nam student recruitment seminar to be held … Continue reading Dr. Mark Ashwill to Lead 3rd Annual Riding the Wave Viet Nam Recruitment Seminar at NAFSA 2018

How the Vietnamese Use the Internet, Including Social Media

Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary , , , ,

Since most young Vietnamese, including those planning to study overseas, are online, one question to ask yourself is: how big is your digital footprint in Viet Nam? Here is my latest PIE News blog post.  It's about an important topic that I discussed during my E20 webinar last week and in my recent StudyUSA Higher … Continue reading How the Vietnamese Use the Internet, Including Social Media

Live from Viet Nam – An E20 Webinar!

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Last week, I had the opportunity to present on one of my favorite topics, Viet Nam, to a virtual audience of over 40 US colleagues, including those from higher and secondary education.   I'm grateful to Syed Jamal from Branta and Renait Stephens from Study in the USA, event co-sponsor, for inviting me and for … Continue reading Live from Viet Nam – An E20 Webinar!

Rhetorical Question: “Why don’t Viet Nam’s universities rank higher in Asia?”

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , , ,

There is a tendency in Vietnam, with the media as an on- and offline amplifier, to engage in self-flagellation about education and other societal issues rather than looking carefully at the broader context and the, sometimes, hopeful reality. This results in journalists and many Vietnamese playing the ‘blame game’. The obvious targets here are the … Continue reading Rhetorical Question: “Why don’t Viet Nam’s universities rank higher in Asia?”

US Student Visa Issuances to Vietnamese Students Resume Their Upward Trend

Mark A. Ashwill Updates ,

Below is a graph with information about F-1 (student) visa issuances from 1998, the early days of Vietnamese studying in the US, to 2017, which ended on 30 September last year. These data are from this Excel file on the US State Department website:  Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Visa Class and by Nationality.  Just download … Continue reading US Student Visa Issuances to Vietnamese Students Resume Their Upward Trend

An Open Letter to the People of Viet Nam

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Letter , , , ,

The open letter below, an initiative of Veterans For Peace (VFP),  is further proof that the US has yet to overcome its participation in the American War in Viet Nam ("Vietnam War") in the spirit of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, a German term that means the "struggle to overcome the [negatives of the] past". VFP is "an international … Continue reading An Open Letter to the People of Viet Nam