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
Commentary
Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
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
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
“Unaccredited foreign universities to be fined”
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”
Internet Penetration, Social Media & Student Recruitment
40 years ago this week in the waning months of the American War, as it's known in Vietnam, US bombs were raining down on Hanoi in what came to be known as "The Christmas Bombings." This morning, sitting in my office in downtown Hanoi, I listened to children singing Christmas songs in a nearby kindergarten and thought about … Continue reading Internet Penetration, Social Media & Student Recruitment
MBA 2012: Its Image & Identity
Below is a guest post by Loek Hopstaken (b. 1951), a business consultant, management trainer & MBA professor, working in both The Netherlands & Vietnam. His areas of expertise include leadership, communication and human resource management. The image of MBA: an all-round education in management that offers in-depth knowledge and the latest insights in a … Continue reading MBA 2012: Its Image & Identity
“Overseas study consultancy put under no control, students suffer”
VietNamNet Bridge – The number of students becoming the victims of overseas study consultancy firms’ trickeries has been increasing. Meanwhile, the firms cannot be prosecuted for their swindling, because there has been no regulation on the punishments. This recent article, the latest in a large number that I've seen over the years, documents abuses perpetrated by … Continue reading “Overseas study consultancy put under no control, students suffer”
Bigger Isn’t Always Better: The Jerry Maguire Approach to US Higher Ed Fairs
I remember my last US higher education fair with IIE-Vietnam. (Note: I served as country director from 2005-09.) There were a record 92 participating institutions in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Every square inch of the ballroom and the lobby was packed with tables, reps and attendees. By all accounts, including number of institutions represented, … Continue reading Bigger Isn’t Always Better: The Jerry Maguire Approach to US Higher Ed Fairs
Oops!… They Did It Again
Last year around this time, I wrote about Jose Maria Vargas University (JMVU), a nationally accredited (NA) school based in Florida, which was permitted to join the Institute of International Education's (IIE) US higher education fairs in Vietnam. This in spite of the fact IIE guidelines state that “Only regionally accredited (RA) two-year, four-year and … Continue reading Oops!… They Did It Again
“Corruption in Education Creates Serious Consequences for the Poor”
This the title is a wide-ranging interview that I did last month with a reporter from Báo Giáo dục Việt Nam (Vietnam Education News). This education news website ranks 8,829 in the world, 51 in Vietnam and is linked in 2,093 websites (as of 20.10.12). As you can see from some original English language excerpts below, corruption … Continue reading “Corruption in Education Creates Serious Consequences for the Poor”
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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