In April 1997, during a three-day visit to Vietnam, then Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin announced that the Vietnamese government had agreed to repay the $146 million wartime debt of the former South Vietnam. Four years earlier, Vietnam agreed in principle to assume the debt from its former enemy as part of a larger … Continue reading VEF: From Vietnam With Money ($)
Commentary
About Comments
Since An International Educator in Vietnam just celebrated its first anniversary, a word about comments is in order. I appreciate (and "approve") most of the comments I receive because they contain useful information, valuable insights or a combination thereof. There are some others that clearly fall into the "smart ass" or "smart aleck" category, defined by Merriam-Webster as an obnoxiously … Continue reading About Comments
“Students warned of rogue education providers”
This excellent article by Le Quynh Anh, which included an interview with me, appeared in the 18 November issue of the English language daily Viet Nam News. Below is the unabridged version of that interview. As the international educator, who has five years of experiences working in Vietnam, what are the reasons do you think behind … Continue reading “Students warned of rogue education providers”
Of Student Visas & Community Colleges
Community colleges (CCs) continue to be the most popular entry point to U.S. higher education for Vietnamese students. Vietnam ranks 2nd behind South Korea in international student enrollment at CCs and 80% of the student visas issued by the U.S. Consulate General are for CC-bound students, according to an official source. That's the good news. The bad news is … Continue reading Of Student Visas & Community Colleges
“Fighting corruption in education sector an uphill battle”
According to Transparency International, corruption in education is particularly damaging because it endangers a country's social, economic and political future: Corruption in education is more detrimental than corruption in other sectors because of its long-term effects. Corruption threatens equal access, quantity and quality of education. Its consequences are particularly harsh for the poor who, … Continue reading “Fighting corruption in education sector an uphill battle”
“Universities weep over shortage of lecturers”
Fact: According to the Ministry of Education and Training, from 1987-2009, the number of students was thirteen times higher, while the number of lecturers only tripled. Fact: The current average ratio of students to lecturers is 28:1. At the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology it is 47.3/1, at the … Continue reading “Universities weep over shortage of lecturers”
Buyer Beware: The Potential Pitfalls of Agency-Based Recruitment
In the remarks referenced in my last post Ambassador Michalak also spent a couple hundred words on the subject of education consultants, or agents. His advice was spot-on (my italics): "Some parents may choose to work through an agent when looking to find the appropriate school for their child in America. Agents are local representatives for … Continue reading Buyer Beware: The Potential Pitfalls of Agency-Based Recruitment
U.S. Ambassador Highlights Accreditation in Remarks
I was pleased to see Ambassador Michael Michalak talk at considerable length about accreditation at a recent ribbon cutting ceremony for the Embassy's new EducationUSA advising office. In fact, over half of his speech focused on this important topic. When I was IIE-Vietnam country director from 2005-09, this was one of my "signature issues," and … Continue reading U.S. Ambassador Highlights Accreditation in Remarks
Offshore Development Centers “Off the Beaten Path”
As promised and following up on my recent Intel post, here are a few words about Enclave Offshore Development Centers, a small forward-looking U.S. IT company in Danang. For some background information about Enclave, check out this 2008 article entitled Da Nang's transformation into Vietnam's 'next place'." While Enclave obviously doesn't have the resources Intel … Continue reading Offshore Development Centers “Off the Beaten Path”
Americans and the Other
No, this is not a Vietnam-related post, at least not directly. Indirectly, however, there is a Vietnam connection. I was invited to speak to a group of US higher education colleagues about Vietnam in early February 2010 at a seminar in Washington, D.C. During my presentation, the snow began falling right on schedule, and kept falling throughout that day and … Continue reading Americans and the Other
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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