Selling at Any Price

23/10/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary academic partnerships, overseas study, vietnam

Tacky: Showing poor taste and quality. That's a rather charitable description of this Facebook ad currently running in Vietnam for a MA in Finance and International Trade program from Leeds Metropolitan University (UK), offered in cooperation with its Vietnamese partner, the Institute of Finance. It's been less than three weeks since Mr. Jobs passed away and already someone is using a … Continue reading Selling at Any Price

Education UK: Vietnam Country Partner Meeting

21/10/201104/11/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Events academic partnerships, accreditation, british council, community colleges, diploma mills, education agents, higher education fairs, international student recruitment, national accreditation, rogue providers, soft power

I was invited to speak on Friday, 14 October to representatives from 60 British colleges and universities who were in Vietnam for a series of events, including the UK higher education fairs in Hanoi, HCMC and Danang. My assigned topic was The Study Abroad Market: A US Perspective. During the 30 minutes or so at my disposal, … Continue reading Education UK: Vietnam Country Partner Meeting

Trải nghiệm ở Trung học nội trú: Sự chuẩn bị cho Đại học và cho cả cuộc đời

16/10/201116/10/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary boarding schools, high school students, Vietnamese students

Bài viết này được viết bởi Nguyễn Xuân Toàn, một học sinh ở Hà Nội, đã tốt nghiệp trường trung học phổ thông Hà Nội Amsterdam năm 2008 và trường nội trú Phillips Academy Andover năm 2010. Hiện nay cậu đang là sinh viên của trường đại học Amherst. Tôi vẫn thường nói đùa rằng … Continue reading Trải nghiệm ở Trung học nội trú: Sự chuẩn bị cho Đại học và cho cả cuộc đời

The Boarding School Experience: Preparation for College and for Life

14/10/201114/10/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary boarding schools, high school students

This guest post was written by Nguyen Xuan Toan, a student from Hanoi who attended Hanoi-Amsterdam High School and graduated from Phillips Academy Andover in 2010. He is currently a student at Amherst College. -------------------- I often joke that boarding schools are basically colleges for high school students. In some ways they are. The boarding school experience resembles … Continue reading The Boarding School Experience: Preparation for College and for Life

StudyUSA Community College Fairs: Making Connections

13/10/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary community colleges, high school students, higher education fairs

Fair week is over. The fall 2011 StudyUSA Community College Fair series started on a Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and ended on a Saturday in Hanoi with stops and high school visits in between in Nha Trang (first time ever) and Danang. These US community college-only fairs are unique in Vietnam, a wise choice … Continue reading StudyUSA Community College Fairs: Making Connections

A Hole in the Dike?

10/10/201110/10/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary higher education fairs, international student recruitment, national accreditation

Much to my chagrin, I noticed that IIE permitted Jose Maria Vargas University, a nationally accredited (NA) school based in Florida, to join its US higher education fairs in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). This in spite of the fact that IIE guidelines state that "Only regionally accredited (RA) two-year, four-year and … Continue reading A Hole in the Dike?

Point/Counterpoint

07/10/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary agency-based recruitment, EducationUSA, international student recruitment

This is an exchange of comments that appeared in response to a late July article entitled SUNY Bets Big on Agents that appeared in Inside Higher Ed. The article is about “an ambitious agency-based recruitment strategy, with the goal of increasing its total foreign student enrollment by more than 13,000 over five years. A portion … Continue reading Point/Counterpoint

CMU’s Ubiquitous Online Presence

21/09/201121/09/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates distance learning, marketing, national accreditation

u·biq·ui·tous/Adjective: Present, appearing, or found everywhere: "his ubiquitous influence". It seems that everywhere you look (online), you'll see a California Miramar University (CMU) banner ad. (CMU is a nationally-accredited, for-profit online university that I featured in a previous post.) Such is the magic of a powerful IP-based advertising tool known as geo targeting, the method of determining the … Continue reading CMU’s Ubiquitous Online Presence

Vietnamese US Higher Education Alumni

15/09/201115/09/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates alumni, US-Vietnam educational exchange, US-Vietnam relations

Just over two years ago, I helped to organized the 1st annual US alumni conference in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in my previous incarnation as country director of IIE-Vietnam. That it was called the "1st" reflects the fact that I am an optimist by nature. It's been the only alumni conference to date for US-educated … Continue reading Vietnamese US Higher Education Alumni

The importance of being honest

10/09/201110/09/2011 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary corruption, ethics, fake credentials

This is the title of an editorial piece that appeared in the "Talk Around Town" section of Việt Nam News the a few days ago. It's about the booming business in fake certificates and the broader issue of corruption in the Vietnam's educational system... Who reads Việt Nam News? Mostly foreigners I discuss the issue … Continue reading The importance of being honest

An International Educator in Vietnam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue

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