Once again, our group of higher education associations is jointly surveying its members/member institutions to gather data comparing this fall’s international student enrollments with last fall’s. The partner organizations are: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), American Council on Education (ACE), Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), Institute of International Education (IIE), and NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

The purpose of this survey is to obtain quick and early feedback on enrollment trends so far this academic year (starting in Fall 2014). By sharing this information (in aggregate form) with the international education community and the media, we hope to develop a wider understanding among the press, the general public, and policy makers at state and national levels, about how higher education institutions continue to be affected by the various factors which impact international enrollments.

If you do not yet have final fall registration figures, we ask that you provide your best early estimates. All institutional-level responses will be anonymous and only aggregate numbers will be shared. We ask for your contact information only to insure that no more than one reply is received per institution, and to facilitate follow up if there are any questions. 

A summary of the results will be posted on the websites of all the cooperating organizations on November 17, 2014, and also distributed to the media in a joint press release. We will send our members copies of the press release as well, in case your school wishes to tailor it for local media use, inserting your own enrollment figures and relevant quotes from campus officials. 

Please respond by October 17, 2014, so that we may include your responses in the findings that we report to the press and public during International Education Week in November 2014. 

 

Thank you very much for participating in this short survey, which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete, once you have gathered the relevant data. Comments or questions about the survey may be directed to: iieresearch@iie.org.

 

With thanks, in advance, for your support in getting this survey back to us quickly and for helping us gather valuable information for the field.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) and its Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis is pleased to share a recently published report on the conditions and educational needs of Syrian university students and scholars in Turkey. "We Will Stop Here and Go No Further: Syrian University Students and Scholars in Turkey" is based on first-hand research and interviews conducted in Turkey in June- July 2014 through a joint effort by IIE and the University of California, Davis. The report identifies:

• The educational needs of Syrian faculty and university-age students in Turkey, including the barriers they face in accessing higher education 
• Recommendations for increasing Syrians’ access to higher education in Turkey
• Opportunities and challenges for the international community to support Syrian university students and scholars in Turkey

The crisis in Syria continues to have a devastating impact on professors, university students, and the education sector, not only in Syria but also in the neighboring countries that are now hosting more than 3 million Syrian refugees. With support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, IIE and the University of California, Davis have teamed up to conduct fieldwork in the front-line hosting states of Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey to look at the impact, implications, and possible solutions for the Syrians and their host communities. This Turkey report follows previous studies on the situation in Jordan and Lebanon. A final report, with research and recommendations related to all three host countries, will be released by IIE in early 2015.

Jon Grosh, IIE Publications Manager, writes about his recent visit to Portland, OR, to attend a group discussion on study abroad modelled after IIE’s March 2014 Generation Study Abroad Think Tank. According to Grosh, the event hosted by PDX Abroad and Idealist.org "succeeded in advancing the overall dialogue on the question of doubling [study abroad]. But more importantly, it gave Oregonians an opportunity to work out solutions specific to Oregon and to build a close-knit group of innovators committed providing Oregon students a twenty-first-century education."

Yojana Sharma writes in University World News about a new initiative led by India’s prestigious institutes of technology (IITs) to develop a national ranking system that takes into account the social responsibilities of universities. The new system will also prioritize internationalization to encourage academic collaborations and faculty and student mobility.

Karen MacGregor shares highlights in University World News of a recently released British Council report that examines trends in postgraduate mobility between key origin and destination markets and forecasts student flows from 2012 to 2024. "India will have by far the most tertiary students in the world in 2024—48 million against 37 million in China—but China will still be the largest source of mobile postgraduate students, sending 338,000 abroad," writes MacGregor.

In a press statement on the event of International Day of the Girl, Secretary of State John Kerry congratulates Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan who was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi. "International Day of the Girl reminds us of the need to recommit to investing in the world’s 850 million girls so that they can use their talents to contribute to their communities and countries," remarks Kerry. "We know that empowering girls, keeping them free from violence, and providing them with an education is one of the best ways to ensure that societies thrive."

Naw Say Phaw Waa reports in University World News about the passing of the National Education Bill. Section 26 of the National Education Bill, which states that universities and colleges must be autonomous, was  retained in the final vote, writes Naw Say Phaw Waa. "Nonetheless the bill is considered to lack adequate safeguards for university autonomy and freedoms for students and academics."

Avinash Sharma reports in Oneindia on a recent decision by the Indian government to bring American academics to teach in various Indian universities. The article quotes the India-US joint statement, issued after a Washington meeting last week, "The President (Obama) welcomed India's proposal to establish the Global Initiative of Academic Networks under which India would invite and host up to 1,000 American academics each year to teach in centrally-recognized Indian universities, at their convenience." 

The Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) invites senior international officers/international relation managers (one per institution) to complete the Global SIO Survey. Results are confidential and will be reported only in aggregate. Results will be presented at the 2015 AIEA Conference in February and will be posted to the AIEA Webpage in spring of 2015. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey, which will provide a profile of international education leaders in our field. 

Note: please only take this survey if you are a Senior International Officer or International Relations Manager. For more information about this designation, please visit www.aieaworld.org/sio.

The Institute of International Education’s www.iiepassport.org site has been a principal resource for students and practitioners in the study abroad field for more than 10 years. Providing the most comprehensive directories of study abroad opportunities, IIEPassport helps connect students with institutions, programs and funding sources around the world. The online database features detailed descriptions of international sponsors, programs and scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study, plus doctoral and postdoctoral research. Moving forward, www.iiepassport.org will be critical to IIE’s Generation Study Abroad initiative, which seeks to double U.S. study abroad participation by the end of the decade.

IIE also offers affordable and effective opportunities to further promote your organization. With questions, please contact iiesupport@naylor.com.

The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program for Iraq and the Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Programs for Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories is seeking U.S. host institutions to provide faculty development, mentoring, and cultural exchange activities for Junior Iraqi, Lebanese, and Palestinian scholars. These ten-week programs are designed to equip grantees with the knowledge and tools needed to build the capacity of universities in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories and to advance the education of future generations. In addition, these programs lay the foundation for the grantees and their U.S. hosts to develop long-term institutional relationships and to identify areas of cooperation that can be sustained beyond the grant period.

Objectives:

• Build higher education capacity in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories through faculty development and mentoring for junior scholars.
• Foster long-term collaboration and institutional linkages between Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian Scholars, and U.S. academics.
• Promote mutual understanding between Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian Scholars, and Americans by facilitating the scholar’s engagement with the broader host campus community.

Deadline for Host Institution Applications:

• Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Program for the Palestinian Territories: November 21, 2014.
• Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program for Iraq: December 1, 2014.
• Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Program for Lebanon: December 1, 2014.

For more information please visit our website or contact Lawrence Mason at lgmason@iie.org. 

IIE welcomes new member institutions to the IIENetwork, connecting over 7,000 individuals at more than 1,300 member institutions with a commitment to internationalization. For more information about IIE's membership program, please visit www.iie.org/IIENetwork. 

The number of education abroad programs offered at community colleges has not grown appreciable in the last few decades. In their article in the latest edition of IIENetworker magazine, Rosalind Latiner Raby and Gary M. Rhodes examine current obstacles that need to be addressed in an effort to increase community college education abroad enrollment. "Currently, only 5,000 of the 13 million community college students study abroad," write Raby and Rhodes. "Providing more choices to even 1 percent of these 13 million students would lead to a substantial increase overall."

While the cost of higher education in the Unites States has increased, students are finding ways to lower their college tuition bills through an international education. In an article in Forbes Lisa Wirthman shares new data on this trend as well as ways students can increase the affordability of an international education. "Consider destinations outside Western Europe, particularly in developing countries," writes Wirthman. "India and Ghana top the Abroad101 student-rated list of top budget-friendly countries for study abroad programs."

George Mason University President Ángel Cabrera shares his "10 reasons why every college student should try to study abroad if at all possible." Number one: "You will learn to appreciate what makes people around the world different." Number two: "You will learn to appreciate what makes people around the world the same."

Kelsey Stamm describes in Missoulian about recent efforts to bring cultural exchange to Montana. Highlighting the benefits of international exchange, Stamm shares her experience as head of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center’s American Youth Leadership Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, leading two groups of high school students and teachers to Cambodia to study environmental issues. "These are 40 of Montana’s future leaders more prepared—and eager—to take on challenges locally and internationally," writes Stamm.

 

In an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times, IIE Trustee and Scholar Rescue Fund Chairman Mark Angelson and IIE President Allan Goodman issue a call to action to campuses and donors to help meet the unprecedented demand for rescue that has been caused by the escalating conflict in Iraq and Syria.

Drawing on chilling stories from the scholars who applied for emergency assistance from IIE-SRF this summer, the authors provide vivid illustrations of the fact that academics are at particularly high risk in conflict zones, and make the case that protecting scholars in war-torn nations is essential for rebuilding.

 

"More scholars are displaced and in danger now than at any time since the start of World War II. With the rapid advance of Islamic State, university systems in Iraq and Syria are in ruins. ... As government leaders struggle to find the right military approach, the international academic community also has a responsibility to do its part by rescuing the people who are essential to rebuilding their war-torn societies when Islamic State is defeated."