November 29, 2012 What are MOOCs? The acronym “MOOC” stands for “massive open online course.” It’s “massive” because the online courses often enroll hundreds or even thousands of students per course. They are also massively open in terms of enrollment, allowing anyone interested in learning to sign up for free, which makes them openly available. […]
international
Celebrating International Education Week
November 15, 2012 This week (November 12-16) celebrates International Education. Rather than discussing the topic, however I find myself musing on the encounters I’ve had within the course of a week, give or take a few days, which I’d like to share with you in this blog. At the recent NAFSA Region I Conference in […]
5 Reasons Why USA is the Top Choice for International Students
September 20, 2012 According to a June 27, 2012 post by Study in the USA, “in the 2009/2010 academic year the number of international students in the USA rose by 3% to an all-time high of 690,923.” The U.S. continues to be the top choice for international students who want to continue their studies and […]
5 Reasons Why International Credential Evaluation is Necessary:
August 10, 2012 Whether you represent a school, college, university, professional licensing board, employer, or any other entity engaged in the recruitment, placement, certification or the hiring of internationally-trained candidates, you know that educational systems and academic documents vary greatly by country. No two academic systems are alike and nothing can be taken on face […]
Living in Rennes
July 19, 2012 I arrived in Rennes, the capital of Brittany, as an exchange student in September 1975. I was a 19 year old sophomore, who, along with 29 American students from my college, would be living with French families and taking classes at the university. My host family, the Louis, were a clan of […]
Biting the Hand that Feeds Us: Turning Our Backs on Out-of-State / International Students
June 14, 2012 I recently read an article on the MercuryNews.com about a constitutional amendment proposed by the California Senator Michael Rubio (D-Shafter) that would “prevent any UC campus from enrolling more than 10 percent of its undergraduate students from outside California.” According to the article, “out-of-state and international students made up 8.4 percent of […]
Embracing International Students: Lowering Standards for the Almighty $$$
May 3, 2012 As we seek ways to attract international students to our college campuses, lowering our standards and accepting candidates solely to boost revenue and clout doesn’t seem to be a smart way of going about it. But, it is exactly what’s happening. As states cut back on subsidies, slashing budgets and tightening belts, […]
Packing My Bags & Heading South to NZ
April 12, 2012 While catching up on my backlog of newspaper and magazine articles, my eyes caught sight of this headline in this piece from April 2, 2012 in the NYT: ”New Zealand Casts Itself as Destination for International Students.”. It seems that our friends in the island country in the south Pacific have a […]
Strange Bedfellows: Questionable Alliances in Higher Education
March 29, 2012 Tell me something, why do perfectly fine and accredited universities align themselves with shady start-ups in far-flung corners of the world? I ask this question because a week ago I came across an article in the NYT “An Albanian College Relying on U.S. Cachet” that speaks of exactly this very issue. Just […]
International Education: A Personal Journey
November 10, 2011 In celebration of International Education Week (November 12-16), I am reminded of my own personal journey as an international student. It began when I was ten and the six weeks I spent one summer at the now defunct Stoke Brunswick School, in East Grinstead, England. With its original Tudor architecture dating back […]