2006 ETS Excellence Awards for Overseas Educational Advising Centers

Through generous support from ETS, a NAFSA Global Partner, NAFSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2006 ETS Excellence Awards for Overseas Educational Advising Centers. Four awards of $2,500 are given to overseas educational advising centers demonstrating excellence and innovation in the programming of center activities.

 

AMIDEAST - West Bank 

Celebrating almost 50 years of service to the Palestinian people, AMIDEAST West Bank began operations in East Jerusalem in 1957 and continued without interruption until the 1967 war forced it to suspend activities. Today, AMIDEAST has helped thousands of students pursue education in the United States by providing unbiased, objective information and resources on U.S. education through: outreach, free group advising sessions, career guidance, assistance with educational documents, etc.

They take the proactive approach by going to students, knowing that most are unable to overcome many checkpoints, where long lines and unpredictable closures thwart the best laid advance travel plans in order to visit the office.

Educational Advising and Resource Center - Darkhan, Mongolia

The Educational Advising and Resource Center (EARC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing, inspiring, and connecting Mongolian nationals to institutions of higher education and study abroad opportunities. The EARC first launched its operations in 1996 under the auspices of the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society, the Soros Foundation Network in Mongolia, with the aim of supporting the development of an open society in Mongolia, and in the first quarter of 2003 it transformed into an independent NGO.

Over the past year, they have worked with volunteers and our partner institutions to improve their advising services. Based on their past experience of working with educational institutions in Darkhan, they have coordinated efforts in conjunction with the individual goals and internal plans of some universities and institutions in a mutually complementary manner to our work. 

EducationUSA Advising Center - Kampala, Uganda

Given the greater competition, PAS Kampala is increasing its efforts to get more Ugandan students to consider studying at U.S. colleges and universities. They organized a two-day conference on the theme " U.S. Higher Education Opportunities: Mentoring Future Leaders" for a selected group of 50 secondary school principals and guidance counselors. The conference was aimed at engaging these influential educators in helping their students to study abroad, hopefully in the United States, and underscoring the role that teachers play in cultivating Uganda's next generation of leaders. In addition to the workshops, they made use of two requested specialists to visit Ugandan educational institutions and associations, including the influential religion-affiliated school councils, and discussed the value and viability of studying at U.S. institutions of higher education.

EducationUSA Advising Center at Universidad Santa María la Antigua - Panama

In May 2006, an EducationUSA National Recruitment Tour was held and U.S. institutions were invited to participate. ESL language providers and U.S. institutions having campuses in Panama were also invited to participate. Eleven U.S. institutions were represented and the tour was taken to Santiago (capital of normal education in Panama) and to David, capital of Chiriqui, another important educational center.

The 2006 EAC National Recruitment Tour represents the first time that an advising center in Central America extends its outreach beyond the capital city. The success of the Panama EAC tour has motivated the regional centers to promote a similar tour in the near future, which will take institutions on recruitment efforts to the different countries and beyond their respective capital cities.