Region VIII Updates

Below are the updates from the various Region VIII areas. Please pass this information along to those at your institution.

Campus and Community Programming Update

Session Proposal:

Deadline was June 17, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT).

Online proposals are available now.

Potential Topics:

  • Learning Communities
    • What types of different learning communities exist?
    • What are the best tips and ways to implement one on one's campus?
  • Religion
    • How do our offices deal with situations or incidents revolving around the misunderstanding between different faiths?
    • How do we work to promote better understanding of different faiths?
  • Working with Host Families
    • What type of training and incentives do we provide host/friendship families?
    • What roles do they play in helping students understand and learn a new culture?
  • Student Advisory Boards
    • What types of different student advisory boards exist?
    • How does one implement one on their campus?
  • Technology
    • Creating a Facebook page or Twitter account is easy, but what are the best methods to ensure an interactive and meaningful communication between all involved parties (as opposed to just a one-way communication)?
    • Adopting technology to help international students connect with the local community and new environment

Keep in mind:

  • Consider presenting a session with Study Abroad advisers. Consider how many times study abroad and the international student issues can apply to both sides.
  • If you (or a colleague) have a specific topic (or more) that you would like to present with others on this list, please contact Mandy Reinig, and she will then put you in touch.

Education Abroad Knowledge Community Update

Education Abroad at the 2013 Region VIII Conference

Newbies in your office? Interested in learning the basics of study abroad? Take advantage of the Introduction to Education Abroad Workshop at the regional conference in Pittsburgh this year. The goal of this workshop is to educate and empower new education abroad professionals in the essential components of education abroad. Participants will gain knowledge of study abroad program models and how the various models intersect with work load and office mission, develop awareness of general financial aid policies and resources for scholarships, develop awareness and knowledge of health, safety, and liability issues, identify the core purpose of an office mission statement and how the office mission acts as a foundation in dealing with campus constituencies, learn skills to assist in identifying and developing partnerships with offices on campus that play a role in the study abroad process, and identify professional organizations and affiliations that can assist in further professional development.

Submit an EA proposal!

Here are a few education abroad hot topics as food for thought:

  • Study abroad opportunities for graduate students
  • Operating a ‘paperless’ Education Abroad Office
  • On-campus collaboration (Student Conduct Office, Financial Aid Office, Alumni Office, etc.)
  • Reentry programming/conferences
  • Fundraising for study abroad (e.g., crowdfunding platforms)
  • Rethinking predeparture orientation (online versus in-person, alumni driven, etc.)
  • Innovative partnerships (providers, institutions at home and abroad, etc.)
  • Funding models for education abroad offices
  • Connecting with EA students through social media
  • Creative approaches to curriculum integration

New and Updated NAFSA Education Abroad Publications

Internships, Service Learning, & Volunteering Abroad - Edited by William Nolting, Debbie Donohue, Cheryl Matherly, and Martin Tillman

Edited by experts in the field, Internships, Service Learning, and Volunteering Abroad: Successful Models and Best Practices is for advisers in education abroad, career, volunteer, or service-learning offices who consult with students, as well as administrators of work abroad, internships, service-learning, or volunteer programs. It provides specific resources to help in developing comprehensive work abroad programs as part of the changing nature of education abroad offerings. Advisers to students seeking nontraditional experiences abroad will find this book useful for understanding just what makes the process distinctive in preparing students for work, volunteer, and service-learning experiences.

Student Visas - Kenya Casey and Mary Ryan Dando

NEWLY REVISED for 2013! Student Visas, What You Need to Know Before You Go! helps to inform students about the entire student visa process. It provides much-needed information and commonsense steps to smooth the visa application process and avoid last-minute problems—why they need a student visa, navigating the process, working with the consulate, and the pitfalls to avoid. Booklet includes top 10 dos and don'ts, FAQs, passport info, helpful websites, glossary of visa terms, and much more.

Get Connected!

Region VIII is the place to be for education abroad! Join one of the following EA groups in our region to get involved. If there are others, let us know!

  • Baltimore International Educators Network
  • No Barriers to Study Group Philadelphia Area Study Abroad Professionals
  • Pennsylvania Council for International Education (PaCIE)
  • Philadelphia Area International Educators Network
  • Mid-Atlantic Study Abroad Advisors
  • Pittsburgh Local Advisors Group
  • Virginia International Educators (VIE)
  • Virginia Council for International Education (VaCIE)
  • Washington Area Study Abroad Network

Help When You Need It

The new and improved NAFSA website has lots of great resources for EA professionals so help is there when you need it. Check out NAFSA’s Visas for U.S. Students page or submit a request through IssueNet for assistance with tricky visa issues. Learn more about best practices in education abroad from faculty-led programs to the Simon Act on the Supporting Study Abroad resources webpage or join a live chat online about current EA topics by participating in a Collegial Conversation. And don’t forget to sign up for the EA KC Network to take part in the national discussion on issues in our field. As your Region VIII Education Abroad KC liaison, I am also happy to answer any questions you have so feel free to get in touch!

English Language Teaching and Administration (ELTA) Network or Intensive English Programs (IEP) Network Update

The English Language Teaching and Administration (ELTA) Network is now the Intensive English Programs (IEP) Network! In addition to the name change, there are also a number of additional updates and notices:

  • All intensive English programs in the United States must be accredited by December 15, 2013, either by program-specific (CEA or ACCET) or regional/national accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education. For more information on the Accreditation of English Language Training Programs Act, go to the ICE website at http://www.ice.gov/sevis/accreditation-act/
  • The IEP Network Forum is up and running. Please send your IEP questions and hot topic issues at http://www.nafsa.org/iepnetwork
  • TESOL Advocacy and Policy Summit is June 16-18, 2013
  • Please submit your IEP proposals for the NAFSA Region VIII Conference by June 17, 2013. Proposals can be submitted here: http://fs10.formsite.com/nafsaregionviii/form1/index.html
  • Many adjunct faculty in IEPs and other programs are affected by the regulations in the Affordable Care Act. If you or your program needs additional guidance, please feel free to contact David Silvis at [email protected]
  • Please submit any additional IEP questions and concerns to David Silvis at [email protected] or the IEP Network Leader, Valerie Heming, at [email protected]
 

International Education Leadership Knowledge Community Updates

National Level

IEL Events - 2013 National Conference in St. Louis

Regional Level

Leaders' Colloquium

  • Leaders in Region VIII have created a leadership colloquium to bring together director-level members to discuss relevant leadership topics. This free colloquium will take place at the Region VIII conference in Pittsburgh, November 15, 2013.

2013 Mentor Program

  • The Region VIII Mentor Program is off and running. We have matched 36 experienced professionals (mentors) with 36 new professionals (mentees) in this trial year of the Mentor Program. The Region VIII team is supporting these mentor/mentee pairs with resources to enrich their relationship throughout the year. The program will conclude in November. Please look for sessions and events at the 2013 Region VIII conference in Pittsburghto learn more about the program.

International Enrollment Management (IEM) Knowledge Community Updates

New to the International Student Recruitment and Admissions Field?

Register to participate in the Introduction to Armchair International Student Recruitment e-Learning series.  This series includes six modules that address international recruitment basics, methods to grow international student enrollment and evaluating recruitment strategies.  This series is tailored for new professionals in the international recruitment and admissions field and the next session begins on June 3, 2013. Click here to learn more information and register by May 29, 2013.

Todays Chinese Student: NAFSA Online Conference July 9-12, 2013

Does your institution have a strategy for recruiting students from China? Do your Chinese students feel included in your student body and campus community? With the increasing numbers of Chinese students enrolling in US institutions, there comes increasing concerns about the support and integration of these students. Register here to attend this online conference that will address how to create proper recruitment strategies for China and learn ways for how your institution can successfully integrate Chinese students into your student body.

IEM Network Forum

The IEM network forum is a great way for you to get answers to questions or share information about hot topics in the IEM field. Please subscribe to one or all of the following networks to stay in touch and up to date with IEM resources: Admissions & Credential Evaluation, Intensive English Programs and Recruiting, Advising, Marketing and Admissions. Click here to submit your questions and/or information to participate in these forums!

Region VIII Annual Conference Proposals Due June 17!

The deadline to submit IEM-themed proposals for the Region VIII Annual Conference is June 17, 2013. Click here to submit your proposal and we look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh!

Questions?

Please forward any other IEM-related questions and concerns to Brittany Wright at [email protected].

 

International Student and Scholar Advising Updates

It's never a dull moment in the work of International Student and Scholar Advising! We are looking forward to great sessions and conversations with all of our colleagues in St. Louis. This is also a great platform to start the ideas rolling for sessions for our regional conference in November. If you are interested in presenting but just not sure where to start, here are some topics that we think would make for a great session:

  • How your office went paperless. What worked, what you wish you would have done differently.
  • H-1B processing for the F-1 advisor - what we should know to help in advising our F-1 students.
  • J-1 Cultural Programming - what your office is doing to fulfill this new requirement for J-1 visitors.
  • Grant proposal writing - tips for your toolkit.
  • Orientation: F-1 numbers are growing - how is your office handling this in regards to orientation.
  • Mental health and international student and scholar advising.
  • F-1s and start-up companies.
  • Immigration soup for non-ISSS colleagues.

You aren't alone when it comes to putting a session together! If you would like to contribute and are looking for other colleagues to collaborate with, please email Carly Shane at [email protected]. She would be happy to help connect colleagues who share similar session interests!

We would also like to put in a plug for the Collegial Conversations hosted by NAFSA. Throughout the year, NAFSA works with numerous experienced international educators to conduct live, online chats. These conversations are FREE of charge and generally last one hour. A login is not required for participants to join the conversation; simply sign up for the event and listen in!

International Student Services Updates

  • We are trying to set up some academic-specific engagements with the USCIS Service Centers – Texas already happened – but things have not been finalized. Announcements will be sent out when things are set in stone.
  • Working with relevant agencies on resolving people’s case issues; continue to submit cases to IssueNet http://issuenet.nafsa.org/
  • Reminder: subscribe to the Region8-ISS Listserv for important updates (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/region8-iss/)

Sponsored Program Administration (SPA) Updates

The SPA MIG

The SPA network has now officially been established as a NAFSA MIG (Member Interest Group). The SPA network was rolled into the new RAMA (Recruitment, Advising, Marketing, and Admissions) network within the International Enrollment Management (IEM) Knowledge Community (KC).

The NAFSA SPA MIG allows interested members to discuss ideas and share best practices related to the administration of sponsored student programs. SPA MIG members come from sponsoring organizations, program managing organizations, and sponsored-student personnel at universities and other institutions across the United States and Abroad who host sponsored students on their campus.

SPA MIG Discussion Forum

Please joins the new SPA listserv

The Sponsored Program Administration MIG discussion forum connects sponsors, program managing organizations, and university sponsored student administrators in order to share information on new programs, pose questions to peers at other institutions, and discuss current issues of concern.

SPA Region VIII Brown Bag Luncheon Series

The first brown bag luncheon is being held May 24 in Philadelphia were interested SPA and other Region VIII members can discuss news, updates, challenges and best practices in sponsored program administration. Updates on the NAFSA Region VIII Conference in Pittsburgh and the NAFSA Annual Conference in St. Louis were included. We hope this new series will encourage other local groups to connect through occasional meetings in their areas.

SPA at NAFSA St. Louis

Be sure to join us for the Sponsored Program Administration Roundtable, Wed, May 29 at 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m., and the Sponsored Program Administration MIG on Thurs, May 30 from 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. For a complete list of SPA sessions at NAFSA St. Louis, contact Christie Innes.

Teaching, Learning and Scholarship (TLS) Knowledge Community Update

The Teaching, Learning and Scholarship (TLS) KC is looking forward to a productive annual conference in St. Louis. Not only will we have poster fairs specifically geared to internationalization of the campus curriculum, new research in the field and new intercultural initiatives for the campus and community.

If you have always wondered what exactly TLS is and does (and I know you are out there!), I have two suggestions of sessions to attend. On Tuesday, May 28, make sure to attend the TLS update (1:15 p.m.–2:00 p.m., America's Center Room 122) to get an overview of what the TLS team has planned both for the annual conference and for the coming year.

TLS is also sponsoring a series of informal roundtables. These guided conversation on topics of internationalization, assessment and research, moderated by members of the TLS team, can help answer specific questions that you may have regarding your concerns. Check the conference schedule at www.nafsa.org for exact dates and times of the roundtable.

Finally, I want to encourage you to submit proposals for our regional conference in Pittsburgh. Have you found an innovative way to survey study abroad students about learning outcomes? Faced a solution in getting buy-in from upper-level administration for internationalization? Share your story in Pittsburgh.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact the TLS KC Representative if you have questions or concerns.

Brian V. Souders, PhD
Region VIII TLS KC Representative