US Educational Group

OACAC BOS10 Conference App

Wassan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:35:37 +0000

Finally arrived in Boston for the OACAC BOS10 – Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling Conference. Traffic delays brought me into the city well past midnight, and onto the Northeastern campus at almost 1.30am. I remembered that the last email from the OACAC team had mentioned an iPhone App, since I didn’t have my agenda on me, I quickly downloaded it in the hopes it would actually be, you know, helpful.

Wow, thanks so much to the web development team at Northeaststern for putting the tjme into developing the rockin’ OACAC BOS10 conference app for the iPhone. A simple to use interface allows even the frazzled traveler to stay organized. The interface and nice and simple:

Screenshot - OACAC BOS10 App

The *only* item I would have added would have been a campus map – or maybe that was only needed while searching for the housing dorm at 1.30am after arriving on a much delayed flight.

NAFSA better not have ANY excuses for not having an app available for next year’s conference!

The agenda is easy to access, each session is listed on there, and all the pretty social media icons are easy to access (facebook, twitter, flickr). Be sure to properly tag the conference if you will be tweeting with the #BOS10 hashtag (however, I think lots of people will just use the #OACAC10 hashtag as well).

Screenshot - Sessions

The *only* item I would have added would have been a campus map – or maybe that was only needed while searching for the housing dorm at 1.30am after arriving on that much delayed flight.

NAFSA better not have ANY excuses for not having an app available for next year’s conference!

If you didn’t already download it, what are you waiting for?! See you all in a few hours!

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Michigan State University – Dubai Shuts Down Campus

Wassan — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:41:27 +0000

The news coming out of Dubai this morning is that Michigan State University is closing down their campus effective immediately. While the MSU campus was struggling financially, they were pushing forward with a heavy recruiting schedule throughout the Middle East & many other countries. However, finding students who met admissions standards and who were interested in staying on the Dubai campus was difficult.

So far, the only article I’ve seen has been in the UAE-based “The National” – which strangely included this quote:

Prof Kim Wilcox, the provost and vice-president of MSU, said that in the current climate many students and parents were not keen on the idea of studying in the US.

Apparently Professor Wilcox has either been misquoted or has not followed MSU’s kick-ass international recruiting team & their fantastic success in bringing students on to the East Lansing campus from all over the world.

You can read more about this in the National

[Update] There is a short update about this on Inside Higher Ed

Campus Disorientation at American University of Cairo At a recent international higher-ed mini-conference I attended a session...

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N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi – in the Search for Top Students

Wassan — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:50:05 +0000

The PR office at NYU Abu Dhabi must have been working overtime this weekend, articles in both the New York Times & Inside Higher Ed this morning talk about the mix of students making up the inaugural class. US Educational Group is proud to have been part of the recruitment effort!

N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi Scours Globe for Top Students

The Worlds Honor College?

NYU Abu Dhabi recruiting with US Educational Group

NYU Abu Dhabi - working on those High School students!

OACAC BOS10 Conference App Finally arrived in Boston for the OACAC BOS10 – Overseas...
Campus Disorientation at American University of Cairo At a recent international higher-ed mini-conference I attended a session...
US Educational Group Fall 2009 Fair We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas...

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Campus Disorientation at American University of Cairo

Wassan — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:06:46 +0000

At a recent international higher-ed mini-conference I attended a session discussing the influx of students from Saudi Arabia and how its changed the landscape of the campus and the type of issues its presented. One of the main issues, it seemed to me, was the adjustment to the style of learning was really difficult for the students. The concept of US-style of learning is so at odds with the methods these students have used all their lives, memorize, regurgitate, do not question the professor. Suddenly they’re required to think cognitively, debate their classmates, question the professor, and analyze before answering.

Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times

Its a tough chasm to bridge, and it really takes a significant amount of “deprogramming”. I’m of the thought that if you have an Intensive English Lanaguage program on campus, one of the most crucial topics to cover is study skills & learning methods. That’s why this New York Times article about the American University of Cairo caught my eye: A Campus Where Unlearning Is First

These are the kinds of questions posed to undergraduate students entering this [American University of Cairo] 90-year-old university during what the president, David D. Arnold, called a first year of “disorientation.” During disorientation, the students — 85 percent of them Egyptians — are taught to learn in ways quite at odds with the traditional method of teaching in this country, where instructors lecture, students memorize and tests are exercises in regurgitation.

Michigan State University – Dubai Shuts Down Campus The news coming out of Dubai this morning is that...
US Educational Group Fall 2009 Fair We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas...
N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi – in the Search for Top Students The PR office at NYU Abu Dhabi must have been...

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College, Inc

Wassan — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:23:37 +0000

You may have been busy last night when the PBS Frontline documentary – College, Inc – aired. You can watch the entire 1-hour show online (in the United States) and watch additional extended versions of some of the interviews.

Personally, we were shocked to learn that while the For-profit market has 10% of the student population in the US, it is taking up 25% of FAFSA dollars. It remains frustrating to see students leaving an overpriced program with more debt than they will ever be able to pay back.

This interactive map by the Chronicle of Higher Education shows the increases in enrollment from 1998 -2008 – which are nothing short of amazing feats of sales and marketing.

While you can watch the documentary as its intended – with disdain for the for-profit universities highlighted in it, I suggest also thinking about the marketing tactics used by these universities. Look at what they’re doing. Online, offline, on the subway, in the magazines, and most of all – in their personal calls. Sure, they’re basically doing what amounts to a high pressure sales tactic used in time-share seminars all over Florida, but that personal connection…maybe that’s what you should think about.

So basically what I’m saying is, take what they’re doing, dial it down a few notches, and use it for good. Diversity. Outreach. Engagement. Make it more than just buzzwords on an ad campaign.

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US Educational Group Middle East Tour Fall 2010

Joseph — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:37:52 +0000

US Educational Group announces the Middle East Fall 2010 Tour, you can find more details & register on the USEG Tours website

You might be a little surprised to see that we’re heading to Iraq at the end of the tour – don’t be – the fair in Iraq last January was very successful. More than 17 universities from the US & UK attended the mini-fair in Baghdad and Irbil, and reported intense interest from the students they saw in both cities. With the Iraq Education Initiative pilot program in full swing this is the perfect time for your university to show its commitment to the program and the students it will be sending!

Beirut, Lebanon - October 11th
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - October 13th
Kuwait City, Kuwait - October 16th
Manama, Bahrain - October 18th
Doha, Qatar - October 20th
Dubai, UAE – October 23rd
Amman, Jordan - October 25th
Baghdad, Iraq (Free*) - October 28th
Erbil, Iraq (Free*) - October 30th

There is a visa requirement for US Citizens to Saudi Arabia, Qatar (this is new!) and Iraq. So we REALLY encourage you to make the decisions on your fall travel as early as possible this year!

End to a Successful US Educational Group Tour USEG Middle East tour Fall 2009 was a great success. ...
US Educational Group Fall 2009 Fair We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas...

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QR Codes

Wassan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:13:27 +0000

A proper post on QR codes and their use will make its way onto our blog soon, but for now, I just want to give you my contact info

Click on this link to print it

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End to a Successful US Educational Group Tour

Joseph — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:44:32 +0000

USEG Middle East tour Fall 2009 was a great success. Beirut, Amman, Aqaba, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were all well attended. On the way from Amman to Aqaba we stopped in Petra, Jordan. I had never been there and it was a great stop. I was amazed by the city carved into a mountain. The fair in Dammam had over 3000 students come. One of USEG’s largest fairs ever. We had US Ambassadors in 6 of the countries open the fairs and in Manama the Minister of Higher Education opened the fair with US Ambassador Ereli. It seemed that all university reps were very happy and pleased with the tour.

US Educational Group Middle East Tour Fall 2010 US Educational Group announces the Middle East Fall 2010 Tour,...
US Educational Group Fall 2009 Fair We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas...

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US Educational Group Fall 2009 Fair

Joseph — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:51:06 +0000

We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas and working on our student brochure for the Fall 2009 student recruitment tour in the Middle East. We will be heading out to the first fair stop, Beirut, Lebanon in October and we want to welcome all the Universities, Colleges and Language Centers who will be joining us on this excellent tour!

American University in Cairo
Arizona State University
California State University, Fullerton
College of the Desert
DePaul University
Diablo Valley College
Emporia State University
Florida Institute of Technology
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Lasell College
Marquette University
Mercer University
Michigan State University Dubai
New York University Abu Dhabi
Oklahoma City University
Pace University
Parsons the New School for Design
Purdue University
Roger Williams University
San Jose State University
Savannah College of Art and Design
Stony Brook University
University of Arizona
University at Buffalo
University of Bridgeport
University of California, Riverside Extension
University of California, San Diego
University of Central Florida
University of Colorado Denver
University of Evansville
University of Hartford
University of Iowa
University of New Haven
University of Oregon
University of Toledo
Veritas Prep, GMAT Test Preparation
Virginia Commonwealth University
West Virginia University
Youngstown State University

We do have our March 2010 Middle East and Eurasia fair dates up on our site already and encourage you to sign up soon to reserve your space for next year!

March 2010 Middle East student recruitment fair dates

March 2010 Eurasia student recruitment fair dates

US Educational Group Middle East Tour Fall 2010 US Educational Group announces the Middle East Fall 2010 Tour,...
End to a Successful US Educational Group Tour USEG Middle East tour Fall 2009 was a great success. ...
American Universities Iraq Consortium Many folks have asked about the universities that are the...

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American Universities Iraq Consortium

Wassan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:23:06 +0000

Many folks have asked about the universities that are the core of the American Universities Iraq Consortium, we searched online to see if there was a list or a website anywhere but all we found was the website for the British Universities Iraq Consortium.

The main issue I saw with the site was that they seem aimed at universities more than the students. It would be much more useful if there was a clear “student section” where they could point out that one application is all that’s needed for any Iraqi student holding the HCED Iraq Education Initiative scholarship. Wow that’s pretty cool.

So until there is an American Universities Iraq Consortium (soon we hope!) here is a list of the Universities who were in Iraq for the inaugural college fair.

Emporia State University
Gannon University
La Roche College
Monterey Institue of International Studies
Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
Texas A & M
The University of Kansas
The University System of Ohio
Troy University
University of Bridgeport
University of Central Missouri
University of Evansville
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Oregon
Valparaiso University
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
West Virginia University
Winthrop University

All comments about the consortium from the HCED so far have said there is no specific criteria for joining the group. Any (accredited) college or university can recruit and admit an Iraqi student – so maybe you should worry less about the consortium until there is more information from AED about it, and just start recruiting!

US Educational Group Fall 2009 Fair We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas...

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