GAO report on international ed and competitiveness

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO report)recently released a report summarizing discussions held last September with academic, business, and government leaders on the issue of international-student enrollments at American universities.
Participants recommended, among other things, that the United States should develop a national strategic plan for recruitment, change the immigration system to make it easier for students to secure and renew visas, and look to developing countries and other nontraditional sources for new students.

MIT's Open Courseware

MIT makes available a vast amount of course material free of charge at its OpenCourseWare site. Read more in this article from the Christian Science Monitor.

Overcoming visa denial

NAFSA has put together a useful 4 page pdf document examining the reasons for visa denial and what - if anything - can be done about a negative decision.
(from the introduction) "While a visa denial is dramatic, it is not necessarily the end of the world. It is possible for students or scholars to overcome a visa denial.
However, before advising a student or scholar or taking any action, it is important to understand why the visa was denied. This resource highlights reasons for visa denials, security clearances, applying for a second time, and contacting various U.S. government entities for assistance."

U.S. Higher Ed delegation to Asia

Leading an historic delegation on a three-country Asian tour, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, joined by Assistant Secretary of State Dina Habib Powell and twelve U.S. university presidents, set out in November 2006 to highlight the U.S. as a premier destination for study abroad educational opportunities. See remarks and background info at http://exchanges.state.gov/delegation_asia.htm

NAFSA agenda for the 110th Congress

This 3 page document summarizes NAFSA's bipartisan agenda for the 110th Congress. Key issues are visa and immigration reform, removing unnecessary restrictions on student mobility, improved interagency coordination, and promotion of the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad fellowship program.