New Norwegian/American Education Portal

The U.S. embassy in Norway has partnered with other Norwegian organizations to create usastudier.no, a portal to useful information sources for Norwegians wishing to study in the United States. The portal was launched by U.S. Ambassador Benson Whitney on February 5 in conjunction with the USAStudier/StudyNorway initiative, which will seek to increase bilateral student mobility through a number of specific measures. Amb. Whitney's powerpoint presentation "Turning Nations into People" outlines some of the specifics of the initiative.

New Journal for Overseas Advisers

(source: IIE Weekly Email Newsletter)


IIE New Journal for Overseas Advisers: EducationUSA Connections

IIE recently published the first issue of the newly revamped EducationUSA Connections journal on behalf of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The online, quarterly publication is produced for the EducationUSA overseas advisers and includes information about higher education in the United States, scholarship opportunities, specific fields of study, best practices in advising and other topics. This first issue, “Strategic Undergraduate Admissions Practices” presents articles written by U.S. admissions officers specializing in international applicants.

Access this issue here


Articles include:

Researching Colleges from Afar
What international students can do to find the perfect U.S. institution for them.

How do American Institutions Decide
The art of the admissions process: an insider’s perspective on what admissions counselors at highly selective campuses look for in an international applicant.

Dissecting the Applications: Dos and Don'ts
How to help your students avoid common mistakes on their application.

Ten Tips for Recommendation Letters
While some students think they have no control over their recommendation letters, students’ recommendation etiquette can, in fact, impact the quality of the recommendation.

Realizing the Rice-Chertoff Vision: A National-Interest-Based Visa Policy for the United States

(source: NAFSA, 01/31/2005)NAFSA: Association of International Educators, along with a diverse coalition of organizations concerned about the current state of U.S. visa policy and its impact on the country’s competitiveness as a destination of choice for academic, exchange, and business visitors from around the world today announced a new set of visa policy recommendations.

Entitled “Realizing the Rice-Chertoff Vision: A National-Interest-Based Visa Policy for the United States,” the new policy proposal emphasizes the important role that visa policy plays in both the security of the United States and its capacity to attract the best talent from other countries, whether to study, conduct research, or do business. While acknowledging the progress that has been made over the past several years to address serious problems in the visa issuance process, the coalition recommendations highlight several areas in which serious barriers remain that hamper the ability of legitimate visitors to come to the United States