I am so very excited to share an extraordinary resource for international education today. EducationUSA is a resource for both students looking to come study in the USA, as well as US students interested in studying or working overseas. Their advising centers serve as the official source on US higher education opportunities for students in 170 countries (400+ locations).  EducationUSA is supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs within the US Department of State. Promoting international student mobility and international education, EducationUSA is an organization near and dear to our hearts. THIS is what international education is all about - helping others, promoting higher education around the world, crossing borders and boundaries, and welcoming internationalization and diversity.

Dive deep into EducationUSA's comprehensive website - you'll find information on the US system of higher education (including Admissions, standardized tests, financial aid), student visas, SEVIS, exchange programs, pre-departure information, global education systems, recruiting international students, resources for US higher education institutions, resources for US students wanting to study abroad, and much, much more.  

I was so impressed that I asked Marty Bennett, EducationUSA Marketing Coordinator at the Institute of International Education, for more information. We were lucky enough to catch him in between blizzards and talked about EducationUSA, resources, social media, and more. Here's what he had to say...

WE:  Please tell us about EducationUSA...

MB: EducationUSA is the U.S. State Department-supported network of over 400 advising centers in 170 countries.  The mission of our advisers is to offer accurate, comprehensive, objective, & unbiased information on educational opportunities in the U.S.  Recently, our advising centers have expanded the range of services available to the U.S. higher education community to assist in their international education goals, both in recruiting students to their campuses from overseas, and in connecting their students to future study abroad and/or internship opportunities.

WE:  What was the genesis of EducationUSA?

MB: EducationUSA – as a named organization – has existed since the late 1990s even though our advising centers have been formally organized as such since the early 1980s.  Organizations that host our educational advisers worldwide, have been advising students overseas about study options in the U.S. for several decades in formal and informal ways.  Prior to being named EducationUSA, our advisers were loosely assembled under the name of “overseas educational advisers.” 

WE:  How can EducationUSA be best utilized by international students? What resources are available?

MB: For international students looking to come to the U.S. for studies, our centers represent the best starting place for students who are unsure of where to begin their search, for individuals who may need assistance with navigating the oftentimes confusing application process, for answers to that ever-important question, “how am I going to pay for my education?”, for preparing for the all-important visa interview, and for getting ready to go to the U.S.  At each step throughout the process, our advising centers provide services that in almost all situations are free of charge to students.  The best advice for students is to get connected, whether in person or virtually with the center closest to them.  All these resources are summarized on our main EducationUSA website (www.educationusa.state.gov) including links to our centers worldwide and to the services they offer.

WE:  How can EducationUSA be best utilized by US citizens? What resources are available?       

MB: For U.S. citizens who will be traveling abroad, our centers can be good references points if people are interested in getting connected with local educational institutions.  For students who are looking to study abroad, EducationUSA can help them get connected with possible scholarships (like the Gilman & Fulbright programs) to help make their dreams a reality, and our centers can serve as possible sites for internships.  For U.S. institutions looking to expand their study abroad programs, our centers can help connect colleges & universities in country that may match their own needs.

WE: You've got a large social media presence. How has social media changed the way that you interact with students, globally?

MB: Social media has revolutionized the way we reach out to our various audiences.  Students in particular, are very savvy users of new media and feel very comfortable not only using these new tools, but also relying on media like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and even Wikipedia & other social media outlets to get their information and to share their thoughts.  In the past year, we’ve expanded our presence to all of those social media options just mentioned, and done so through a variety of methods, but importantly, our guiding principle has been to become more engaged with students where they “live” (spend their time).  Recently, our EducationUSA YouTube channel launched a playlist of U.S. college and university videos. 

In the first three weeks, those videos (from 50+ institutions) have received over 11,000 views.  Our Facebook fan page has more than tripled in size since we relaunched our website last November.  We want to give visitors to our various sites (primary web portal, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter feeds, etc.) a chance to get connected, follow, become fans and to stay involved—giving them a reason to come back to our online community for more.

WE: EducationUSA has incredible resources about internationalization, especially the internationalization of US higher education campuses. What are your top tips for campuses - and people - wishing to become more international?

MB: We have a number of online resources designed to assist U.S. institutions internationalize their websites, to make their campuses more international-student friendly, and to take steps to expand their international student populations.  Our higher education section of our site also has a secure login site for those directly involved in international education at institutions and in higher education associations in the U.S. 

Internationalization as it relates to U.S. campuses covers a variety of different facets:  international student flows, study abroad, curriculum, faculty development, programming, institutional partnerships, international alumni development and more.  While EducationUSA is not directly involved in all of these fields, we do strive to provide U.S. institutions a solid foundation on which to build their internationalization plans.

WE: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

MB: We truly want our U.S. higher education colleagues to see EducationUSA as a partner in international education.  Our goal is to promote the U.S. as the premier study destination for students from abroad, as well as encourage more U.S. students & institutions to expand their horizons through study abroad and institutional partnerships.  We encourage all interested students & institutions to get in touch either online or in person.

WE: Thanks so very much, Marty. This is an invaluable resource for international education!

For more information, please see:
http://educationusa.state.gov/

Photo and videos courtesy and copyright EducationUSA