Category Archives: History

August 6, 2020 · 11:31 am

Reflections of COVID and Lessons Learned in International Education

Written by: Tara L. Braun

Image source: NY Magazine

The world of international higher education is normally a changing canvas but throw a worldwide pandemic on top of it and you have a mosaic of concerns. Internationalization has been interrupted on many U.S. campuses in the form of study abroad program cancellations and international students needing to consider returning home and forfeiting internships or Optional Practical Training opportunities. While this crisis has caused many shifts in thinking (and stress), it also promotes a whole new range of opportunities for higher education leaders.

Regulatory Changes

Executive orders filed by many state governors sealed the fate of learning face to face and forced the decision to go to virtual learning and presented challenges within the international classroom. Even more recent presidential proclamations have presented further challenges for U.S. international education with the suspension entry of immigrants who present a risk to U.S. labor markets. On top of concerns around the shift to online learning, choosing to stay in the United States or return home, and ongoing support services, international students also had to be concerned about their visa status. The recent and now reversed modifications from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) deeply confused the focus of international students returning to campus. This ruling would have deeply affected the ability of students being on campus and taking online courses. The aftermath of this proclamation, and decision to reverse it, caused much grief to both institutions and students but also made the United States appear to be unwelcoming.

 Lessons Learned

Changes and executive orders due to COVID have caused a rapid review of current campus policies.  Institutions plan for crisis differently, but there are common international student concerns that have arisen from the COVID pandemic that I am sure some schools wish they would have began changing before the world stopped. With some international students deciding to stay on campus, navigating housing logistics was a concern. Most campuses established methods to assist students in identifying housing or made arrangements for them to stay closer to support offices. International students experienced financial anxiety with unexpected expenses for housing or temporary layoffs from on campus jobs. Many campuses, including Michigan State University, created an international student emergency fund to help in times of distress. Campuses who were not strong with online education, had to quickly transition to a virtual classroom. This posed issues with time zones, internet access, and quality of instruction that caused additional stress for students and professors. A leader in online education, Southern New Hampshire University, was committed to providing an engaged online learning experience by addressing equity in instruction with asynchronous classes.

 Looking Forward

Looking forward to the fall, how could institutions use some of these practices to improve the student experience? Topics of importance will be fostering community, addressing the digital student divide, supporting faculty, providing institutional support, managing expenses, and encouraging ongoing communication. At a time in which U.S higher education has shifted its focus from the dropping domestic enrollment to the international student population, recruiting these students will also become a concern. Planning for a time of no international travel will become essential to campuses who have large incoming international populations. Institutions will need to review maximizing existing collaborations, boost virtual recruitment efforts, and rally alumni and current student to recruit. Campuses will also need to plan for continued concerns around immigration regulations and how they can adjust their own campus policies to accommodate student needs. Institutional flexibility will be extremely important in the next coming months.

 Embrace the New Normal

As the global fight against COVID continues, it is a time for institutions to review their own policies and determine if it may be time for a new international education strategy. Adopting to a new normal could mean improvements in general messaging, branding and marketing, reviewing immigration campus processes and policies, international student recruitment goals, and reviewing international student scholarships methods. Now is the time to look at partnerships in a more comprehensive way of global engagement and be able to change and adapt to the changing world around us.

 

Tara Braun has fifteen years-experience in international higher education ranging from study abroad, international partnerships, recruiting, immigration, and student programming. She is an active member of NAFSA, has served in leadership roles at the NAFSA state level, advocacy groups, and presents at numerous conferences. Mrs. Braun holds a Master’s in Career and Technical Education, is a doctoral candidate at Central Michigan University, and serves as the PDSO and Associate Director of International Admissions and Immigration at Calvin University. Her dissertation work focuses on the re-acculturation experiences of Ghanaian students who studied in the United States. Tara can be reached at braun1t@cmich.edu.

 

The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.

 

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August 3, 2020 · 10:21 am

USA: A Potpourri of Accents, Cultures, Languages, and More

map_diverse

Image credit: Korean-Born Artist Sungho Choi explores the inherent cultural diversity of the United States in this cermaic on wood installation titled “My America.”

In this week’s blog we would like to share a few interactive maps produced by The Business Insider that show immigration patterns in the U.S. and a few others that show the diversity of cultures and different languages spoken, other than English and Spanish. You may be surprised to find for example that the most common language spoken in California besides English, is not Spanish, but Tagalog. A recent report in The Washington Post shows that 20% of adults living in our nation’s capital can’t read or write. We’re also sharing a link to an interactive map that shows the States in the U.S. with the least and most educated population.

We hope you’ll find these maps informative and mind-opening as we did:

History of Immigration to the U.S.
VIDEO https://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-shows-history-immigration-us-america-2015-9

The Most and Least Educated States in the U.S.
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npSGoesVK9E&fbclid=IwAR29KN-w1HtKw61ccNa4pjvd49I2sagKiNHgg73pY3mjwxYhlPgyhw530OA

The Most Commonly Spoken Languages in the U.S. besides English and Spanish
VIDEO https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-most-common-language-in-every-state-map-2019-6?fbclid=IwAR26oJOru4_WJM1wA1JDNTW5dKC0puzydOc6AI-B3MAvNpQQ0aCrPBEulIo

The Origin of American Accents Across the U.S.
VIDEO https://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-where-american-accents-come-from-2018-5

Source credit: The Business Insider www.businessinsider.com

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The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.

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July 9, 2020 · 12:25 pm

Racism, The Earthquake

Written by: Carine Fabius

It was just over 10 years ago that Haiti suffered an earthquake so devastating it is rated #6 on the list of 10 deadliest natural disasters since the 6th century. I am a Haitian-American, living in the States since 1964. I was not on the ground when it happened, but the collective national psyche of Haitians throughout the world collapsed along with all those buildings and structures, died a little with the 300,000 people who perished, and hobbled in spirit with the over one million wounded and displaced. Today, as we in the United States and many countries around the world grapple with the long-ignored effects of racism on modern day society, I can’t help thinking about the Haiti earthquake. Because racism (along with corruption and greed) is at the root of the why of the earthquake’s outsized impact on the Haitian people, just as racism crawls through the infrastructure of this and other countries’ dysfunctional state of affairs.

As evidenced by the outpouring of heart-wrenching stories from African-Americans and other people of color on a daily basis in the last month (which feels like years), incidences of racism often have the effect of rocking people to their core. Just as anyone who has experienced a strong earthquake will attest, you come away feeling off-kilter, confused, shaken, and incapable of explaining why the ground beneath your feet has gone the way of quicksand. You’re left with a pounding heart shouting What the hell just happened?! And just as with a big earthquake, whose aftermath you only come to understand with each passing day — who died, what broke, what’s left, where do I go now, and how do I move forward—so does racism leave in its slug-like wake a slimy realization that despite your best efforts, you’re still not perceived as good enough, smart enough, or human enough to warrant opportunities offered to the least of us, educational standards granted to most of us, and the respect for life that so many take for granted.

In Haiti, the severity of the earthquake’s strike wasn’t all due to mother nature. It had just as much to do with post-colonial racism from France and America, which placed an embargo on trade with Haiti after it fought off the French and declared itself the first independent, slave-free state in 1804. Reason for the embargo? The U.S. worried that its own slaves would catch the revolutionary bug. That economic blockage lasted some 60 years and crippled the island’s economy. From 1915–1934, the U.S. occupied Haiti, and, in addition to helping rebuild our infrastructure (new roads, hospitals, schools, bridges — thank you!), it seized the banks and the national treasury, and put itself in charge of collecting taxes, customs duties and more, skimming billions from the nation’s economy along the way (thanks a lot!). A U.S.-backed 30-year dictatorship, during which Haiti’s treasury functioned more like a personal bank account further eroded Haiti’s finances. There’s a lot more about Haiti’s complicated history than can be said here, which includes a long list of flawed Haitian rulers; but throw in additional economic blockades by the U.S. in the early 90s, and a 200-year-history of racist infighting between mulattos and black Haitians, and you end up with the perfect setup.

The reason so many buildings collapsed during the 2010 earthquake was because of corruption and greed, which allowed for shoddy construction throughout the country (like in so many other countries around the world), enabled by centuries-old racist U.S. policies and a prejudiced ruling class that averted its eyes to the unavoidable wreck waiting to happen. But it wasn’t just the poor who suffered. No one escapes the wrath of racism. Everyone in Haiti knows someone or several people who died. Concrete shacks and fancy hotels cracked. Insurance companies stiffed the rich.

Now, when we think about the impact of racism on the rich in general, we must put aside the 1% because they always seem to turn out OK, don’t they? Its pernicious effects tend to wallop everyone else, though — the poor, the middle and upper middle classes. Let’s take a simple example from recent history in the United States. Black families start moving into white neighborhoods. Racist white people flee like bats out of hell are on their tails. In order to get as far away from people of color as possible, they move into enclaves that are much more expensive than they can afford, thereby cutting back on things they enjoyed before — dinners out, that new car, the family vacation. Both workers and owners at those restaurants lose their earnings; car manufacturers and airlines raise prices on everyone to make up for the lost income. When the loss of the lifestyle they used to love becomes too much to bear, racist white people apply for credit cards and run up debt that is often hard to shake. That’s when the ground beneath them starts to shake and they spend the rest of their lives hopping from one foot to the other to stay steady.

Back in those neighborhoods, when those racist white people left they took the taxes they were paying along with them. And since taxes fund schools and quality of education, future generations get whacked at the knee just as they’re starting to walk. That’s when the tremors start for them, as well. Racist white people have been selling the trickle-down theory for decades — give more money to the rich and their spending will trickle down to the rest of us. Except that in reality, it’s not more economic activity trickling down, it’s less.

My husband likes to recount the story he read years ago of public swimming pools throughout the south, which, after integration, allowed blacks access to the swimming privileges whites had long enjoyed. In the cut-your-nose-to-spite-your-face scenario, rather than mix with blacks, community leaders chose to deprive everyone instead, emptying the pools of water and filling them with cement. Today many former public pools still lie underground. If you’re lucky enough to have a private pool, good for you. If not, too bad.

Racist white people of all classes, and racist people of color like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, have long decried the “nanny state” and “welfare queens.” That is, until something like a pandemic hits and they find themselves out of a job and accompanying health insurance benefits, and on their computers applying for food stamps. And then comes the rattling of their self-esteem, the jolt to their confidence, the jangling of nerves and the jarring clatter of a life falling apart. Who will they blame? It has to be someone’s fault! It must be those immigrants and these black people now running around looting and creating havoc. And so the rumbling continues, with racism destabilizing everyone on its path.

Just to be clear, it’s not America or Americans I’m talking about here. It’s racist Americans. Americans are the first to open their hearts and wallets to disaster zones like Haiti’s after the earthquake. And American companies are stepping up to address the “newly revealed” issue. Just a few days ago The New York Times published an article about a number of companies that have set aside hundreds of millions of dollars and created programs to give grants and assistance to minority-owned businesses that would otherwise be denied access to bank loans easily approved for white people. Those companies include Softbank, Paypal, Youtube and others. I got very excited. Hey, I have an arts education program that needs funding! My friend Lauren’s small business got hit hard by Covid-19! I ran to my computer for the links to apply; except that each and every one of those companies were already overwhelmed by the number of applicants. We are no longer accepting applications. I was disappointed but I felt like Wow!

I just want to remind racist white people in this country that black people aren’t sitting around wishing for a better life. We are ready and raring to go! If only the earth would stop moving beneath our feet — and everyone else’s.

*Image courtesy Brittanica.com

 Carine Fabius is the author of six fiction and nonfiction books, and a longtime contributor to Huffpost, writing on issues of lifestyle, the arts, politics, and more.

The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, California, USA.  ACEI is a full-service company providing complete and integrated services in the areas of international education research, credential evaluation, and translation. ACEI’s Global Consulting Group®, offers expertise in the following specialties: Media and Branding, Global Pathways, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to interested institutions and organizations around the globe. www.acei-global.org

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July 2, 2020 · 10:02 am

COVID-19 Survey Reports: Impact on International Students

A recent survey conducted by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley,  the findings of which were published on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, “The coronavirus pandemic that shut down university campuses across the globe this spring has heightened concerns among many international students enrolled in United States institutions regarding their personal safety.”

Participants in the survey include 22,519 undergraduate students and 7,690 graduate and professional students at five public research universities in the United States. Of those surveyed, 77% have remained in the U.S. during the COVID-19 global pandemic, while the others have returned to their home countries.

Here are key highlights from this survey:

  • Overall, international graduate and professional students were more likely than undergraduates to acknowledge worries.
  • Maintaining good health was cited as a top priority for two-thirds of graduate and professional students and more than half of international undergraduates
  • Managing immigration status and visas was another concern as cited by 55% of graduate students and 44% of undergraduates.
  • Having adequate financial support was a concern shared by almost half (49%) of graduate students and 36% of undergraduate
  • Understanding US medical insurance and obtaining health services was a concern shared by 53% of international graduate students and 35% of undergraduates.
  • Travel restrictions were of concern to 61% of graduate and professional students versus 45% of undergraduates.
  • More than half (55%) of international graduate students and 43% of undergraduates said instances of xenophobia had affected their mental health.
  • 30% of international undergraduates and 29$ of graduate students said they had experienced offensive behavior that affected their relationship with their US peers or friends
  • 17% of international undergraduates and 22% of graduate studies said they the offensive behavior they experienced affected their academic or professional performance
  • 13% of international undergraduate and 18% of graduates said these negative experiences were more likely to not complete their degree program.
  • 54% of international undergraduates and 56% of graduates expressed a lack of motivation as an obstacle to adjust to online instruction
  • 44% of international undergraduate and 55 % of graduates cited the absence of interacting with other students as a concern
  • Approximately four in ten international undergraduates who left the U.S. said they were unable to attend online classes mostly because of time zone differences.

As the policy brief of the survey said: “We must recognize the toll that instances of xenophobia, harassment and discrimination have on international students. The effects bleed over into international students’ feelings of safety, their mental health and their relationships with US peers or friends.”

Sources:

SERU COVID-19 Survey Policy Briefs

University World News

Inside Higher Education

The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, California, USA.  ACEI is a full-service company providing complete and integrated services in the areas of international education research, credential evaluation, and translation. ACEI’s Global Consulting Group®, offers expertise in the following specialties: Media and Branding, Global Pathways, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to interested institutions and organizations around the globe. www.acei-global.org

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April 16, 2020 · 3:41 pm

International Students and COVID-19

Written by: Fazela Haniff

In August 2006, I was elected the first woman president of the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA). It was the beginning of a love affair with the internationalization of higher education that would never leave me. Even today, I am not even working in the sector; I am always drawn to the work that is done to keep minds open with a diversity and inclusion lens.

I recently reconnected with a colleague who I met during my presidency at a NAFSA conference, Laura Sippel, amid the COVID-19 posts on LinkedIn. It took only a few chat exchanges to spark all the things on my mind, especially about international students at risk, as I had been posting several issues under the hashtag #HumanityAtRisk. Humanity at risk is what I am concerned about, and for international students, those from financially and politically challenging environments are at higher risks.

Concurrent to my presidency at IEASA, I was also the director of the Wits International Office at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The international student population at Wits was around 3,000 students. A small percentage was from North America and Europe, but it was significant to foster deep collaboration and partnerships. One, in particular, was the development of a multidisciplinary, international human rights undergraduate credit-bearing program. The more substantial percentage was from other African countries, only a small portion are supported by their governments or sponsorships, which were often the bare essentials. The remainder were students who had gotten there on their dime or by family support.

Most of these students survived by pooling their resources to live together, sometimes up to 4-6 people are sharing a small living space. These are the students I am thinking about in this COVID-19 environment. I am sure that the situation at Wits (2006-2011) is no different from campuses around the world. Also, in the North American and European institutions, these students are people of colour. Not too long ago, the targets were Arab Americans, and Arab/Muslim students were on the attack. Now it is Chinese/Asian students. There is a cocktail of brewing discriminatory issues that go along with them, international students and us, local students, politics and the financial situation. Putting this all together in the COVID-19 position is more frightening for the international student population. How can they get the right help for any particular problem, financial, discrimination, health, abuse and stress? Most offices are working off-site remotely. While all institutions are trying to respond to the service needs of their general student population, COVID-19 is adding more barriers to international students.

In South Africa, international students face significant challenges. The housing situation in 2020 is unlikely any different from that that McGregor mentioned in 2014, “Many landlords require them to pay the entire year’s worth of rent in advance. There are medical insurance costs. This is an enormous burden for international students financially, particularly those from less developed countries. International students in universities are still fairly new, and the demand is outpacing the resources that are being allocated. Lack of accommodation is by far the greatest challenge.” It is however a common issue for all students in Sub-Sahara Africa. While data is scarce, according to Samia Chasi of IEASA, “Three days earlier, a local newspaper reported that an estimated 5,382 international students were stranded in university accommodation across the country. Regardless of where they are stranded, these students have required dedicated assistance from often overworked and under-resourced internationalisation professionals at host and home institutions, in collaboration with relevant ministries and diplomatic missions.” She further indicated that COVID-19 is not an equalizing force, as, “Its impact is felt differently in different contexts, with underprivileged individuals and institutions finding themselves on the receiving end of the digital divide.

In Canada, there are different support in different provinces and universities; however, there is a sense of no coordinated effort from a federal level. According to Wesam AbdElhamid Mohamed, international students commissioner at the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), “There is no clear direction of health institutions that are protecting international students.” The organization (Students International) is also asking for post-secondary students, including international students, to be included in the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which allows people economically impacted by the pandemic to claim $2,000 for four months for emergency support. International students contributed an estimated $21.6 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2018, according to the federal government. “So that’s why we feel that it’s truly essential to include them in the emergency program,” Mohamed said.”

[1] Karen MacGregor, 06 September 2014,https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20140905134914811

[2] Samia Chasi, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200408093750683

[3] Sherina Harris, https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/sharris01

In the current situation, some good practices and solutions can come from different parts of society. In Australia, last Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said international students and other visa holders were “not held here compulsorily. If they’re not in a position to be able to support themselves, then there is the alternative for them to return to their home countries,”. The Melbourne City Council has become the first government at any level in Australia to pledge financial support for international students amid fears they are falling through the cracks because they are not eligible for government welfare. Later, the government of Australia make a shift, in the same light, to now offer financial support to international students.

According to Viggo Stacey, New Zealand has introduced a wage subsidy for international students; however, it is for students who cannot do their jobs during the lockdown period.

Callan Quinn stated that last week, Canada announced that international students will be included in measures to help those who lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Like citizens of the country, they will be able to apply for temporary income support of up to CAN$500 a week for up to sixteen weeks provided they meet certain criteria. This is the most comprehensive support, so far, by a federal government.

According to a report by Dr Rahul Choudaha, International Students contribute over US$300 Billion to economies across the globe. “Together, the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, and the Netherlands enrolled half the world’s international post-secondary students in 2016. That year, considering direct, indirect, and induced impacts, international students contributed:
US$57.3 billion to the US;
US$25.5 billion to the UK;
US$19.8 billion to Australia;
US$14.5 billion to France, and France charges no to low tuition fees for international students;
US$14.4 billion to Germany, and international students do not pay tuition fees in Germany;
US$11.1 billion to Canada;
US$5.3 billion to the Netherlands, a country that charges differential tuition fee for EU and non-EU international students.”

From a diversity and inclusion lens, let us see how universities and countries, that benefit from this injection of wealth from international students, will treat them during this pandemic. I am sure their respective reactions will impact what happens to their institutions, cities and country and the flow of international student’s income after COVID-19.

[4] https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-city-council-pledges-financial-support-for-foreign-students-20200408-p54i63.html

[5] https://studytravel.network/magazine/news/0/27376

[6] Viggo Stacey,  https://thepienews.com/news/nz-wage-subsidy-scheme-open-for-intl-students/

[7] https://thepienews.com/analysis/top-study-coronavirus-intl-students/

[8] https://monitor.icef.com/2019/08/international-students-generate-global-economic-impact-of-us300-billion/

Fazela HANIFF immigrated to Canada in 1974 from Guyana, lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for plus 2 years, then to South Africa from 1994 to 2012 and returned to Canada in 2012. Through a Diversity and Inclusion Lens, Ms. Haniff is an HR, OD and HE internationalisation specialist. Ms Haniff completed her Human Resources Management studies at Ryerson University, Higher Education Management from the University of the Witwatersrand and Bachelor of Business Administration from Yorkville University. She is the Past President of the International Education Association of South Africa and first woman president. In 2010 she received an award in recognition of “Exemplary Leadership as IEASA President”. She has contributed widely to the internationalization dialogue via presentations and workshops to IIE, NIEA, NAFSA, EAIE, EAIE, IEASA, APAIE, and contributed to numerous publications related to international higher education. Fazela currently lives in Toronto, Canada.

ACEI Logo with Slogan - FINAL

The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.

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September 20, 2019 · 7:00 am

“In the war against fake news “white privilege” is losing.

September 20th, 2019

white_privelege

Some time ago, a friend replied to one of my Facebook posts where I had shared an article on the college admission scandal. My friend had simply written “white privilege.” In response, another friend wrote that she was “so sick of white privileged (sic) being thrown around.” I realized that she was correct in this case, in that the article didn’t really have much to do with white privilege. However, after a few more responses from her it quickly became clear to me that she didn’t understand what the term meant. She talked about how her father came as an immigrant and made his way to success. The fact that she wanted to make it clear that he had earned his money cemented in my mind, that she really didn’t understand what “white privilege” meant.

I decided to find the best definition I could, so I returned to McIntosh’s 1989 seminal article “White Privilege, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” then wrote my own Facebook-length precis. I was certain that once she understood the concept better, she would change her opinion. She did not. In fact, she insisted that that not all white people were rich, which made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t open to considering that this shameful sounding phrase could mean anything other than that white people were successful just because they were white. In fact, the concept of “white privilege” has little to do with money and success but more to do with the opportunities afforded white people just because they aren’t people of color (which can lead to money and success).

There’s a house in my neighborhood which I pass almost daily. Posted on the front is a hand-written sign that reads “All lives are equal therefore all lives matter.” Next to it a confederate flag with a middle finger sticking up in the center, proudly hangs. Each time I pass I am reminded of all the slogans various communities have come up with to try to gain acceptance and or understanding of their plight.

Black lives matter

Me too

Safe space signs

The rainbow pride flag

Diversity and Inclusion

And then I think of the backlash to all of these movements. I was recently staying at an Airbnb and was talking to the host, who wanted to joke about his “man boobs” but told me he felt he no longer could “because of that ridiculous Me Too movement.” Another example of a lack of understanding of the problem.

I recently saw another sign in a yard that read “we support our police. They work every day to save our lives.” I agree but I can’t help thinking this is the backlash against Black Lives Matter, which never meant to say that police lives didn’t

As a lifelong student of racism, homophobia, sexism, let’s just say all the isms; I am constantly in dialogue with people of all colors on issues of race and more so now that I work in diversity and inclusion. So, in an attempt to simplify the messages, I came up with the following:

White privilege ≠ White shame

Black Lives Matter ≠ White and Blue lives don’t matter

Safe space ≠ Coddling

Me too ≠ you can’t flirt with women or ask them out on a date anymore

Diversity and Inclusion ≠ you have to like all cultures

Though with the last one, I must add that I agree with Trevor Noah who, in his Netflix show, Son of Patricia said, “There should be a rule in America. You can hate immigrants all you want but if you do, you don’t get to eat their food.”

Helpful links:
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/trevor-noah-netflix-special-son-of-patricia-best-jokes.html

Reading List:
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo

Informative Podcasts:
“1619” The New York Times
“Seeing White,” Scene on Radio

k_hylen
Kathleen Hylen, M.A. International Education Management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Graduated with honors from UC, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Community Studies, focus on anti-bias. Kathleen is also a member of ACEI’s Professional Consultancy Team. Her focus is on helping institutions and organizations develop and/or bolster their diversity and inclusion strategies. For more information, please contact ACEI at acei@acei-global.org.

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July 19, 2019 · 7:00 am

Our Planet: 911 Emergency

July 19th, 2019

On July 10, 2019, a network representing more than “7,000 higher and further education institutions from six continents have announced that they are declaring a ‘climate emergency’, and agreed to undertake a three-point plan to address the crisis through their work with students.”  As the letter from the representatives of the 7,000 plus institutions states: “The young minds that are shaped by our institutions must be equipped with the knowledge, skills and capability to respond to the ever-growing challenges of climate change. We all need to work together to nurture a habitable planet for future generations and to play our part in building a greener and cleaner future for all.”

In this week’s blog, we share this insightful piece by our guest blogger, Tom Schnabel who writes about the Apollo 11 Moon landing and the music it inspired about our blue planet called Earth.  For, as Tom mentions in his piece, it was the “magnificent sight of our planet earth seen from the moon as a small blue ball (that) provided a spark in the environmental movement.” As those involved in international education, let’s work together to bring awareness to the plight of our planet, the well being of its inhabitants, and the future we would like to leave behind for generations to come.

LunarEagle
The Apollo 11 lunar lander Eagle returning to the Columbia command module for the journey back to Earth. Photo: NASA

The Apollo 11 moon landing that took place on July 20, 1969, represented a staggering achievement for the human race. The desire to explore outside the earth’s boundaries reached back to Mesopotamia, ancient Babylon and Persia, also with Aristotle and the ancient Greeks, and later with cosmologists Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, and Galileo’s observations. While Einsteinian physics had unlocked more information about the universe, nobody ever viewed the earth from the moon until 1969.

President Kennedy promised in 1961 to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, and he put forward the resources to make it happen. The Apollo space capsule and the computer systems of Mission Control in Houston are primitive by today’s standards, but the astronauts made the voyage there and back in eight days. Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun said of the moon landing, “What we will have attained when Neil Armstrong steps down on the moon is a completely new step in the evolution of man. For the first time, life will leave its planetary cradle, and the ultimate destiny of man will no longer be confined to these familiar continents that we have known so long.”

Over the past fifty years since the landing, many musicians have found inspiration in the historic moment and responded in song. Brazilian superstar Caetano Veloso was in a sweltering Brazilian jail when his wife handed him a newspaper with a picture of a little blue planet as seen from the moon. He was so moved by it that he later wrote the song “Terra” (“Earth”). Read the English translation of the lyrics here.

Brian Eno composed an ethereal, floating suite called Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks for the documentary film For All Mankind, which celebrates the earth’s beauty and the Apollo space program. An expanded edition of the soundtrack with 11 new tracks will be released on July 19 in celebration of the 50thanniversary of the landing. You can listen to the original remarkable sonic journey in its entirety below:

The electronic artist Michael Adam Kandel, aka Tranquility Bass, took his stage name from the Tranquility Base landing site in the Sea of Tranquility, the area of the moon where the Apollo 11 crew touched down. I’ve always liked his catchy tune called “Cantamilla.”

I learned from this past Sunday’s New York Times Apollo 11 special section that Duke Ellington composed and performed the song “Moon Maiden” for the event.

There have been countless tributes to this historic achievement over the years, some listed here in this New York Times article. I highly recommend the 2019 documentary Apollo 11, which tells the story with previously unseen footage from the development to the actual landing. You might also check out an interesting show called Apollo 11: the Immersive Live Show, playing at the Rose Bowl through August 11.

Fifty years ago, the magnificent sight of our planet earth seen from the moon as a small blue ball provided a spark in the environmental movement. This anniversary seems all the more poignant today as governments and climate-change deniers roll back environmental protections and cut down huge swaths of rain forests to plant soybean and palm oil trees. It is a dire situation–global warming will increase to the point where life as we know could be seriously threatened by 2050. One can only hope that this anniversary will serve as a reminder of what’s at stake back home on earth, even as we seek to return to the moon and continue to explore beyond our solar system.

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toms

Tom Schnabel, M.A.

Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Blogs for Rhythm Planet
Author & Music educator, UCLA, SCIARC, currently doing music salons
www.tomschnabel.com

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July 4, 2019 · 9:19 am

Happy 4th of July!

July 4th, 2019

Screenshot 2019-07-04 09.12.01

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June 21, 2019 · 7:00 am

USA: A Potpourri of Accents, Cultures, Languages, and More

June 21st, 2019

map_diverse

Image credit: Korean-Born Artist Sungho Choi explores the inherent cultural diversity of the United States in this cermaic on wood installation titled “My America.”

In this week’s blog we would like to share a few interactive maps produced by The Business Insider that show immigration patterns in the U.S. and a few others that show the diversity of cultures and different languages spoken, other than English and Spanish. You may be surprised to find for example that the most common language spoken in California besides English, is not Spanish, but Tagalog. A recent report in The Washington Post shows that 20% of adults living in our nation’s capital can’t read or write. We’re also sharing a link to an interactive map that shows the States in the U.S. with the least and most educated population.

We hope you’ll find these maps informative and mind-opening as we did:

History of Immigration to the U.S.
VIDEO https://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-shows-history-immigration-us-america-2015-9

The Most and Least Educated States in the U.S.
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npSGoesVK9E&fbclid=IwAR29KN-w1HtKw61ccNa4pjvd49I2sagKiNHgg73pY3mjwxYhlPgyhw530OA

The Most Commonly Spoken Languages in the U.S. besides English and Spanish
VIDEO https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-most-common-language-in-every-state-map-2019-6?fbclid=IwAR26oJOru4_WJM1wA1JDNTW5dKC0puzydOc6AI-B3MAvNpQQ0aCrPBEulIo

The Origin of American Accents Across the U.S.
VIDEO https://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-where-american-accents-come-from-2018-5

Source credit: The Business Insider www.businessinsider.com

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The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.

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May 17, 2019 · 7:00 am

Greece: Shakeup at the Higher Education Level

May 17th, 2019

Greece

The Greek government recently announced the merging of its technological education institutes (TEIs) into universities. Here are some facts on this merger with a brief overview of the universities and TEIs and the anticipated impact of the merger on Greece’s higher education system:

About the merger:

  • By a vote of 147 in favor and 100 against, Greece’s parliament, passed the new higher education law that allows existing graduates of TEIs to upgrade their degrees to full university qualifications.
  • The new law will allow those employed by the government who are graduates of TEIs to qualify for higher salaries once relegated to university degree holders.
  • Guesstimates claim anywhere up to 400,00 TEI graduates will have their degrees upgraded.

 Here are a few facts on Greece’s higher education system:

  • Prior to the passing of this new law, Greece had 2 sectors of higher education: 1) the university sector; and 2) the technological sector.
  • The university sector encompassed Research Universities, Technical Universities (Polytechneia), School of Fine Arts, and the Open University.
  • The technological sector included Technological Education Institutions (Technologika Ekpedeftika Idrimata/TES) and the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE).
  • Greece has 23 universities and 15 TEIs (including the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education)
  • Minimum academic requirement for admission to the first cycle of undergraduate programs at institutions in the university and technological sectors require the Apolytirio Genikou Lykeiou (secondary school certificate).
  • Institutions in the university sector offer not only undergraduate but postgraduate and doctoral level degree programs.
  • Institutions in the technological sector offer only undergraduate level degree programs.
  • The duration of most Greek university first degree programs is 4 years. There are 5-year degree programs in the following specialties: agriculture, architecture, dentistry, engineering, and veterinary science and 6-year program in medicine.
  • The degree awarded on completion of the university program is the Ptychio and for engineering and agriculture studies it is the Diploma.
  • Completion of a final paper in the 4-year program is not required but it is typically required in the 5-year engineering and agricultural programs.
  • Entrance to the postgraduate programs requires completion of the first degree validated by the Ptychio from either a university or TEI or a university Diploma. Postgraduate programs lead to the award of the Metaptychiako Diploma Eidikefsis (postgraduate diploma or specialization) after 2 years of study and completion of a final paper/thesis.
  • Doctoral level studies usually take 3 to 4 years and require for entrance the Metaptychiako Diploma Eidikefsis. The degree of Didaktor is awarded after defense of the doctoral thesis. In some cases, students may be admitted directly to the doctoral program with a Ptychio or

Here are what critics of the new law are saying:

  • The upgrading of the TEIs to universities will devalue degrees of those who have met stricter admission and program requirements at universities.
  • Some fear that those working for government will want to have their pay enhancements backdated to reflect this upgrade of their degrees.
  • Many are concerned that overnight the mergers have promoted TEI faculty to full university professors.
  • Critics claim that universities and other stakeholders were not included in the discussions about the merger of universities and TEIs which they see as having been forced through by the government.
  • TEIs that have been upgraded to universities have many departments and academic programs that have not been accredited.

 Here is what Kostas Garoglou, Greece’s education minister, has said to counter the criticism:

  • TEI degrees would not be automatically upgraded which are contingent on when the studies were completed, as additional criteria will be established in the next 6 months.
  • TEI faculty who will become university professors could be barred from responsibilities such as supervision of Ph.D. candidates if their experience is deemed insufficient.
  • In some instances, TEI’s research endeavors exceed those of universities.
  • TEIs are mistakenly seen as second-class institutions which Greece’s ministry hopes this merger will help rectify.

We will report back on this evolving new law as more information becomes available.

Sources:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/09/change-degrees-greece-criticized-political-not-educational

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/greek-reforms-set-upgrade-thousands-graduates-degrees

https://www.nuffic.nl/en/subjects/education-and-diplomas-greece/

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The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.

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