Program description

I have participated in the Professional Advising Leadership Fellows Program (PAL), which took place in the US from April 20 to May 29, 2004. 2004 PAL Fellows program was sponsored by the US Department of State and administered by the College Board. The program was designed for senior educational advisers and its purpose was to develop and strengthen the educational advising infrastructure that supports educational exchange between the U.S. and other countries.
Our group consisted of 14 senior advisers from around the world: Egypt, Africa, Colombia, Venezuela, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic, Finland, and France. Each adviser had his own topic of research, such as accreditation, graduate admissions, fundraising, testing and others; mine was '2-year US Community Colleges'. The project was designed to discover any connectivity between program transferability/degree articulation, course content of 2-year institution programs, international student services, and living conditions. The reason for my choice of this topic was the limit of information on US 2-year colleges and not sufficient development of system of that type of schools in Kyrgyz Republic. My primary goal was to learn more about two-year institutions to promote the option to perspective students as well as to introduce this type of education for developing it within the Kyrgyz educational system.
During the Program I have visited a series of two-year community colleges, four-year colleges and universities in three states.

My PAL Program started from attending two conferences in Minnesota, which were organized by American Council for International and Intercultural Education (ACIIE) and American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The conferences gathered a lot of people from different states that work in community colleges, so it was a great chance to meet and talk with professionals in the field. I've got a great experience from attending these conferences. My presentation at the session 'Where in the World? Working with Overseas Educational Advising Centers' with Judith Irwin, Director of International Programs and Services, AACC, was a good chance to tell our colleges about overseas advising centers and possible cooperation between us. Uniqueness, flexibility and effectiveness of the US 2-year school system made it very attractive. I had a good opportunity to discuss recommendations for promotion of 2-year institution programs in Kyrgyz Republic with experts in the field of US 2-year schools. We were talking about possibility of opening in the future the pilot two-year school in Kyrgyzstan.

Another part of the program included visiting two-year community colleges, four-year colleges and universities in the states of Minnesota, Michigan, and California. I've visited five 2-year colleges, one four-year college, and four state universities, namely: Grand Rapids Community College, Calvin College, Foothill and De Anza Colleges, Mission College, College of St. Catherine, University of Minnesota, Grand Valley State University, San Jose State University, University of California - Berkeley.
At each university/college, after the meeting with the personnel of the international department, I had meetings with many different departments, such as: admissions office, academic advising office, financial aid, transcript/credential evaluator, transfer services, articulation officer, and many others.
During my visit at US Community Colleges (CC) I've learned that they are the largest, most accessible sector of higher education, serving almost half of all US undergraduates, and that many two-year US colleges and universities have transferring agreements.
The benefits of studying at CC are: 1) cheaper tuition compared to 4-year colleges and 2) not so large groups. There are 75.000 international students studying at CC, 50% starting studies at a lower division.
California is a state with a very strong developed network between universities and community colleges; many of them have articulation and transfer admission agreements. According to the agreement, articulation of credit hours is accepted in other schools too. The California State De Anza College has the largest number of transferring students; in Grand Rapids CC the number of transferring students to universities is also very high - almost 80%.
In almost all universities/colleges the articulation process is very well organized. For example, the University of Minnesota has a special guide and applications for transfer students. The articulation office of San Jose State University has agreements with 130-140 schools. The agreements are established with American and Malaysian schools.
Schools have set requirements for transfer students - transfer agreements, which include required courses as credits. Students have to complete a transfer agreement one year before; they may do transfer planning on-line or come to the office. Some schools organize a transfer orientation after admitting, where students receive complete information on all transfer procedures. In order to define the number of required courses, the articulation office works with departments on a regular basis.
Each state has an accreditation board, which regulates a number of credit hours of disciplines.
I am truly convinced that the developed system of the US Community colleges ensures the high level of the economy of the country.

Visiting U.S. campuses was a great experience for me. It had been an indispensable chance to learn activities of different offices at firsthand. On the other hand, institutions learned more about overseas advisers and their role in attracting students to study in the US, foreign educational systems, etc. During the meetings with university/college staff we discussed the PAL Program, advising centers, educational system of Kyrgyzstan and my country in general.
Visiting different schools and departments allowed me to learn more about the university/college system from the inside. Once again I ascertained that the main difference is the decentralization of the US educational system. Every US school department works independently and makes decisions itself. For example, Culture Corps for International students department, University of Minnesota, developed a program that teaches students to work in American bureaucracy. The program has some funding and grants selected student projects. It's an excellent opportunity for students to share their culture, world knowledge and skills.
Another difference, which I have found out attending English language classes at two colleges, was students' outside-class preparation. It makes students more independent oriented and develops their creativeness. Visiting a student dormitory and talking to international students was another good experience. Students have excellent conditions for their study, e.g. access to Internet from their rooms.

Talking with students from Eurasia (Georgia, Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan) was another great experience for me. All of them have different sources of funding for study in the US schools. Some of them are studying on their own, others are on sponsored programs or receive scholarships. Few students from Kyrgyzstan are studying at 2-year colleges, which is a good option for our students. They are going to continue their studies at 4-year schools.
Graduate instructor from Kazakhstan Malik Shukaev, a PhD student in macroeconomics at Economics department, shared his graduate study experience at University of Minnesota.

PAL fellows met at the orientation meeting and two-day leadership seminar in Washington, DC. Before the Program started, we had a wonderful PAL Self-directed Orientation, which helped to prepare for working on our projects in the US. For few weeks we worked together by email, answering module questions; the orientation really helped us 'to be more efficient, effective and less stressed' while working on projects.

Pre-NAFSA campus visit and participation in the NAFSA conference were a part of the PAL Program. It was another benefit for improving my personal advising. During the pre-NAFSA Campus Visit, a group of 23 advisers visited Highly Selective Colleges (undergraduate focused) campuses in Pennsylvania. They are: Villanova University, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Swarthmore College and U. of Pennsylvania. During campus visit I've learned about university accreditation, talked with admissions offices, financial aid office, got acquainted with students' government, met with US and international students, and saw a pretty nice alumni network. From admissions I've learned again that the most important criteria in academics are curriculum, performance, class rank, and testing; non-academic - distinctive, cooperativeness, classroom discussion, talents. I had a chance to talk with an international student who was transferred after the 1st year of study at a 2-year college. We talked about the transferring process from Community college to a 4-year college.
In almost all schools which we have visited, faculty and students organized a panel followed by a campus tour given by international students. I've learned from international students, who were at the panel, about the difficulties they face at the beginning of their stay in the USA. They mention: telephone calls, food, American culture, loneliness, and airport/luggage problems.
At the NAFSA conference I did presentations in three poster sessions: International Education Week on-campus and around the world, Internationalization of Higher education in Central Asia, and Successful US Education Fairs: Eurasia Experience. It was my first presentation at poster sessions. This type of sessions was very informal, visual, and informative. I appreciate it as experience for me.
I participated in OSEAS-Embassy Dialogue Group Country Fair and attended a workshop 'Financial Aid Workshop for Admissions Officers and Overseas Advisers'. As USBT 2001 alumna, I also participated in the USBT 20th Anniversary Reunion Seminar and the USBT Gala. I've met many USBT alumni and it was a great network between educational advisers to learn and share our expertise in advising.

Outcomes

1. Be a strong public advocate for US higher education
• Promote US 2-year institution programs in Kyrgyz Republic through lectures at the Center and outreach
• Provide qualified advice on 2-year U.S. institution programs to Kyrgyz students wishing to study in the U.S.
• Share my seminar outlines with other advising centers in Kyrgyz Republic
• Implement 2-year U.S. institution programs in Kyrgyz Republic
2. Provide information on US higher education efficiently
• Conduct seminars for the Bishkek universities on 2-year US institution programs
• Conduct seminars for the Center visitors and English Teacher's Association of Kyrgyz Republic on 2-year US institution programs
• Write an article in Kyrgyz and Russian languages on the same topic for the Bishkek Ministry of Education newspaper "KutBilim"

Benefits

• Bishkek Educational Advising Center will obtain accurate, unbiased, first-hand information on the US 2-year institution programs as well as international student services and living conditions
• I improve the efficiency of our advising services which will influence the increase of number of students from Kyrgyzstan for study in the US
• Introduce the elements of 2-year U.S. institution programs in Kyrgyz Republic

In conclusion I would like to thank all supporters and organizers of the program. Excellent organizing and highly professional tutoring made the program amazing.