1. There were 15 OSEAS Educational Advisors from 15 different countries who participated in the II Professional Advising Leadership Program. The program started with Orientation and Introduction of PAL participants with each other and College Board staff, administering the program. All participating institutions, Department of State, College Board including individuals were very cooperative in making the training a success. We were hosted in a very hospitable manner whenever possible with provisions of pick-ups, meals, reception, visits and briefings.
2. During the nearly two weeks stay for the PAL program in and out of Washington area we shared rooms with different fellows and learned a lot besides the rich collective experience sharing that took in the premises of the College Board office. There was an ample opportunity amidst full gear activity for all of us to look at our e-mails and make local phone calls to confirm and arrange our individual appointments. Janine made sure that we do not miss our appointments and all demands are fulfilled. I appreciate her patience and multi-task management skills (air lines search, train bookings, ticketing, follow up on programs etc), with composure and collectiveness. Everyone at the College Board was very cooperative by providing time, telephone and PC for our work during the short stay at the office.
3. PAL - participants are reminded the importance of this high level advising professional leadership program. This is an opportunity to expand the knowledge base advancement, increase mentoring ability for the future prospective PAL fellows, contribution by way of articles, listserv, newsletters and other programs.
4. The able and pleasant Debbie Hefferon facilitated on how we should proceed with our individual projects. The kind of questions we should raise and constantly improving and clarifying the goals and objectives. We also learned how to engage our resource persons with interest. Fellows exchanged ideas on "strategies and tips to make the research effective", a very essential mind opener to the task ahead and visits with authorities.
5. The forum presented it so that we can maximize our knowledge of each other's project and deepen the awareness of international education issues. The PAL project areas were: Admission process and academic credentials; community colleges, organization of higher education; medical and dental education in the U.S.; medical and nursing schools; fund raising; database information system; accreditation programs; credential evaluation of francophone systems; the role of testing to U.S. academics; graduate admission and admission beyond the basics.
6. We were sometimes put in clusters of 2-5 for campus visits and individual assignments, this helped us a great deal by raising important questions and covering areas where one might have missed. The collective of more than one experienced advisor objectively brought qualitative difference in knowledge gain. My area of interest was fortunately overlapping with my colleague Hasan from Azerbaijan; I furthered my learning form his rich experience and deep investigation in the area of accreditation and organization of private higher education in Azerbaijan.
7. My specific PAL project was on "Organization of Private Higher Institutions including the Accreditation Process". The beginning of private higher institutions in most developing countries is a fairly recent establishment of about one decade. In many African countries they started as religious institutions, business schools, computer training centers or boarding schools. The growth of these institutions is a response to ever increasing demand for more higher education and the limitation of public (state) institutions to absorb all qualified students. In most Sub-Saharan African Countries it is less than 1% of the age group that are privileged to attend tertiary education, as places have to be rationed to only those who have scored very high grades on National Examinations at the end of high school. These private institutions served important purpose by relieving parents of the pressure of finding alternatives as well as catering to the needs of substantial number of adult learners at affordable cost.
8. Currently there are 40 post - secondary and private higher education institutions accredited by the ministry of education in Ethiopia. This all took place in the space of about a decade, whereas it took the nation more than half a century to increase the number of public universities from one to seven today. It is believed that this clamor will not continue at this tempo and some of the weaker ones will have a natural death for lack of students, competitive programs and able staff. There is a great promise in terms of creating more access to the relevant age group. One of the challenges we see is that quality is being compromised in both private and public higher institutions for the sake of increasing numbers and political gain. Experience also leaves a lot to be desired when organizing new higher institutions. Some of the issues faced in organizing higher institutions are finance, staff recruitment, quality of education, facilities, curriculum and accreditation.
9. We are grateful that the College Board was able to arrange special sessions with authorities either individually or groups of two or three depending on our project. I was usually going to meetings with Dr. Hasan Huseynli of Azerbajian as we have common territories in accreditation and organization of private higher education. We shared experiences and supported each other in asking pertinent questions to our topics. For the PAL Fellowship program we meet with the following offices and authorities:
9.1: Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), President, Judith Eaton
9.2: Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), Director, Michael J. James,
9.3: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education - Accreditation and State Liaison, Mr. John Barth
9.4: Commission on English Language Program Accreditation, Director, Teresa O'Donnell
9.5: American Council on Education (ACE), Director, Barbara Turlington
9.6: American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Director, Ms. Arlene Jackson
9.7: Private Accreditation Expert/Consultant, Marianne R. Phelps
9.8: George Mason University, Ms. Sandarshi Gunawardena
9.9: Central Florida Campus Visit: Dr. Donald R. Matthews
10. La Roche College in Pittsburgh and Graduation May 8-9, 2004: Five years ago I volunteered to coordinate Haile Selassie I Scholarships for 22 Ethiopian Students where the Grandson, Prince Ermias Shaleselassie Haileselassie fund raised $1.2 million for their four years education including pocket money. The students were selected based on their academic, essays and community contribution from all regions of Ethiopia. The first batch of nine students graduated last year with distinction and superior academic and extracurricular performance. This year five students graduated and I had the great fortune of being part of their family along with their sponsor Prince Ermias to observe this great occasion. My mission to La Roche was two fold, to attend graduation, which is the immediate fruit of educational advising, and find out the possibility of sending more students. There are about 70 African students at La Roche through a special program called "The Paceim la Terrece" which means institute for peace. I am grateful that College Board arranged my trip to the college including transport.
11. Pre-NAFSA Visit May 19-21, 2004
11.1. Daytona Beach Community College: is a big size community college established 50 years ago. It is a college with Public Radio and TV programs, 3-4 channels. There are 28 community colleges in the area who create smooth transfer options possibility for 80% of the students to 4 year colleges. They have a very strong program in nursing, photography, English, business studies and fine arts. Most colleges in Florida have articulation agreements with Daytona Beach CC to take students for advanced degrees and credit transfer.
11.2. Stetson University: It is the first private university in Florida established in 1883 with about 2100 undergraduate students. The university provides scholarships not financial aid for International Students. They have very strong programs in business, art, music and law and 98% of the business graduates get immediate placement upon graduation and 100% for accountants. We were briefed in state of the art building with laptop and remote control buildings.
11.3. University of Central Florida: It is one of the big universities in U.S. with a student population of about 50 thousand of which 7,000 are graduate students. The university entertains 13,000 visitors annually which includes parents and students. The institution is very well known for its International English Program which is considered a flagship. The TOEFL requirement is 550/213 and SAT 1120. The university provides good support for students and nearly 8,000 of them live on campus. The UCF is always alive with Under Construction Forever (UCF) acronym - motto since 1967.
12. USBT 20th Anniversary 1984-2004, May 24, 2004
We celebrated one full-day long interesting function sharing 20 years experience. Members of the USBT were hosted at the University of Baltimore where we had a panel and reflection on the future of advising. It was an occasion to renew our promise of service for international education, more advocacy, increasing knowledge on pre-departure, post arrival & re-entry and building strength through networking. USBTers agreed on collaborating with regional and OSEAS colleagues and establishment of new initiatives. There was also a call to benefit advisors from ample professional development opportunities. Participants were asked the challenging question "why stay in the advising profession?" Most advisors are in the profession as our hearts are in service according to one of the speakers from a community college. Each one of the participants got a valuable gift CD on the 20 years history of USBT 1984-2004.

NAFSA Conference 25-29, 2004 Baltimore MD

1. Tuesday, May 25 - Workshop #40 Financial Aid for OSEAS. This was a very popular workshop for OSEAS educational advisors as it provides ammunition for the challenges coming from most of our students regarding study in the U.S. universities. In this workshop relevant points about international students benefits like - institutional, economic, and foreign relations benefits were raised. The financial aid challenges for OSEAS students are identified to be, dependence on institutional aid, lack of federal and state subsidies, difficult economic situation and overall competition for a limited source.
2. Friday, May 28 - GS 212 - Brain Migration - Africa's 21st Century Global Challenge. There were four of us from the continent presenting on this session. We introduced the subject of Brain Drain followed by factors (push & pull) affecting the number of African staying abroad and the possible short and long-term solutions to overcome the challenge. Participants discussed the positive trends that are taking place in some communities in terms of reversing the situation. These included the permanent or/and temporary returning of substantial number of individuals, investment and contribution via internet/virtual without physical presence.
3. Higher Education Trends in South Africa. This session was presented by two of our colleagues and a president from the country. They described the new changes that are taking place in the rainbow country after democratization and harmonization of color. South Africa is the number one international destination for neighboring and most African countries and absorbs about 6% of U.S. students in study abroad countries. The vibrant nation is a power house for changes that are taking place in the region and throughout the continent for programs like New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), human resource development and South African Economic Development Countries (SADEC).
4. Community Colleges. This is a mind opener about the unlimited possibilities that the community colleges create for both U.S. and overseas students. They provide opportunities of easy access and affordable fees. Most of them have excellent facilities for hands on and experiential training. Students receive quality education for employability in various fields and a possibility of transferring to 4 year colleges and beyond.
5. USAP - African/Zimbabwe Experience. Rebecca Zeigler and two of her scholars selected through this wonderful program for highly motivated and selective students presented. The two students shared their sincere experience and outlined starting from pre-selection to the present time. They walked us through their enthusiastic lives and elevated goal of creating similar opportunities for economically challenged students by establishing a very strong networking society. They have a very innovative system of mentoring younger scholars and assisting each other.
6. Africa - SIG: We were reminded of the Africa Special Interest Group far in advance before traveling for the NAFSA Conference and in various occasions including the African dinner on Sunday, May 23, 2004. The SIG needed to be reactivated and energized to meet the expectations of NAFSA in terms of number and impact. There was a serious discussion by about 50 members on the structure and leadership of the SIG. We selected leaders (Florence Kasule, Nancy Keteku) and found volunteer members to work on website design and other follow-ups. All that were present renewed their commitment to contribute and make the group functional.
7. Saturday, May 29 - Professional Development Program - Trainer Corps Training. This is a full day workshop that engages participants fully and the goal is to create volunteers who will be able to train and present. We were exposed to various learning styles of individuals and how to approach to those needs. We exercised different adult learning principles and techniques that can be used under varying circumstances depending on the topic, curriculum and content. The experience trainer provided us with essential materials to be used for future reference and training opportunity.

Post - NAFSA Visit, May 30 - June 5, 2003

I went to Oregon State University after the NAFSA Conference as a result of the relations I developed with Dr. Badege Bishaw, who is a professor of Forestry and currently Assistant Director of International Office. He was instrumental in starting various projects in Ethiopia and other African countries in his field of interest and education. The OSU has a very strong linkage and ongoing project with Wondo Genet Forestry College in Ethiopia which is under the Debub University. They also have extended their cooperation with Ethiopian Agriculture Research Organization (EARO), a principal research institute.

Lessons Learned

1. It has to be emphasized that we need to make careful prior planning on which areas to focus and what lessons to take as the choices are many and competing. A good thumb of rule is consulting those who had prior experience and make some searches through internet, texts, listserv and contacting organizing institutions.
2. Planning and managing your time from the beginning, through the middle to the end of the program save you a lot of energy. It is essential to follow on cables, listserv, REAC - DISCUSSION, and newsletters. We should all take time to respond to various inquiries and surveys as much as possible. Many rely on us to come out with some policies and procedures drafting and we can later demand our colleagues and trouble shoot on the web.
3. Finding out our priority training need areas and making appropriate selection of topics from the list of workshop and session topics. I learned from experience that pre-registration is very important as some our preferred choices could be over subscribed and we may not be able to attend them on-site. Many such occasions happened at Baltimore this year. So register as early as possible and make notes of your topics in a permanent notebook. 4. Keeping vigilant on whatever chances there may be from various U.S. higher institutions like - the pre-NAFSA campus visits to "Destination Indiana" and post-NAFSA visits. We learn a lot by being physically present in a short time and in one spot that we could ever do from other sources. It makes learning easy, fun and tangible.
5. Investing some money by becoming NAFSA member from our meager resources (salary) opens many opportunities for our International Education career. Once you join the association you can volunteer to serve in various sections, apply for travel grants and have access to the website, obtain various publications and participate in numerous conferences as presenters or resource person. We create ample opportunity by networking with 6,000 professionals at any one NAFSA International Conference. This is the right venue for our collective voices to be heard, about issues like fees, visas, SEVIS, special interest group including Africa - SIG and training opportunities. You will find this group of professionals from all continents to be extremely cooperative and helpful. Depending on your relationships it is possible to arrange individualized visits, linkages with your institutions, government offices and other areas of mutual interest.
6. I had the chance of meeting so many respectful colleagues who are world class authorities in certain fields. We had Professor Paul Huntsberger, New Mexico State University, who came to Ethiopia, Malawi and Eritrea through partnership program and visited almost all public and private higher institutions in Ethiopia in two weeks time. He consulted many institutions and presented on U.S. higher education. I meet with Dr. Amy Lezberg this year at Baltimore who was introduced to me by Nancy Keteku and taught me a lot about details of the accreditation process, more than I can learn from any resource. We are planning to bring her to Ethiopia to provide consultation and present on Private Higher Institutions Conference in Ethiopia. 7. It is very comforting to witness OSEAS Advisors take active part in organizing USBT 20th Anniversary, workshops and sessions. We participated in all events and observed first hand that our suggestions being valued in creating programs for other advisors.
8. The 2004 PAL Program was carefully designed and we were prepared for the program in advance. We learned from each of the 15 PAL fellows projects and benefited from a very well designed orientation and Leadership Seminar by the College Board. The individual meetings were very fruitful and some of them went even beyond my expectation. I am building a lifetime friendship and comradeship with a few of the individuals that I meet during this time. I will be contacting the PAL fellows as well as those institutions and individuals that I meet during the short-time program.
9. August 1, 2004, the deadline for submission of proposals for the upcoming NAFSA 2005 International Conference in Seattle, is fast approaching, so let us pool our energies individually and collectively to make proposals for workshop and/or sessions.
10. I thank and congratulate all those who made my life richer by sharing experience in PAL 2004 Fellowship program, NAFSA and Institution, college, university and individual visits.

I appreciate the vital support of Department of State - ECA/A/S/A, REAC - Nancy Keteku, College Board, Public Affairs Section - Addis Ababa, numerous institutions and individuals who made my attendance of PAL Fellowship Program 2004, NAFSA International Conference, and campus visits educative and pleasant. I am grateful and thankful for all your support.

Tsegaye Kassa
Cultural Affairs Assistant/Educational Advisor
U.S. Embassy, P.O.Box 1014, Entoto Street
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: 251-1-174000 or 174223; Fax:251-1-242454 E-mail: kassatw@state.gov; tkassa@hotmail.com   June 30, 2004