Record-breaking attendance marked the 21st Annual Summer Institute for International Admissions hosted by AACRAO International Education Services (IES), July 28th through August 1st, 2014.
More than 90 international admissions professionals gathered in Washington, D.C., from institutions as close as the local George Washington University all the way to King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia! In addition, participants' experience ranged from over six years of experience to less than a week in their jobs, making this one of the most diverse groups we have ever had.
“This training just reaffirms our work in the profession,” said Julia Funaki, Associate Director of IES.
The Institute was broken up into two parts: Recruitment and Credentials Review. Monday’s Recruitment sessions focused on a variety of topics relating to international student recruitment. Michelle Hampton from ETS taught attendees the significance of TOEFL scores and how to read, analyze and apply those scores to the admissions process. Presentations by NACAC and Linden Educational Services concentrated on how to successfully recruit international students and third party recruiters. Representatives from the Department of State, Institute of International Education, and SEVP explored resources that help to increase the number of international students on campus.
The Credentials Review team of presenters was led by Dale Gough, Director of AACRAO IES, Julia Funaki, Associate Director of IES, Annetta Stroud, Senior Evaluator for IES and Robert Watkins, Assistant Director at UT-Austin. During the week, participants learned about diploma mills and fraudulent credentials, in addition to undergraduate and graduate credentials from thirteen top sending countries such India and China. The training allowed attendees to exchange ideas on individual institutional policies and procedures when handling foreign credentials.
Participants had a great time networking and learning throughout the week. One participant said, “Dale and Robert kept us entertained, yet focused on our task. Julia and Annetta had so much information and personal experiences to share with us. What a wonderful team of trainers!” For both participants and AACRAO IES, this proves to be the most successful training yet.
AACRAO IES plans to spread our knowledge in the field by hosting the 9th Annual Winter Institute for International Transfer Credit on January 26-28, 2015, in Washington D.C. This training builds on Summer Institute and allows participants to dive further into evaluating foreign credentials and calculating transfer credit. Register here!