WASHINGTON, D.C. (CitizenWire) — The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will host its second EducationUSA Forum to promote U.S. higher education overseas June 22-24 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC.
With increased global competition in the field of international education, students need reliable, comprehensive and unbiased information about study opportunities in the United States. EducationUSA provides that information as a service of the U.S. Department of State.
During the 2009-10 academic year, the total number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities reached a record high of 690,923, according to the Open Doors report published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with State Department support. Foreign students contributed an estimated $20 billion last year to the U.S. economy through spending on tuition, housing and related expenses.
This year, EducationUSA Regional Coordinators and Advisers from more than 40 countries will attend the Forum, providing U.S. higher education professionals with unparalleled access to the global network of over 400 advising centers in 170 countries.
Through four plenary sessions and six regionally-focused sessions, EducationUSA staff and higher education leaders will provide advice to 345 participants representing moore than 250 U.S. colleges and universities and 20 higher education associations on attracting more foreign students to study in the U.S. The regionally-focused sessions will focus on in-country and virtual recruiting; creating an international-student friendly campus; resolving student visa issues; tapping foreign government scholarships that promote study in the United States; and partnering with EducationUSA around the world.
EducationUSA strives to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. EducationUSA Advisers promote U.S. higher education to international students, guiding them through the process of choosing schools, applying, financing their studies, and getting student visas.
The Forum is open to U.S. higher education professionals by registration only. For information, please visit: www.educationusa.info/conferences/educationusa_forum_2011.