The issue of defraying costs is of major concern to many advising centers
as the realities of shrinking budgets and reduced funding for overseas
advising centers must be faced. The Educational
Information Service (EIS) of the foundation has been actively
recyling funds and trying to defray costs to the foundation for almost ten years. In the beginning, we charged simply for photocopying services. Later, we introduced the idea of charging for subject lists we hand out. Soon after that, we were one of the
first overseas advising centers to begin selling ETS, College
Board and
TOEFL study material in our office. By ordering in bulk quantities, we are able to get a discount and resell with a reasonable profit margin. Students appreciate being able to obtain
study material on the spot and pay for it in local currency.
For several years, the EIS organized annual pre-departure group sessions in which visiting U.S. Fulbright grantees and returning Israeli students were incorporated into half-day workshops for newly accepted students to U.S. university programs. Special pr
e-departure packages were sold and an entrance fee was charged. This proved an excellent opportunity for students to network before leaving Israel and get the information they needed. It also provided the foundation with additional income of up to $800.
Due to personal commitments, I was unable to organize such a session in 1994, but I hope to reintroduce this program in 1996.
After introducing video counseling in 1991, we began producing and selling undergraduate, graduate and graduate business information packages (see "Tables of Contents" for each). Not only has this proven a great time saver and back-up to our video present
ation, but a successful way of generating funds for the foundation.
During the period from 10/1/93 - 9/30/94, the combined sales of subject lists, information packages and ETS/TOEFL/College Board study material as well as profits from photocopying and administration of certain examinations (Michigan English test, GED) gen
erated a net profit of $20,062 to the USIEF. Although this represents only about 10% of the actual operating costs of the Educational Information Service to the foundation, it is a step in the right direction. (Editor's note: FY 1995 - net income to the f
oundation increased to $29,745)
On January 1, 1995, we introduced a new fund-raising technique in which we prepared a list of local study preparation courses available for the various American standarized tests and include with each TOEFL, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT bulletin we distribute. Yo
u will note that we very clearly state that we neither endorse nor assume responsiblity for these courses and that names are listed in alphabetical order. The five companies who signed our agreement provided the foundation with an extra $3,900 net income
which will allow them to appear on our list until June 30, 1996. We hope to expand this list later this year. (Since this article was written, we sold more advertising and raised a total of $5,190.)
We are currently investigating other possibilities of generating funds for the foundation. One of my ideas is to provide individual consultations by appointment and for a fee to students who have gone through the general basically free advising services w
e provide (video presentation and first-time general questions to our advisers) and who would like more in-depth advising from the senior adviser (me). This service would be optional and would not impede students without means from getting all the basic c
orrect information. However, those willing to invest something like $10-$15 would receive a 20-30 minute in-depth private consultation in which their more complicated questions would be answered professionally and ethically.
I'm also considering organizing special workshops for potential MBA's, graduate and undergraduate students. Again, only those students who have seen our video and obtained general first-time information could sign up and we could charge a $10-$30 entrance
fee, depending on the length of the workshop and materials provided.
It has been asked if charging might risk losing students. Of course it really does depend on the mores of the particular country, but in Israel we have seen no problem in charging for various services, as long as these charges are within a reasonable rang
e. The volume of students we handle yearly (24,674 for the year ending 9/30/94 - 13% more than the previous year!) allows these minimal charges to add up to a nice additional income. It is also important to note that we, as a Fulbright Commission offerin
g advising services, make it very clear to our visitors that we provide them with quality, objective information on all study options in the USA.
When you consider how many exhorbantly expensive private "advising" services exist today whose goals are not what I'd call entirely objective as well as the most disturbing problem of government budget cuts, I think it is only natural that overseas advisi
ng centers try to balance professionalism with a bit of good business sense!
Prepared by: Evelyn Levinson Director, USIEF, Tel Aviv, Israel, May 1995
Telephone: 972-3-5172131 Fax: 972-3-5162016
E-mail: elevinson@fulbright.org.il
Back to Virtual Professional Development
Workshop
Back to OSEAS Europe home page