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TABLE OF CONTENTS

This manual outlines the basic policies and procedures of OSEAS-Europe (OverSeas Educational AdviserS European region).

The policies in this manual do not constitute a contract with any member of OSEAS-Europe, nor are they a promise by OSEAS-Europe that the policies will be followed in all cases. The OSEAS-Europe Board may change the policies at any time and may choose not to apply a policy in certain circumstances.

This manual is created based on the OSEAS-Europe by-laws and it is intended to acquaint the OSEAS-Europe board members with their responsibilities and standard procedures. The OSEAS-Europe Chair, in consultation with the Immediate Past Chair and the Ch air Elect will be responsible for updating the information in the manual and distributing it to the other board members.

Each new member of the OSEAS-Europe Board will get a copy of this handbook at the NAFSA National Conference.

OSEAS-Europe, where OSEAS is an acronym for OverSeas Educational AdviserS, incorporates anyone working in educational advising on the United States, within the OSEAS-Europe geographic area which includes all countries in Western Europe (including Israe l), East/Central Europe and the NIS.

OSEAS-Europe adheres to the 'Principles of Ethical Practice in Overseas Educational Advising' and supports the NAFSA: Association of International Educators mission statement. Principles of Ethical Practice in Overseas Educational Advising is a 1997 re vision of the OSEAS Code of Ethics developed by OSEAS Worldwide in 1986-87.

1. to seek out and bring together those engaged in the profession of educational advising of students and scholars towards US study and/or research;
2. to promote professional development for said advisers;
3. to enhance networking amongst educational advisers;
4. to support communications and technologies within the region;
5. to encourage leadership, involvement and volunteerism within the OSEAS-Europe region and NAFSA, and
6. to maintain strong ties with the US Department of State, other OSEAS regions, and other organizations, centers, or associations (whether public or privately supported) whose goals are similar to those of OSEAS-Europe.

The management of the affairs of OSEAS-Europe is vested upon a seven member Board of Directors, which includes six members elected from the region as described in Article 1, Section 1 of the OSEAS-Europe by-laws and a seventh member appointed by the Bo ard of Directors to serve as Treasurer. All Board positions are voluntary and no monetary compensation is provided.

In addition, OSEAS-Europe has a US-based Account Administrator who is appointed by the Board of Directors to manage the OSEAS-Europe bank account in the United States, and ex-officio board members whose appointment and responsibilities are outlined bel ow.

The first elections of the Board took place in 1995 where the first six members were elected. By the end of 1998, the OSEAS-Europe Board had created and ratified its own by-laws, created a homepage and a listserv and also developed two quarterly newsletters for Europe and the NIS where the articles are contributed by the membership. It has organized its 6th regional conference in Budapest, Hungary, and is now organizing its 7^th regional conference in Nicosia, Cyprus. It has worked closely with its membership (which numbers more than 200), offering various training opportunities with the support of NAFSA and the US Department of State. For the first time in 1999, OSEAS-Europe offered a number of scholarships for advisers to attend the NAFSA National Conference. These were offered again in 2000.

SECTION 1

OSEAS-EUROPE BOARD MEMBERS' RESPONSIBILITIES

CHAIRS

The OSEAS-EUROPE Board Chairs consist of the Chair, the Immediate Past Chair, and the Chair Elect, each of whom must have been a member of OSEAS-Europe for at least three years prior to their election. Chairs are elected for a three-year term, during w hich they fill the positions of Chair Elect, Chair, and Immediate Past Chair.

Below are outlined the main responsibilities of the three chair positions. These responsibilities are not rigid, and for example, the elections might be handled by the immediate past chair if the chair is busy with planning an OSEAS-Europe conference.

CHAIR ELECT

An adviser will be nominated and elected to the Chair Elect position for one year, during which s/he has the opportunity to participate as a full member of the board team but at the same time also prepare herself/himself for the actual Chairship. The C hair Elect shadows the Chair.

• If applicable, appointing the Conference Planning Committee two years prior to each OSEAS-Europe Conference (conferences are held approximately every three years, and the next one will be in 2001).

• If he/she will be Chair of OSEAS-Europe during a Conference year, he/she should be considered as a candidate for Chair of the OSEAS-Europe Conference and the Conference Planning Committee. However, given the importance of, and particular requirements for, this role, priority should always be given to the most suitable person on the Conference Planning Committee.

• Any tasks relating to OSEAS-Europe delegated by the Chair or by the Board.

CHAIR

After a year the Chair Elect automatically becomes the Chair and the head of the team for one year. The handover occurs at the OSEAS-Europe Business Meeting at the NAFSA National Conference in May each year. The Chair is the most important position in the leadership and s/he heads the Board.

• to serve as the OSEAS-Europe Regional Representative within the OSEAS leadership in NAFSA.

• presenting the OSEAS-Europe annual report to NAFSA.

• overall management of OSEAS-Europe affairs during the period of the chairing and coordinating the delegation of tasks within the board and with ex-officio board members.

• to keep in touch with the European and NIS REACs.

• to present regular updates to the OSEAS-Europe membership through update articles in the OSEAS-Europe and NIS newsletters or through postings on the OSEAS-Europe and NIS listservs.

• to organize the annual OSEAS-Europe elections for the position of Chair Elect and any other board vacancies.

• in the event of a regional OSEAS-Europe conference, be willing to serve as the conference chair if requested or nominated by the Board.

• on-going training of the Chair Elect.

By vote of the board, the Chair can call for a virtual or actual meeting to discuss any urgent issues related to OSEAS-Europe or for the amendment of the OSEAS-Europe by-laws or the manual of procedures.

By vote of the OSEAS-Europe Board, the Chair can authorize the OSEAS-Europe Treasurer and the US-based account administrator to issue the necessary funding for organizing such a meeting, though he/she is encouraged to hold the meeting through virtual m eans or during/before the NAFSA annual conference.

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

After one year the Chair becomes the Immediate Past Chair. The idea of having the Immediate Past Chair on the Board is not only to ensure transition, but also to retain the expertise and experience that only an Immediate Past Chair can offer. The Imme diate Past Chair retains full voting rights on the Board and actively participates in the activities of the Board.

• consulting the current Chair about the term that is left for each board member or the US-based account administrator to serve in their positions.

• keeping in touch and coordinating relations with the ex-officio board members upon the delegation of the Chair.

• any responsibilities delegated by the Chair.

Upon completion of their three-year term, Chairs are not eligible for re-election until two years have elapsed. Elections are to be held annually for the position of Chair Elect, and every two years for the positions of at-large members.

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

Three regional representatives on the Board of OSEAS-Europe represent the members in Western Europe, East/Central Europe and the NIS. These are the At-Large Members of the OSEAS-Europe Board. These members of the Board are elected for two-year terms an d their duties begin on the Board as soon as the elections are finished for the year.

• Promotion of the professional development of advisers within their respective regions;

• Promotion of networking amongst educational advisers from their regions;

• Support of communications and technologies within the region;

• Encouraging advisers from their regions to be involved in the leadership, both within the OSEAS-Europe region and NAFSA.

• Coordinating their work with advisers in their regions who are serving on OSEAS-NAFSA liaison projects, e.g. OSEAS-ADSEC Liaison Project, OSEAS-CAFSS Liaison Project.

• Fulfillment of any tasks vested upon them by the OSEAS-Europe Board.

• Posting of regular quarterly updates for the membership on work completed.

• Collecting annual reports for their respective regions for inclusion in the annual OSEAS-Europe report to NAFSA.

• Serving on the planning committees of any OSEAS-Europe workshops or conferences organized during their term in office.

At-large Members of the OSEAS-Europe Board may be elected to the Chair Elect position upon completion of their two-year term and may be elected to a second term on the Board after a two-year absence from the OSEAS-Europe Board. In the event of a vacancy in the At-Large Members’ positions, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors. However, the appointee serves the remainder of the term only. After that period ends, the normal election procedure should be followed for each position.

TREASURER

The Treasurer is appointed by the OSEAS-Europe Board to serve on the Board for a term of three years. The term may be extended upon the agreement of both parties.

• Upon the agreement of the OSEAS-Europe Board, the Treasurer shall instruct the OSEAS-Europe US-based Account Administrator (see next section below) to activate OSEAS-Europe's US-based bank account, issue checks and make payments.

• To oversee the work of the US-based Account Administrator regarding the fiscal status of the account.

• To supervise the OSEAS-Europe budget planning for two types of costs: direct program costs, and direct administrative costs.

• Direct program costs are those that are specifically identifiable with a particular project or activity, such as conference expenses or grants for the further training of OSEAS-Europe members.

• Direct administrative costs are communication costs, membership costs in case a membership fee is levied as well as traveling costs, if such costs occur for the Board members.

• Upon request by the board to create an annual budget.

• To secure timely feedback from the US-based Account Administrator on the disbursement of funds as well as on incoming funds.

• To secure an annual financial report from the US-based Account Administrator on the year's expenditures and to provide the Board with the report by June 15 of each year.

• To serve on the OSEAS-Europe conference planning committee

• It is assumed that the OSEAS-Europe account will be most active during OSEAS-Europe conferences/workshops. In which case the Treasurer is responsible for providing the Board with an interim financial report within a month after the conference ends.

• To investigate, and present to the board for decision, ways to maximize the growth of OSEAS-Europe funds.

The position of US-based Account Administrator is a voluntary position. This person shall be a NAFSA member. The term for this position is three years with a possible two-year extension, by agreement between the US-based Account Administrator and the Board of Directors.

The US-based Account Administrator will be appointed by the Board of Directors and shall not serve on the Board of Directors, but will report to the OSEAS-Europe Chair and Treasurer. As an ex-officio board member the US-based Account Administrator must meet with the unanimous approval of the Board of Directors, by special vote for this position.

The US-based Account Administrator's responsibilities include:

• Paying any bills as instructed by the OSEAS-Europe Chair and Treasurer.

• Serving as the sole signatory on all banking transactions up to $5,000.00. Amounts over that will require the additional signature of the NAFSA Central Deputy Executive Director.

• When an OSEAS-Europe conference/workshop is being planned, setting up a special account for conference expenses and managing the expenses and any other conference/workshop transactions upon instruction by the Treasurer and the Chair.

• Keeping an account of all interest payments and bank charges, if any, on the US-based account.

• Reporting to the Chair and the Treasurer upon request.

EX-OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS

The ex-officio board members are identified and designated by the OSEAS-Europe Board to fulfil a variety of specific activities varying from information management and dissemination to advising, as well as lobbying and advocating for the interests of the OSEAS-Europe membership.

Based upon need the OSEAS-Europe Board identifies the ex-officio board members and the specific responsibilities that they shall carry out during their term. Other individuals or additional positions to those listed below can be added by the unanimous decision and at the discretion of the OSEAS-Europe Board.

The following is the recommended list of ex-officio members. It is subject to change based upon the decision of the OSEAS-Europe Board.

• US-based Account Administrator
• NAFSA US-based OSEAS Coordinator (if such a position exists within the NAFSA staff structure)
• OSEAS-Europe Webmaster
• OSEAS-Europe Listserv Administrator, and any other OSEAS-Europe subregional listserv administrator(s)
• Ethics Liaison (an adviser to be appointed by unanimous decision of the Board)
• REAC NIS
• REAC Europe
• US Department of State Program Officer(s) for the region

Ex-officio members are invited to serve on the board, and if they accept, are appointed on the Board for a 3-year term without voting rights, with the exception of the REACs and State Department Program Officer(s) which hold permanent positions on the Board. The 3-year term may be extended with the agreement of both parties.

Ex-officio members' primary responsibilities vary depending upon their position; for example the main work of the listserv administrator(s) is obviously to administer the OSEAS-Europe listserv(s). Also, each OSEAS-Europe Board will have different reque sts to make of the ex-officio members. At the same time, each ex-officio member may have special interests or areas with which they would like to assist the OSEAS-Europe Board and members. However, all ex-officio members are requested:

• to keep informed of current issues affecting the work of OSEAS-Europe advisers, and to provide assistance or support, where possible and appropriate, in helping to resolve these issues
• to attend the OSEAS-Europe Business Meeting annually at NAFSA
• to assist, where possible, in the administration of OSEAS-Europe Conferences, including serving on the conference planning committee
• to assist, where possible, with other special projects organized by OSEAS-Europe
• to contribute to the OSEAS-Europe newsletters as desired or upon request
• to encourage involvement by advisers in OSEAS-Europe activities, and to otherwise support wherever possible the professional development of OSEAS-Europe advisers

It is the responsibility of the Chair to organize OSEAS-Europe Board elections and voting by the OSEAS-Europe membership, though he/she may delegate this responsibility to another board member. It is recommended that the OSEAS-Europe elections a re announced after the NAFSA conference, and finish by the end of September of the same year so that the positions are filled at the beginning of October. This allows as many members as possible to vote. The Chair will organize a Committee on nominations and elections composed of 3 members: the Chair, and 2 observers of the election process. The observers should not be members of the OSEAS-Europe Board.

Beginning of June: "Call For Nominations"
End of July: "Nomination Results" presented to the membership and voting starts
End of September/Early October: Voting results are posted and the announcement of the new OSEAS-Europe Board is presented to the membership.

The Chair is advised to post reminders about the election process at least twice during the election period.

However, if in a certain year there is going to be an OSEAS-Europe regional conference, nominations should be done prior to the conference and the voting done after the conference, thus giving a chance for the nominees to interact with their electorat e during the conference. In this way the members of OSEAS-Europe get the chance not only to put a face to all the current virtual Board members but also to meet with potential future Board members.

NOMINATION PROCEDURES

It is the responsibility of the Chair to post on the OSEAS-Europe, EAC-L and other relevant listservs, the call for nominations giving instructions to the membership about the nomination procedures. Relevant messages should also be uploaded onto the OSEAS-Europe Web site, which is done in coordination with the Web site administrator.

In the "Call For Nominations" message it is recommended that the following information is given:

1. the OSEAS-Europe Board structure and election procedures
2. nomination procedures
3. voting procedures
4. timeline for the elections
5. the responsibilities of the OSEAS-Europe Board Chair/Chair Elect
6. the responsibilities of the regional representatives if there are any such vacancies

To ensure that only qualified and willing candidates are considered for the Board vacancies, a bibliographical sketch of the nominees as well as their goals for the positions will be requested by the Chair and subsequently will be published on the OSEA S-Europe related listservs and regional newsletters to ensure that an informed choice can be made among the candidates.

If there is only one nominee for the Board vacancy no voting will take place, however the nominee will be appointed to the position only after the election period for other positions is over.

VOTING PROCEDURES

It is the responsibility of the Chair to post on the relevant listservs the call for voting, giving detailed instructions to the membership about the voting procedures.

In the "Call For Voting" message the following information will be given:

1. nomination results
2. nominees' biographies and their statements of goals for the period on the Board
3. voting procedures
4. timeline for voting and posting of the results

SECTION 3

In March of each year the Chair shall initiate the report preparation by providing the sub-regional representatives on the Board with guidelines for the report. The representatives of WEU, ECE and NIS will gather information from the members of the corresponding regions. It is the responsibility of the Chair to compile and submit the final report to NAFSA by the appropriate deadline as set by the NAFSA OSEAS Coordinator.

ANNUAL REPORT TO MEMBERSHIP AT NAFSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The OSEAS-Europe Board reports to the membership during the NAFSA annual conference at the OSEAS-Europe Business Meeting. The OSEAS-Europe Annual Business Meeting is arranged by the OSEAS-Europe Chair. The meeting will be convened at such time and place within the conference program as is designated by the NAFSA conference planning committee. The Business meeting is open both to the OSEAS-Europe membership present at the NAFSA conference as well as to anybody who is interested in OSEAS-Europe activities. At the OSEAS-Europe Business Meeting each member of the Board will report to the membership about work done during the 12 months since the last meeting, and will initiate discussions about future plans. The Board may ask the Ex-officio members to report during the annual meeting as well.

After attending the NAFSA annual conference or OSEAS leadership meeting the Chair will submit a report about OSEAS-Europe membership related issues discussed during both. In case the Chair was not able to attend the above-mentioned events, the Immediate Past Chair or anybody from the Board present at the events will write the report for the membership.

The call for proposal will be distributed to the membership by May, 2 years prior to the scheduled conference. The OSEAS-Europe Board usually schedules one regional conference every three years (assuming the agreement of USIA). The site of the Conferen ce will be determined through a call for proposals for hosting the conference.

The site for the regional conference will be selected ideally 18-24 months in advance from proposals submitted to the Chair and Chair Elect and will be presented to the Board, which will then vote on the location.

Along with the call for proposals, 18-24 months before the conference the conference planning committee will be appointed by the Chair Elect. The Chair Elect will serve as the Chair of the Conference. The Conference Planning Committee will create subco mmittees as are needed to handle various aspects of the conference organization.

OTHER MEETINGS

Other team meetings will be held as needed and as feasible (e.g. at the NAFSA national conference). A meeting of the full Board will be scheduled for identifying regional issues and discussing current issues and future projects, as well as for passing all the necessary paperwork to the Chair Elect.

Workshops and other meetings of interest to members will be arranged as needed and as circumstances permit, in consultation with the Chair.

APPENDIX A

OSEAS-EUROPE BY-LAWS

Prepared by George C. Dariotis

Educational Adviser, US Educational Foundation in Greece

1. The management of the affairs of OSEAS-Europe shall be vested upon a seven member Board of Directors, which shall include six members elected from the region as described in Article 1, Section 1.and a seventh member appointed by th e Board of Directors to serve as Treasurer. All Board positions are voluntary and no monetary compensation is provided.
2. NAFSA membership is a requirement for being a member of the Board of Directors, due to the close ties between the organizations.
3. All Board decisions shall pass by a simple majority vote. The Board of Directors submits an annual report to the OSEAS-Europe membership in May of each year.

1. The OSEAS-Europe Chair shall serve as the "OSEAS-Europe Regional Representative" within the OSEAS leadership in NAFSA.
2. If the Chair is unable to serve in this capacity, the Board will select another representative.

1. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Chair, the Chair Elect shall succeed to that position, completing his/her unexpired term, and in addition serving as Chair the following year.
2. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Chair Elect for any reason other than succession to the Chairship, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors. The person selected must have served on the Board previously.
3. In the event of a vacancy in the At-Large membership, the position shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors.

1. The position of US Based Account Administrator is a voluntary position. This person shall be a NAFSA member.
2. The US Based Account Administrator will be appointed by the Board of Directors and shall not serve on the Board of Directors, but will report to the OSEAS-Europe Treasurer. The US Based Account Administrator must meet with the unanimous approval of the Board of Directors, by special vote for this position.
3. The duration for this position is three years with a possible two-year extension, by agreement between the Account Administrator and the Board of Directors
4. The US Based Account Administrator pays any bills as instructed by the OSEAS-Europe Chair, and is the sole signator on all banking transactions up to $5,000.00. Amounts over that will require the additional signature of the NAFSA Central Deputy Execu tive Director.

1. The official currency of the Organization shall be the US dollar.
2. A special bank account shall be maintained by NAFSA in the US for OSEAS-Europe funds.
3. The Organization's Fiscal Year runs from July 1 to June 30.
4. The US Based Account Administrator shall manage disbursement of funds under the supervision of the OSEAS-Europe Treasurer and Board.
5. Disbursement of funds shall be done as indicated in Article 3, Section 8, Paragraph d.
6. OSEAS-Europe will be guided by the fundraising guidelines that apply to all groups that function within NAFSA.

1. Elections are to be held annually for the position of Chair Elect, and every two years for the positions of At-Large members. Elections are to be held in June of each year.
2. Election shall be by simple majority of the votes cast. In the event that more than two candidates are nominated for the same position, a plurality is sufficient for election.
3. Nominations for positions to be filled will be solicited from the membership three months prior to elections, and nominations must be submitted at least one month prior to the election.
4. Nominations for Board positions and elections may be held electronically, or via mail, at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
5. Elections shall be held electronically, unless fewer than 75% of voting members have access to e-mail, in which case elections are to be held through the mail. It is the responsibility of the Chair to determine the number of members that have e-mail access.

“This message is a call for nominations from overseas advisers in the OSEAS-Europe region for the Chair Elect and NIS Representative positions on the OSEAS-Europe Board. Our new Chair, Isabella Lanciotti, is busy with organising the call for proposals to host the next OSEAS-Europe conference, so I am handling the elections instead of Isabella.

OSEAS-Europe is the professional association for educational advisers on US education in the Greater European region (Europe and the NIS). This call for nominations and further information on OSEAS-Europe is available on our web site at:

http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/europe.html

Elections are not only for advisers on e-mail! Please pass on this message by fax to your colleagues who are not on e-mail. Thank you.

Lastly, congratulations and best wishes to our new Chair of OSEAS-Europe Isabella Lanciotti, and thank you to all who helped me during my year as Chair - it was a very enjoyable year and I encourage all advisers in the region to get involved in OSEAS-E urope. I look forward to receiving your nominations, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this message or about the Board.

Kind regards,

Louise Cook

Immediate Past Chair 1999-2000

This message contains information about:

1) nomination procedures

2) voting procedures

3) the OSEAS-Europe Board structure

4) the responsibilities of the Chair Elect

5) the responsibilities of the NIS Representative.

________________________________________________________________

1. Any advisor from the regions of Western (including Israel), Eastern and Central Europe and the NIS, who is actively engaged in educational advising on study in the United States, is eligible to serve on the OSEAS-Europe Board. However, for the Chair Elect position nominees must have been an overseas advisor for three years to be eligible. For the NIS Member-At-Large position on the Board there is no such requirement, however they must be an advisor based within the NIS subregion of OSEAS-Europe.

2. Any advisor from the regions of Western Europe (including Israel), Eastern and Central Europe and the NIS, who is actively engaged in educational advising on study in the United States, can nominate another eligible advisor for the above mentioned p ositions. No nominations should be made, however, without the consent of the nominee.

3. An eligible advisor may also nominate herself/himself.

4. NAFSA membership is a requirement for being a member of the OSEAS-Europe Board, due to the close ties between the organizations. However, nominees who are not members can become members once they are nominated or elected/appointed.

5. The individuals nominated for the above mentioned positions will be asked to submit a short resume and position statement sharing their goals and objectives for their terms in office.

6. To nominate someone you should send an e-mail message with:

a. your name and contact information,

b. the name and contact information of the person you wish to nominate.

7. Please send nomination messages to ALL of the following people:

Louise Cook at: lcook@fulbright.co.uk

Isabella Lanciotti at: fulbright1@fulbright.usis.it

Craig Rice at: cdr@stolaf.edu

We ask that you do this in case of any e-mail problems and to ensure we have independent verification of any nominations. Isabella Lanciotti is Chair of OSEAS-Europe and Craig Rice is the US-Based OSEAS Coordinator for NAFSA.

For those with no e-mail, nominations should be sent by fax to:

Louise Cook +44 171-404-6874

Isabella Lanciotti +39 06-481-5680

Craig Rice +1 507-646-3096

8. DEADLINE: All nominations must be sent by 9TH JULY, 1999.

I will post a list of nominations and the nominees position

statements on the OSEAS-Europe & EAC-L electronic discussion list

after the July 9th, 1999 deadline.

________________________________________________________________

1. Immediately after the posting of the nominations list, voting starts.

2. All eligible advisors (see the definition above) can vote.

3. All votes should be in by SEPTEMBER 30, 1999.

4. Election shall be by simple majority of the votes cast.

5. Results will be posted on OSEAS-Europe and EAC-L list within the next 10 days after the voting deadline has passed and the votes have been counted.

6. If there is only one nomination for a position, that person will be appointed without a vote.

The management of the affairs of OSEAS-Europe is vested upon a seven-member Board of Directors, of whom six are elected members. The seventh member is appointed for three years by the Board of Directors as Treasurer.

All board positions are voluntary and no monetary compensation is provided.

The elected board members consist of the Chair Elect, the Chair, the Immediate Past Chair, and three members-at-large who represent Western Europe, East/Central Europe and the NIS.

_______________________________________________________________

Chairs are elected for a three-year term during which they fill the positions of Chair Elect, Chair and Immediate Past Chair.

A person is nominated and elected to be the Chair Elect for one year, during which time s/he has the opportunity to participate as a full member of the team but at the same time also prepare herself/himself for the actual Chairship. Responsibilities of the Chair Elect include:

1. shadowing the Chair

2. if applicable, appointing the Conference Planning Committee 18 months prior to each OSEAS-Europe Conference

3. if applicable, serving on the OSEAS-Europe Conference Planning Committee

4. any tasks related to OSEAS-Europe delegated by the Chair or by the Board.

After a year the Chair Elect becomes the Chair and the head of the team for one year. The Chair is the most important position in the leadership and s/he heads the Board.

The responsibilities of the OSEAS-Europe Chair are as follows:

1. to serve as the OSEAS-Europe Regional Representative within the OSEAS leadership in NAFSA

2. presenting the OSEAS-Europe annual report to NAFSA

3. overall management and development of OSEAS-Europe affairs during the period of the chairship and coordinating the delegation of tasks within the board and with ex-officio board members

4. to keep in touch with the European and NIS REACs

5. to present regular updates to the OSEAS-Europe membership, usually via the OSEAS-Europe newsletter

6. to organize the annual OSEAS-Europe elections for the position of chair-elect and any other board vacancies

7. serving on the planning committees of any OSEAS-Europe workshops or conferences organised during their term in office

8. on-going training of the Chair Elect.

After a year the Chair becomes the Immediate Past Chair. The Immediate Past Chair retains full voting rights on the Board and actively participates in the activities of the Board.

Upon completion of their three-year term, Chairs are not eligible for re-election until two years have elapsed.

________________________________________________________________

At-Large Members of the Board of Directors are elected for two-year terms and their duties begin on the Board as soon as the elections are finished.

Duties for the At-Large Members include:

1. Promotion of professional development of the advisers within their respective regions;

2. Promotion of networking amongst educational advisers from their regions;

3. Support of communications and technologies within the region;

4. Encouraging advisers from their regions to be involved in the leadership, both within the OSEAS-Europe region and NAFSA.

5. Coordinating their work with advisers in their regions who are serving on OSEAS-NAFSA liaison projects, e.g. OSEAS-ADSEC Liaison Project, OSEAS-CAFSS Liaison Project.

6. Fulfillment of any tasks vested upon them by the OSEAS-Europe Board.

7. Posting of regular quarterly updates for the membership on work completed.

8. Collecting annual reports for their respective regions for inclusion in the annual OSEAS-Europe report to NAFSA.

9. Serving on the planning committees of any OSEAS-Europe workshops or conferences organised during their term in office.

Members of the Board of Directors may be elected to the Chair Elect position upon completion of their two-year term and may be elected to a second term on the Board after a two-year absence from the Board of Directors.”

Report submitted by Isabella Lanciotti Senior Educational Adviser Italian Fulbright Commission - OSEAS-Europe Chair for 1999-2000

• Introduction
• OSEAS-Europe Board Update
• 7^th OSEAS Europe Regional Conference
• OSEAS Europe Awards for NAFSA National Conference
• OSEAS Europe Vera Moravova award
• Professional Development Activities
• Other Professional Development Activities
• Regional Reports
• Report on the OSEAS-Europe Listserv
• Report on the OSEAS-Europe web-site

Appendix: OSEAS-Europe Board and Ex-Officio Members

I have the privilege to serve as Chair of OSEAS-Europe since May 1999 and I am pleased to present this report to NAFSA on the work of the OSEAS advisers of the European region in 1999-2000.

The report highlights the major achievements and projects of the European region.

In the Summer of 1999 we announced the 7^th O-E Regional Conference which will take place in Cyprus from July 18^th to July 23^rd 2001. All our efforts have been and will be focused on this project which represents the mos t important professional development opportunity for advisers in the greater European region.

OSEAS-Europe is proud to announce a new award to honour the memory of our dearest colleague Vera Moravova who sadly died in June 1999. The award will support a development activity for an adviser in the Eastern Central Europe region during the year 200 0/2001.

Moreover OSEAS-Europe is able to offer for the second year awards for advisers to attend the NAFSA Conference.

My sincere thanks to those colleagues who contributed information and suggestions for this annual report: WEU, ECE, NIS members-at-large, O-E Webmaster and Listserv Administrators. A special thought to Louise Cook, OSEAS-Europe Immediate Past Chair1999 -2000 who shadowed my work in the past year with her wisdom and experience. My sincere wishes to Mihaela Arsene OSEAS-Eirope Chair Elect 1999-2000 who will chair the region in 2000-2001.

Sincerely,

Isabella Lanciotti
Chair OSEAS-Europe 1999-2000

The management of the OSEAS-Europe region is vested upon a seven member Board of Directors six of whom are elected members from the region. The seventh member is appointed for three years by the Board of Directors as treasurer. The elected board member s consist of the Chair Elect, the Chair, the Immediate Past Chair and three members-at-large who represent Western Europe, East/Central Europe and the New Independent States. At-large-members are elected for two-year terms.

Elections are held each year to appoint a new Chair elect to the board and to fill any positions left vacant as other board members come to the end of their terms.

In September 1999 elections were held for the Chair elect and the NIS member-at-large positions. There were two nominations for each of the positions. A short biography and a statement of goals for the position were submitted by candidates and were pos ted on OSEAS-Europe listserv and website to help OSEAS-Europe members to make an informed choice.

Mihaela Arsene, Educational Adviser Fulbright Commission, Bucarest Romania was elected to the board as Chair elect.

Hasmik Sargsyan of EIC/IREX office of Yerevan Armenia was elected as New Independent States Member-at-large.

In addition over the year there were two replacements as WEU and ECE members-at-large resigned their positions. After the summer Terhi Topi, Educational Adviser, Fulbright Center-Helsinki Finland replaced Elizabeth Binder, Fulbright Commission Austria, as Western Europe Member-at-large and in January 2000 Agi Vajda Educational Adviser, Fulbright Commission-Hungary substituted Eva Szabo, Soros Foundation, Timisoara Romania, as Eastern/Central Europe Member-at-large. Both Terhi and Agi will serve on the board until October 2000.

A full list of board members can be found in the Appendix of this report

The OSEAS-Europe Regional conference takes place every three years and represents one of the most important development opportunities for all advisers in the region.

The 6^th O-E Conference, took place in Budapest, Hungary in August 1998, the next will be in July 2001.

In the summer of 1999, the 7^th OSEAS-Europe Regional Conference was announced and the call for proposals posted on OSEAS-Europe listserv and web site.

Among centers which put forward their candidacy, the Cyprus Fulbright Commission was selected to host the conference which will take place from the 18^th to the 23^rd of July 2001.

The Conference proposed theme is "Technology as the virtual adviser: challenging the nature of advising".

The conference will be organized by a planning committee composed of 13 members: the OSEAS-Europe Board, the two REAC's for Europe and NIS and the two State Department Program Officers for Europe and the NIS plus Cyprus Fulbright Commission advisers.

As in the past OSEAS-Europe conferences all committee members will serve as volunteers.

The planning committee will have its first local meeting in Cyprus from the 7^th to the 9^th of July 2000. A second local meeting will be arranged in the spring of 2001.

Before these appointments, the committee will start the planning agenda at the San Diego NAFSA conference where a meeting has been scheduled on May 28^th.

OSEAS-EUROPE AWARDS FOR NAFSA CONFERENCE

In the year 2000 OSEAS-Europe will repeat the project initiated in 1999 to assist European region advisers to attend the NAFSA conference.

Eight grants of $ 500 will be given in order to offset travel cost, accommodation, meals and conference registration fee.

The grants will be funded through money raised during the 1998 OSEAS Europe conference in Budapest.

Priority will be given to applications from advisers who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• presented at the OSEAS-Europe conference in Budapest
• are presenting at the 52^nd NAFSA conference
• have recently been or will be involved in OSEAS-Europe activities.

OSEAS-Europe Board received 15 applications by the deadline of March 26, 2000. All of them will be reviewed by the OSEAS-Europe Board and the award winners will be notified by April 20, 2000.

As in the past OSEAS-Europe Board members were not elegible for OSEAS-Europe grants but thanks to the generous support provided by ECA/A/S/A grants, all of them will be able to attend the San Diego NAFSA conferenceOSEAS-Europe Board members are not ele gible for OSEAS-Europe grants.

An award of $ 1,000 will be offered to honour Vera Moravova, adviser for several years at the Czech Fulbright Commission, who sadly died in June 1999 at the age of 36 due to a brain tumour.

The award will support a professional development activity for an adviser in the Eastern and Central Europe region during the September 2000-August 2001 period.

The award announcement will be posted on O-E listserv and web site before the summer of 2000.

1999 was the first year of this professional opportunity reserved to senior level educational advisers attending the NAFSA conference. The program allows advisers to design an individual project of consultations and campus visits.

In June 1999 after attending the NAFSA conference in Denver, Ola Augustyniak, educational adviser Fulbright Commission-Poland, visited academic institutions in California and Janet Galli, educational adviser American Resource Center-Switzerland, visite d Universities in San Francisco, San Diego and Denver area.

Many advisers were selected to participate in this major development program sponsored by the US State Department and administered by NAFSA. They were the following:

• Arsene, Mihaela, Bucarest, Romania Fulbright Commission
• Vajda, Agnes, Fulbright Budapest Hungary Educational Advising Center
• Aulchenko, Natalia, Novosibirsk, Russia EIC
• Hatalyak, Andriy, Lviv, Ukraine EIC
• Jumakhayeva, Kulyash, Astana, Kazakhstan EIC
• Khotim, Viktor, Grodno, Belarus EIC
• Mukhambetkhallieva, Aizhan, Almaty, Kazakhstan EIC
• Sargsyan Hasmik, Erevan, Armenia EIC

• Kim Foukaris, Fulbright Commission, Nicosia/Cyprus
• Julia Yotova, Fulbright Commission, Sofia/Bulgaria
• Gaston Lacombe, Soros Foundation, Riga/Latvia
• Ivana Puljiz, Student Resource Center, Zagreb/Croatia
• Tatiana Vladimirovna Zaitseva, Irex, Vladivostok/Russia
• Prizba Irina, Vitebsk, Belarus EIC

This program gives to one or more advising centers the opportunity to host a US participant for training purposes.

In March 2000 advising centers in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary hosted Diana Lopez, Director of Graduate Admission at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and Chair of ADSEC for NAFSA.

The following centers will participate to this program in the Summer of 2000. The first four centers listed developed their proposal together and will each take turns hosting the US visitor. Minsk operates a network of centers throughout Belar us, and will be able to offer a rich program for their guest in a variety of locations.

• Erevan – IREX, Armenia EIC
• Baku – Soros/OSI, Azerbaijan EIC
• Tbilisi – IREX, Georgia EIC
• Tbilisi – Soros/OSI, Georgia EIC
• Minsk – American Councils, Belarus EIC

In the Fall of 1999 two advisers took part to the program:

Natalia Kamenkova, Minsk, Belarus EIC traveled to Fargo ND

Ildiko Ficzko Szeged Hungary traveled to Ashville NC

Many Internship Training Programs and Workshops were organized over this year by REAC's Jody Griffin and Steve McKey to offer professional development opportunities to advisers throughout Europe.

Among the most important the following programs stand out:

• August 1999 twelve advisers of the NIS region convened in Tashkent, Uzbekistan for the Central Asian Regional Workshop.
• September 1999 the first Nordic/Baltic Adviser's Workshop was hosted by the Vilnius EIC,Lithuania.USIA and other sponsoring organizations funded twenty-two participants from eleven countries to attend the conference.
• December 1999 the All-Russia Regional Workshop took place in St.Petersburg, Russia and was attended by thirty-one advisers.

The report is based on a survey that was posted on the OSEAS-Europe listserv in February, 2000. Twelve centers replied, representing eleven countries out of the twenty one located in the Western European region.

The twelve centers were a target of a total of 318,010 client inquiries. The median total client inquiries per center was 15,200. It is noteworthy that all these contacts are mostly handled by just one person, and at some centers that person is wor king only part time.

On average, there is one full time adviser and one to two part time advisers per advising center. Four centers reported using volunteers as helpers. Two of these centers reported using volunteers only occasionally. The other two had more structured an d permanent programs.

There are several methods of client contact for all centers. These are walk-in clients, web site hits, telephone calls, e-mail and mail inquiries, fair visitors, and outreach and session participants. If web site hits are not considered, eight center s reported that telephone contacts represent the largest percentage out of the total volume. The second largest contact group was the walk-in clients.

Four centers reported an increase in the client volume. Three had not experienced a change. Four centers reported a slight decrease in client numbers. However, most of these centers did not include their web site hits in the total. These centers re ported that the number of their web site hits had considerably increased and thus affected their direct inquiries.

Among the busiest centers are the Educational Advisory Service of the US-UK Fulbright Commission which handled a record of 49,617 contacts, the Documentation Center at the Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange 35,563, Advising Services at the Italian Fulbright Commission 31,966, the Educational Information Center of the US-Israel Education Foundation over 25,000. Please consider that these numbers do not consider web site hits.

The use of the internet continues to play an increasingly important role in developing and distributing educational resources. The number of internet users is increasing and advising centers clients are becoming more “virtual” than in the past. Edu cational advisers are taking on the new role of pathfinders in the huge amount of information available.

Norway, Iceland and Italy reported a web new design and development, other centers introduced in their libraries computers with free internet hookup for student use.

All the centers worked on the implementation of different techniques to better advertise their services. Direct personal contacts with professionals within the field of international education, visits to universities and schools in the country, newspap ers and periodicals are the most used outreach methods. The Italian Fulbright Commission plans to develop a cd rom about the US System of education to distribute at major Italian universities.

The majority of the centers had either arranged or participated in one or more major student fairs in their country. Most centers had also organized orientations, outreach programs and information sessions, often in cooperation with local or governmen t organizations.

All of the centers receive most of their funding through allocations from their home country and the United States. Seven of the centers were engaged in some cost defrayment activities. However, only one center, the Educational Advisory Service i n the UK, raises approximately 40% of its total funding by itself. The most common methods were selling of test preparation materials or information packets, charging fees or memberships for consultations and sessions, or charging for photocopies and ask ing for postage-paid envelopes with bulletin orders. A few centers are also requesting a fee for individualized consultations. Two centers reported housing a Sylvan Technology Center.

Eleven centers had all attended professional training sessions.

The training sessions had mainly been regional workshops and training sessions organized by the Regional Educational Advising Coordinator (REAC).

Five centers (UK, Finland, Italy, Israel, Switzerland) had had an opportunity to attend the annual NAFSA conference in Denver, May 1999.

Eight centers had in some way been engaged in OSEAS activities during the year: Joan Jamada Dawson and Louise Cook (UK), Isabella Lanciotti (Italy) and Terhi Topi (Finland) are on the OSEAS-Europe Board and the 7^th OSEAS-Europe Conference pl anning committee.

Five advisers will be attending the annual NAFSA conference in San Diego. Four of the centers (UK, Italy, Finland, Cyprus) have applied for travel grants and partial funding for the event.

In March 1999 Educational Advisory senior staff of UK Fulbright Commission trained an educational adviser visiting from USIS Sarajevo.

Janet Galli of American Resource Center Switzerland replaced Elizabeth Binder, Fulbright Commission Austria, as WEU-ADSEC Liaison for OSEAS and manages the OSEAS-ADSEC web site http://www.oead.ac.at/fulbright/oseas_adsec/ designed to provide information on educational systems around the world.

This report was compiled on the basis of the reports submitted by ten educational advising centers in the ECE region.

1. Statistics

The total number of contacts for these centers was 62.511. The most used method of contact is the walk-in but some centers experienced a significant increase in the use of e-mail.

Among the busiest centers are the Fulbright Educational Advising Center, Bucharest, Romania which handled 26,000 contacts, the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission Advising Center, Warsaw, Poland 13,080, the Educational Advising Center, Riga, Latvia 7,869, the Fulbright Educational Advising Center, Budapest, Hungary 5,190.

Some centers experienced an increase in the number of contacts: the adviser in Riga reported a number of visitors doulbled.

The majority of centers are managed by one full time adviser. The Educational advising center in Riga is the only one to use volunteeers.

Most of the ten advising centers use several, or all, of the following channels for advertising their activities: leaflets, handouts, brochures, posters, websites, local events, different local networks, outreach programs, printed and electronic media (TV, radio interviews, newspaper articles in national and university papers), educational publications, college fairs, cooperation with student associations and other organizations, participation in education or student related activities.

Riga, Latvia:

• Annual local Career Fair and Education Fair;
• Education and scholarship seminars in 6 various cities;
• Pre-departure seminars for various organizations;
• Regular participation in education seminars or information sessions organized by other organizations

Warsaw, Poland:

• Two outreach programs in Wroclaw and Krakow and several other important Polish academic centers (Gdansk University, Krakow Academy of Economics, Medical Academy and Medical Chamber of Lodz, Poznan University);
• College Fairs at Warsaw School of Economics;
• Special publication commemorating the 40^th anniversary of the Polish Fulbright Program

Bucharest, Romania:

• outreach programs jointly organized with the IIE, Budapest

The Fulbright Commission in Budapest operates the only computer-based testing center in Hungary. Two computers are available to the public for internet access, database searches and test preparation.

c) Funding

Most centers are funded by the libraries or universities/colleges hosting the advising centers, and/or by the Soros Foundation, Fulbright Commissions, the Open Society Foundation, and the US State Department. After March 1, 2000 the Soros-supported adv ising center in Riga, Latvia will be part of the Public Service Language School, and although the advising activities will be included in their budget, the center will be expected to do some income-generating activities, some fund-raising, and to be partl y self-sustained.

Six out of the ten advising centers did not engage in any fundraising activity during this period. The others used the following methods to raise funds: use of volunteers, , charging fees for services (computer access, test-preaparation materials, test preparatory workshops, photocopying). At the Fulbright advising center in Budapest, one whole computer configuration and a colour printer were donated to the center by a US Fulbright volunteer in June 1999.

Four centers reported that they have not experienced funding cuts. The decrease in the Soros Foundation budget is affecting the Soros-supported advising centers in Hungary. In Cluj Napoca, Romania the OSF advising center will be funded by the Babes-Bol yai University and will have to face serious budget cuts. In Riga, Latvia, the annual funding of $60 000 the center used to have has been reduced to zero.

US Pilot Program for Senior Advisers:

In June 1999, following the NAFSA Annual Conference in Denver, Ola Augustyniak, Fulbright Commission Poland visited California universities in a 7 days training,

Gaston Lacombe, Riga, Latvia

Seven advisers would like to participate to the San Diego NAFSA Conference

All the advisers who are planning to attend the NAFSA Conference in San Diego have applied for one or more grants

Seven advisers out of twelve centers are actively involved in the OSEAS activities. They contribute to the work of OSEAS-Europe in different ways:

• OSEAS -Europe Board: Mihaela Arsene (Romania) and Agi Vajda (Hungary)
• Regular contributions to the OSEAS-Europe REAC Newsletter (4 advisers)
• Presenting and chairing sessions at NAFSA Annual Conferences (4 advisers)
• Liason for Ethics for OSEAS-Europe (Ola Augustyniak)
• ECE Liason to ADSEC (Ildiko Ficzko)
• Webmaster for OSEAS-Europe (Ildiko Ficzko)
• Webmaster for OSEAS-ADSEC Link Project (Ildiko Ficzko)
• OSEAS-Europe Ex-Officio Member (Ildiko Ficzko)
• Member of NAFSA Trainer Corps (Ildiko Ficzko)

• June 1999, SPA Seminar "Writing Successful Project Applications" Katowice (Daniela Coman)
• East-Central European Fundraising Workshop, Bratislava, Slovakia (Gaston Lacombe)
• September 1999, Baltic-Nordic Educational Advising Workshop, Vilnius, Lithuania (Gaston Lacombe, Jurate Muriniene, Ildiko Ficzko)
• October 1999 the Polish-US Fulbright Commission celebrated 40 years of Fulbright Program in Poland.

This report is based on replies submitted by 21 centers out of 62 located in the NIS region.

The total number of contacts for the 21 centers was approximately 270.000. All centers reported an increase in contacts of 20/30%.

As for methods of contacts centers registered the following percentages:

Walk-in vistors: 80%
Phone calls/fax/answering machine: 85%
E-mail: 60%
Individual/group consultations: 50%
Web visitors: 15%

The vast majority (98%) of Educational Information/Advising Centers in the NIS region has two full-time advisers per center. In addition almost all (72%) centers use volunteers, recruiting them through announcements placed in the centers, local and int ernational organizations, state universities.

Volunteers are selected from:

• Alumni of US government supported programs - 30%
• Alumni and students of state universities - 25%
• EIC/EAC visitors - 30%
• International and local organizations, NGOs - 15%

1. New Projects and ActivitiesSome centers reported an increasing use of internet tools in the advising process. Some of them provide work stations to their clients with free access to internet resources.

EICs/EACs advertise their centers through: web page, bulletin board, information booklets, educational information fair, outreach programs, local and international newspapers, radio, TV.NIS Advising centers organized and participated at the following p rograms:

Educational Information Fair - 42%
Career Forum and Job Fair - 23%
Seminars\Workshops\Conferences - 50%
Outreach programs - 50%
Publications - 42%

Out of 62 centers in the NIS region 30 are funded by the US Department of State, 19 are independent and are funded by state universities or local organizations, 13 are funded by Soros Foundation

According to NIS country laws/regulations advising centers are not allowed to do any fundraising activities. Out of 21 replies only 6 centers reported cost-defrayment activities (xeroxing, advising fairs etc.).

Only one center out of 21 though reported funding cuts.

US Based Training ProgramSix advisers of the region participated at the Fall 1999 program and two will be in the Spring 2000 program

In the Summer of 2000 five centers will host in turn a professional from the US.

In the Fall of 1999 the Minsk adviser participated to this program

Nineteen advisers participated in different trainings/workshops and conferences

• 6^th Annual US Educational Information Advising Fair at Moscow (March 1999)Central Asian Conference for Educational Advisers in Tashkent (August 1999)
• Educational Information Fair in Bishkek (October 1999)Russian Regional Conference in St. Petersburg (December 1999)Internship Training Program for Mid-Level Educational Advisers Moscow (April 2000)

The vast majority of respondents is involved in OSEAS activities through regular contributions to the OSEAS-Europe NIS newsletter.

Hasmik Sargsyan Educational Adviser in Erevan, Armenia is in the OSEAS-Europe Board.

The OSEAS-Europe electronic mailing list was started in February 1996. It was created to facilitate regional communications and professional networking among Overseas Educational Advisers (OSEAS) in Europe. Overseas educational advisers are working at USIS posts, Fulbright Commissions, universities, bi-national centers and independent educational advising centers. The European region includes Western Europe, East/Central Europe, Israel and the Newly Independent States.

The OSEAS-Europe mailing list is a joint project of the OSEAS Europe Board, the Institute of Baltic Studies (IBS) and the University of Tartu in Estonia. The IBS provides OSEAS Europe free listserv support. Thanks to the USIA grant of $1,450 from Septe mber 1997, the listserv computer hardware was updated to ensure quicker and more efficient communication via OSEAS-Europe mailing list. An important change in the listserv administration took place in October 1998. A posting-by-subscribers-only policy was implemented on OSEAS-Europe. The change was considered necessary to avoid unsolicited messages posted on the list, the number of which was rapidly growing and caused justified dissatisfaction by regular subscribers. Currently, the list has over 200 subsc ribers and more than 1000 messages have been posted since 1996. Marvi Pulver, Educational Adviser at the University of Tartu and OSEAS Europe ex-officio member, administers the list on a voluntary basis.

The list has mostly been used by the OSEAS Europe Board on organizational issues, like elections, by-laws, announcements on conferences and special projects, advertising grant possibilities, posting copies of USIA cables relevant to advisers, ETS annou ncements concering CBT issues, and so on. The list provides a forum for discussions on advising issues and activities, networking with colleagues, posting messages by advisers seeking information/help in specific topics. The list is also useful to those w ho wish to target messages to the European advising region specifically. This way, the mailing list has its own niche and it does not duplicate the services of the REAC list and Inter-L.

In order to join the OSEAS-Europe listserv, send the following request to the listserv address - listserv@ibs.ee - subscribe oseas-europe firstname lastname.

In order to post a message on the list, send it to the list address - oseas-europe@ibs.ee .

To get more information or help, please contact the list administrator Marvi Pulver at: marvi@utlib.ee.

During the year of 1999 the following additions were made to the OSEAS-Europe home page (http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/europe.html), to the website of educational advisers working in the Greater European Region:

• Following the changes of the OSEAS and OSEAS-Europe Leadership, the files of names and contact information was regularly updated;
• To help to prepare the members of OSEAS-Europe for the 1999 autumn elections, the texts of the "Call for nominations", then the "Voting Procedures" and "Statements of Goals of Nominees" were put on the home page;

• As a follow-up to the 1998 Budapest OSEAS-Europe Conference the Opening Plenary Speech: "The Ethical Entrepreneur" was added to the conference information together with the 25 files of the List of Participants;
• An update on the 7^th OSEAS-Europe Regional Conference, July 2001 (written by the OSEAS-Europe Chair) was added to inform European advisers about the next conference;

• The text of the three issues of The European Newsletter were made available from the home page: the Spring issue (17 files), the Summer issue (15 files) and the Fall issue (8 files);
• 4 files and links to useful sites were added under "Viruses and Worms: protection suggestions" to the 'Computer technology and advising' subsection of this page to help advisers to cope with virus problems;

• Several files were added in connection with the computer based TOEFL (ETS TOEFL briefings, websites for on-line TOEFL preparation);
• A very important and large material was provided by Evelyn Levinson and was put to the home page in this section: a Partial List of Awards for International Undergraduates;

• Some new URLs increased the number of those advising offices on the home page which have an office home page (in Hungary, Macedonia etc.)

• The information on European and NIS educational systems was increased with texts on Czech, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Uzbek education;
• Comparative tables of education in the ECE were also added;
• A link was created to the site of the OSEAS-ADSEC Link Project;

• Several links were found and added to different sections of the link collection: ESL programs, college search sites (Education International, CollegeQuest, CollegeSource), links to ranking and financial aid information, to websites of CITO and CG FNS, to NAFSA Regions with websites, U.S. Education Journal etc.

As a new initiative, a Bulletin Board was created and added to the front page for the purpose of an easy access of information on actual news, deadlines and reminders (like OSEAS-Europe Grant information, list of grant application deadlines etc.).

Also, during the summer of 1999 a major revision was made on the home page: out-of-date information and unnecessary files were deleted and the format of the pages was unified. Especially, the most visible changes were made on the "Other links" page whi ch was reorganized and reformatted.

At the end of 1998 there were 4,245 visitors recorded on the OSEAS-Europe home. Until the end of December 1999 this number increased to 8,459.

Ex-officio members are not elected board members, but are key individuals in the field of overseas educational advising who assist with and/or support the work of OSEAS-Europe:

NAFSA 52^nd Annual National Conference, San Diego, CA.

Thursday June 1, 2000, 5.30 - 6.45 pm

Introduction of OSEAS-Europe Board, Ex-officio members, State Department, NAFSA and other special guests.

Thank outgoing board and team members and welcome incoming members

Update on WEU Sub-region

Update on ECE Sub-region

Vera Moravova's Award Announcement

Update on NIS Sub-region

Update on NIS Newsletter

Update on OSEAS-Europe Listserv

Update on OSEAS-Europe Website

Report on OSEAS-Europe Professional Development Programs and Grants

Update on 7th OSEAS-Europe Conference Cyprus 2001

Call for Additional Volunteers

Report on OSEAS-Europe Account and Finances

Update on OSEAS-Europe Manual

Handing over of Chairship of OSEAS-Europe and Regional Meeting to Mihaela Arsene

Elections for OSEAS-Europe Board 2000

Dear Colleagues,

Returning from an exciting NAFSA Conference in Denver, Colorado, I am extremely pleased to begin my OSEAS-Europe chair assignment with the announcement of our main project for the next two years: the 7th OSEAS-Europe Regional Conference in July 2001. < /P>

The OSEAS-Europe regional conferences are an important professional development opportunity for overseas advisors in the region and are held approximately every three years, with sponsorship by the U.S Information Agency. Many of you attended the 6th regional conference, "New Partners, Strong Ethics: Striking a Balance Towards the Year 2000", which took place last August in Budapest. This call for proposals is a great opportunity to carry on the success of previous OSEAS-Europe Conferences. The 2001 OSEAS-Europe regional Conference will be the first of the new millenium and its theme should reflect the changes and challenges which mark the climate of our professional lives.

In the past many advising centers have volunteered to host the regional conferences and on behalf of the OSEAS-Europe Board, I want to encourage all of you to investigate possible resources and support in your local area and consider submitting a propo sal to host the 2001 conference.

Please note that all proposals for hosting the conference must be received not later than September 15.

Proposals should be sent by regular mail or courier to:

Isabella Lanciotti
Italian Fulbright Commission
Via Castelfidardo 8, 00185 Rome, Italy
Re: OSEAS-Europe 7th Regional Conference

All proposals will be reviewed by the OSEAS-Europe Board in consultation with the two Regional Educational Advising Coordinators (REACs ) for Europe and the NIS and the USIA Program Officers for Europe and the NIS.

The selected proposal will be announced no later than October 31, 1999.

Thanks to Ildiko Ficzko, OSEAS-Europe homepage coordinator, the call for proposals as well as future updates of the information regarding the 7th OSEAS-Europe Regional Conference will be posted on the OSEAS-Europe web at the Conferences page:
http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/conf.html.

If anyone needs more information on this project, please feel free to contact me via email: ilanciotti@fulbright.usis.it or fax: 39/06/4815.680 or telephone: 39/06/4888.211.

On behalf of the OSEAS-Europe Board I am pleased to wish good luck to all advising centers who submit proposals.

With my warmest regards,
Isabella Lanciotti
OSEAS-Europe Chair for 1999-2000

The OSEAS-Europe Board is pleased to announce the call for proposals to host the 7th OSEAS-Europe Regional Advising Conference in July 2001.

The OSEAS-Europe regional conferences, with funding from USIA, are the most important professional development opportunities for overseas advisors in the region and are held approximately every three years. The 7th OSEAS-Europe Regional Conference will be held in the first or second week of July 2001.

The regional conference represents a unique chance for professional training and networking in the field of advising on US education.

The conference will be four or five days in length and will include both formal and informal learning opportunities, offering a wide selection of workshops and sessions, an exibit hall, a technology center along with receptions and other opportunities for meeting and networking with colleagues. Proposals for workshops and sessions will be sought separately following the selection of the host center(s).

The OSEAS-Europe Board anticipates that the next conference will have approximately 200 participants including educational advisors from across the region and representatives of U.S. universities and key organizations in education from the United State s.

The Conference will be organised by a committee composed of the OSEAS-Europe Board, the two Regional Educational Advising Coordinators (REACs ) for Europe and the NIS, the USIA Program Officers for Europe and the NIS as well as two people, identified in the winning proposal, who will be responsible for local arrangements. Following the selection of the winning proposal, the Conference Committee will organise sub-committees drawing in volunteers from among advisors across the region to address specific tasks including conference promotion, local arrangements, financial management, fund-raising, and arrangements for plenary speakers.

Any USIA-affiliated educational advising center in Western, Eastern, or Central Europe, Israel, or the NIS is eligible to host the 7th OSEAS-Europe Regional Conference. Proposals will also be accepted from multiple advising centers in the same city/cou ntry, however one center should be identified as the primary point of contact.

All advising centers interested in submitting a proposal should carefully consider resources and support available, including lodging and meeting space, available technology, possible sources off cost-sharing/sponsorship, etc. Centers should also be a ware that a minimum of two people will be required to work on local arrangements.

Ideally, the conference venue should have an advising center with more than one advisor or where arrangements can be made to provide appropriate coverage or close the office during the conference.

The proposal should include the following:

- Ideas about theme and title for the conference

- Contact person, title, address, e-mail, phone and fax

- Supporting letters from the advising center director and local USIS officer including specific examples of how these organizations will cooperate with the Conference Committee (disburse USIA grant funds, etc.)

- Information on local Conference agencies that could handle the local work (such as registration, arranging transportation, optional tours/excursions, etc.).

- Site plan/description of the conference venue. The venue should accommodate 2 conference sessions of up to 100 people each simultaneously, exibit hall and technology room for approximately 200 people. The proposal should include information about t he available technology (i.e. number of computers, available software, internet access, etc.) and audio-visual equipment (overhead projectors, etc.)

- If lodging is not available at the conference site, identify a designated “conference hotel” and include costs for single and double occupancy rooms.

- Information on the facilities (hotels, cafes, shops etc) in the immediate vicinity of the conference venue and brief descriptions of other possible local venues for off-site receptions, conference opening or closing events, etc.

- Information on the approximate costs and other considerations of the proposed venue (e.g. USG per-diem rate, airport transfers, visas required, public transportation, etc.)

All proposals must be received by September 15, 1999.

Isabella Lanciotti
Italian Fulbright Commission
Via Castelfidardo 8, 00185 Rome-Italy
Re: OSEAS-Europe 7th Regional Conference

All proposals submitted will be reviewed by the OSEAS-Europe Board in consultation with the two Regional Educational Advising Coordinators (REACs ) for Europe and the NIS and the USIA Program Officers for Europe and the NIS.

During the review process, the committee may contact the proposing organization for additional information.

The decision will be announced by October 31 1999. Preference will be given to the proposal offering the best combination of organizational, financial, material and human resources.

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