Since the mid-1970's, overseas educational advising has been developing as a profession, stimulated by the growth of international educational exchange between the United States and other countries and by the creation of the Overseas Educational Advisers Professional Educators Group (OSEAS) within NAFSA: Association of International Educators in 1986. Overseas educational advisers work with students, scholars and trainees interested in opportunities for education, research and training in the U. S. In addition, overseas educational advisers who are members of NAFSA abide by both the NAFSA Code of Ethics and the Overseas Educational Advisers' Principles of Ethical Practice.
Educational advisers are a primary source of comprehensive, unbiased and up-to-date information concerning all levels and aspects of the U. S educational system. They often provide programs and services to prepare students for living and studying in the U. S., as well as for re-entering their home culture.
Advisers act as liaisons between the U. S. educational community and host country educational and government institutions. They serve not only the interests of their primary clients, students and scholars seeking assistance in attaining their personal goals, but also the interests of students' sponsors and countries as well. Advisers might be responsible for testing or placement and monitoring of sponsored students. They may also assist self-sponsored students in obtaining placement for themselves.
By participating in professional networks, educational advisers offer their colleagues unique insights into educational and cultural situations in their home countries. Through contacts with U. S. admissions officers and international student advisers, they promote effective services for international students in the U. S. and serve as a source of information on host country educational institutions.
Overseas educational advisers provide a vital link in the educational exchange process. Their professionalism is crucial to attaining the ultimate objectives of educational exchange: increasing mutual understanding among nations and fostering cooperative international development efforts.
I. WHERE DO OVERSEAS ADVISERS WORK?
Whether serving as full-or part-time employees, advisers are found in a wide variety of government-related or private offices, such as
Specific responsibilities vary with the needs of each country and depend on whether the particular adviser is part of a larger staff devoted, exclusively to educational exchange activities, functions on a part-time basis, or is located in a one-person office. The following areas, however, are usually considered among an educational adviser's responsibilities.
Advisers coordinate the presentation and dissemination of information, whether by electronic means, phone, mail, or in person. They may be asked for information about any or all of the following items:
Advisers must keep abreast of developments in higher education not only in the United States and the host country, but also in other countries whose students are served by the advising center. They collect, interpret and distribute data on educational exchange activities and trends.
B. Advising
Beyond information-giving, the adviser's ability to explain and interpret information helps the student to relate it to local and personal considerations.
When advising self-sponsored students and scholars, the adviser helps, encourages and guides them through the processes of
Providing pre-departure orientation programs to smooth the transition to living and studying in the U. S. and, in some cases, offering re-entry programs to facilitate the student's personal and professional transition upon return to the home country are important aspects of the advising process.
C. Testing
The adviser distributes test information and informs the local educational community about test dates, procedures and costs. The adviser may also serve as the test center supervisor for U. S. examinations given overseas. Moreover, new developments in computer-based testing require that advisers be aware of and knowledgeable about the changes in testing formats.
D. Liaison and Public Relations
In representing the interests of those they serve, educational advisers must maintain a broad variety of contacts. These may include
E. Office Management
Whether working alone or supervising other staff members, the educational adviser must be an effective manager of time, space, human resources and information. In larger offices, they may be responsible for training and supervising a staff of advisers, clerical personnel and sometimes groups of volunteers. Such managers supervise work flow and provide program direction.
Even for a part-time person working alone, an important office management function is the collection and maintenance of statistics about the advising center. These statistics are used in planning, directing, and evaluating the operation.
As funds for staffing decrease, a number of offices depend increasingly on volunteers, in addition to or in place of paid staff. Thus, advisers now need to bear the responsibility of recruiting, training, supervising, and encouraging volunteers.
Moreover, reduction of funds requires that advisers be aware of and use techniques to reduce overhead costs and to recover costs involved in advising. Creativity in raising funds for an advising office is required of many advisers.
As technological developments affect advising throughout the world, advisers should have access to, be aware of and be able to use new technologies, such as CD-ROMs, databases, and the Internet (primarily electronic mail and the World Wide Web).
F. Resource Development.
The adviser manages and actively develops written, visual and human resources. On occasion, this may involve exploration of new methods and information delivery techniques, such as computer technology and video production. Most frequently, it entails preparation of printed handouts, audio or video tapes and visual displays to introduce U. S. education in a form and language appropriate to local audiences.
G. Training
Advisers may be called upon to train other advisers or related personnel in the office, country or region. They may be asked to conduct training workshops, or to share materials developed in their offices or to publish and distribute newsletters on advising issues.
In addition, advisers are often asked to conduct training programs on a variety of topics, which may encompass conducting cross-cultural workshops, workshops on U. S. education, orientation or re-entry programs, workshops on academic skills need in the U. S. or on preparing to be an effective graduate teaching assistant.
III. SUGGESTED BACKGROUND AND SKILLS FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVISERS
In 1994, USIA and NAFSA began developing a formal training sequence of modules designed to prepare individuals for the profession of overseas educational advising. The final result is NAFSA's new professional development program's Foundations Workshop for Overseas Educational Advisers. It is designed for newcomers to the profession of overseas advising and is based on NAFSA's Statement of Basic Competencies for professionals in international educational exchange.
Many academic disciplines serve as a valid background for educational advising. Examples include counseling, international affairs, comparative education, educational administration, social sciences, management, area studies or social work. Information science, library science and data processing are useful.
International experience is a valuable asset. Advisers need to be familiar with the culture, environment and educational system of the U. S., the host country and other countries whose students are served. Fluency in English and in the language(s) of the host country, as well as good communication skills (writing, listening, public speaking, negotiating) are essential. Strong organizational and research skills, cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with people-individually and in groups-are crucial. Typing and computer literacy are also necessary in most situations.
Experienced educational advisers rank patience, persistence, tact, resourcefulness and creativity as the most valuable personal traits of an adviser.
IV. PRIMARY RESOURCES FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVISERS
Information, training, professional development and assistance are available to overseas educational advisers from a variety of U. S. based sources. The following list is by no means exhaustive.
Assists educational advisers working in U. S. Government-facilitated offices. Provides training, a reference bibliography, books and periodicals and information on acquiring other resource materials for advising purposes. Supports the Regional Educational Advising Consultants (REACs).
COUNCIL FOR THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE OF SCHOLARS 3007 Tilden Street, NW, Suite 5M Washington, D.C. 20008-3009
THE COLLEGE BOARD Office of International Education 1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20036
EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE (ETS) Rosedale Road Princeton NJ 08541
INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION (IIE) 809 United Nations Plaza New York NY 10017
NAFSA: ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20009-5728
PETERSON'S 202 Carnegie Center P O Box 2123 Princeton NJ 08543-2123
This document was first prepared in 1987 by members of OSEAS working as educational advisers. OSEAS is a Professional Educators Group within the NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a non-profit professional association that provides training, information and other educational services to professionals in the field of international educational exchange. Initial funding for the project was provided by the Student Support Services Division of the U. S. Information Agency, through a grant to NAFSA Field Service. This document was most recently updated in February 1998.