The Reviews Are In!

The Inaugural Live Video College Fair (LVCF) has been well-received at home and abroad. Here’s a sampling of the comments so far:

• Ball State student paper, The Daily News, on Tuesday, 2/7/06: “Ball State Fair to Improve Image of US Universities”—Ball State University is striving to dispel misconceptions about America and attract more students from the Middle East today through a first-of-its-kind virtual international college fair….. "We're trying to improve the image of the United States and particularly educational institutions because it relates to students in that region of the world," Bennett said.... Ball State is coordinating the project through a group of schools called Destination Indiana and the U.S. Department of State, where it will connect with five advising centers in the Middle East. These centers represent Dubai, Kuwait, Amman, Gaza, and Rabat, Bennett said…. Participating along with Ball State are the University of Evansville, University of Indianapolis, Valparaiso University, University of Southern Indiana and Indiana University…. "The cooperation we have gotten at most of the centers has been remarkable," Bennett said. "This is going to be the wave of the future for [universities] to be able to reach out to students they many never have been able to have contact with in the past."

• Muncie newspaper, Star-Press, on Wednesday, 2/8/06: “Virtual tour brings Middle East to BSU”-- Few college advisers would volunteer to conduct an orientation session at six o'clock in the morning. But when students are getting a virtual tour from across the globe, time ceases to matter…. The project was coordinated in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State and Destination Indiana, a consortium of in-state colleges and universities working together to promote Indiana's higher education system overseas. Minus a few technological glitches …school officials say Tuesday's virtual fair was a success. I would absolutely be interested in doing this again," said Kay Gunyon, undergraduate international admissions coordinator for University of Indianapolis. "Facing a limited budget, this is a great way for our school to do worldwide outreach and build name recognition overseas."

• from Dina Kanan, Education USA adviser in Dubai, “Students were extremely happy with the experience. They thought it gave a new perspective of the American institutions and people.”

• from Rasha Zalzala, Educational Adviser, AMIDEAST Kuwait, “We would like to thank you for all your efforts in arranging for this DVC occurrence to take place in Kuwait … and for your participation in this fair as well. The outcome was very positive, it turned out to be a very productive event due to all the concerted efforts put in by all parties and due to the interaction and participation of the attendees. It was the first time for our guests to undergo the DVC experience, and they were very attentive. Many were asking to be invited to such events in case of recurrence….We hope this is the beginning for a series of DVC events taking place in our country. Once again, many thanks for everything!”

• from Akram Al Baghdadi, Educational Adviser, AMIDEAST Gaza, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you so much for participating in the first DVC College fair. All of you introduced your universities in a positive and clear way to our students; I am sincerely appreciating all the hard work you have done, also I would like to thank all those who worked hard to make this event happen, our REAC Kristen Cammarata and the Department of State.”

• from a press release in Dubai: “EducationUSA Dubai participated in the Live Video College Fair "Destination Indiana" on February 7, 2006. Twenty five students from various institutions including the Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai Men's College, American College of Dubai, American University of Sharjah, Dubai Gem, St. Mary's School, International School of Choueifat, Our Own English High School, and the Indian High School attended the five hour fair. Students benefited from the fair and considered it to be a great opportunity to speak directly to university representatives. They asked numerous questions about support for international students, admissions policy, and financial aid, among others. That the students remained at the virtual fair for five straight hours was a measure of their intense interest in studying in the U.S. Students found the university representatives to be friendly and helpful, and were particularly impressed with the technological level of the presentations, which included video conversations with international and/or Muslim students attending the universities. Among the attendees was Anne D'Souza, Commercial Specialist at the Foreign Commercial Specialist at the US Consulate General : “The Live Video College Fair (LVCF) - "Destination Indiana" was truly a creative offering to students in the UAE market who very keen to learn about U.S. universities as there is much interest in education that the U.S. offers. The combination of technology and outreach spanning continents to offer outreach on U.S. education was both unique and definitely something that should be looked at in opening up markets for international students to beyond the participating six Indiana universities. One could see the interest that the LVCF generated by the lively question and answer session that followed each speaker's presentation.”

• from a reporter for the Gulf News in Dubai, “Yesterday I took 10 of 'my kids' to the American Consulate for the very first virtual educational fair(Live video) in UAE with 6 universities from Indiana participating. The advancements in technology are indeed awesome!!!! Though some of the kids were over whelmed and tongue tied, it was very good exposure to life on campuses in America.... It was an amazing experience...I plan to report it in Gulf News so that more young adults and families learn about the schools and the unique event.”

• From the Kuwait News Agency, “AMIDEAST Educational Adviser & Test Coordinator, Lorey Cross,.... It is very much like an open forum for students to talk to admission officers and hear from students actually attending the university what their experience is like." She added that the first DVC had been held at the embassy in late November for Ball State University, noting that such an experience "opens doors and bridges gaps." …. Cross also noted that this experience also allowed students to ask the questions to people who are actually at the university and could give them the answers they required…. During the DVC, students talked to representatives of each of the participating universities and were acquainted with the majors offered at each university and their academic ranking, details of the application process and how long in advance paperwork had to be filled out, what tests were required for admission, the services they offered to Muslim students, tuition fees, housing opportunities, and possible internships. The DVC also included taped interviews with Arab students studying at these universities, who spoke of their experience and explained what it was really like to study in Indiana. On the American side, the events was put together by … Destination Indiana.”