U.S. Departments of State & Education Announce International Education Week
By Marie Holmes

U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, as well as other governmental and educational institutions, will hold events to commemorate International Education Week 2001, Nov. 12-16. U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige encouraged schools and communities to participate in International Education Week by coordinating activities that highlight foreign language instruction, study abroad programs, global studies and other related topics.

The week’s activities fall on the heels of House Resolution 207, which proposes to establish an international education policy, citing the need to better prepare students to work in the international sphere as well as to attract more foreign students to study in U.S. institutions.

According to the American Council of Education, enrollment in foreign language courses in colleges has fallen from 16 pecent to 8 percent since 1960, and the number of colleges and universities with entrance and graduation requirements involving foreign language study has also declined. While the number of U.S. students who enroll in study abroad programs has been rising steadily, the number of foreign students

choosing to study abroad in the U.S. has declined from 40 percent to 30 percent since 1982, according to the International Institute of Education.

International Education Week coincides with the annual release of the Open Doors Report, published by the International Institute of Education and partially funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. The report, which tracks data about international study, will be released on November 13.

Each year, the U.S. State Department funds a number of international scholars through the Fulbright Fellowship, as well as through the new Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which provides undergraduate students receiving federal Pell Grant funding with up to $5,000 to enable them to pursue studies abroad. Both programs are highly competitive; the Gilman Scholarship is awarded based on financial need.

The sponsors of International Education Week hope to raise the profile of such programs and of international education in general. “Knowledge about the culture and language of our neighbors throughout the world is becoming increasingly important in the daily lives of all Americans,” said Rod Paige in a statement on International Education Week. “The events surrounding the terrorist attacks of September 11 underscore that point.” #

By Marie Holmes

U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, as well as other governmental and educational institutions, will hold events to commemorate International Education Week 2001, Nov. 12-16. U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige encouraged schools and communities to participate in International Education Week by coordinating activities that highlight foreign language instruction, study abroad programs, global studies and other related topics.

The week’s activities fall on the heels of House Resolution 207, which proposes to establish an international education policy, citing the need to better prepare students to work in the international sphere as well as to attract more foreign students to study in U.S. institutions.

According to the American Council of Education, enrollment in foreign language courses in colleges has fallen from 16 pecent to 8 percent since 1960, and the number of colleges and universities with entrance and graduation requirements involving foreign language study has also declined. While the number of U.S. students who enroll in study abroad programs has been rising steadily, the number of foreign students

choosing to study abroad in the U.S. has declined from 40 percent to 30 percent since 1982, according to the International Institute of Education.

International Education Week coincides with the annual release of the Open Doors Report, published by the International Institute of Education and partially funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. The report, which tracks data about international study, will be released on November 13.

Each year, the U.S. State Department funds a number of international scholars through the Fulbright Fellowship, as well as through the new Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which provides undergraduate students receiving federal Pell Grant funding with up to $5,000 to enable them to pursue studies abroad. Both programs are highly competitive; the Gilman Scholarship is awarded based on financial need.

The sponsors of International Education Week hope to raise the profile of such programs and of international education in general. “Knowledge about the culture and language of our neighbors throughout the world is becoming increasingly important in the daily lives of all Americans,” said Rod Paige in a statement on International Education Week. “The events surrounding the terrorist attacks of September 11 underscore that point.”

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