TURNING THE TIDE ON EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OSLO 000654

FOR EUR/NB ALAN MELTZER, MARTIN MCDOWELL
FOR ECA/A/E/EUR, B. DUFFY
FOR EUR/PPD, ANDREA STRANO, LEA PEREZ; R, RICK RUTH

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: NA
TAGS: KPAO OEXC PREL NO
SUBJECT: TURNING THE TIDE ON EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE:
A VIEW FROM NORWAY


1. Summary: Faced with a dramatic decline in student numbers over
the past 15 years, Embassy Oslo made student mobility and the
promotion of U.S. education a top Mission-wide priority. By
building partnerships with interested organizations; outreach
efforts to alumni, advisors, teachers and students; and aggressive
public diplomacy with the support of ECA and EUR/PPD, we are turning
the numbers around. Following the narrative are a summary of post
initiatives and our checklist for success that may be of interest to
the Department and posts facing similar challenges. End Summary.

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By the Numbers: A Troubling Story
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2. Figures from the Open Doors 2008 annual report on international
academic mobility show the number of Norwegian students in the U.S.
dropped from 2,098 in 2000 to 1,191 in 2006. The number of students
earning a full university degree in the U.S. is now one-third of
what it was 15 years ago. Laanekassen, the government agency that
provides funding for students, reports that 18,939 Norwegians
studied abroad in 2006, meaning that the U.S. is capturing only 6.3%
of the study-abroad market. Student surveys show that the biggest
obstacles to study in the U.S. are the lack of GON funding for the
freshman year (the GON only recognizes a three-year Bachelor's
degree under the Bologna process; the comparatively complex U.S.
university application process; increased international competition
for Norwegian students; and the high cost of tuition and living in
the U.S.

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Building Block: Partnerships
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3. The Embassy and the Norway Fulbright Commission brought together
a broad partnership to brainstorm and develop solutions. The
partnership includes representatives from GON ministries and
contractors, national research groups, Norwegian-American cultural
groups, Fulbright, Norwegian international student organizations and
AmCham. Both the Ambassador and the PAO attend the meetings. Each
partner has taken responsibility for tasks and reports on progress
during quarterly meetings, thereby adding accountability. We also
created a Web portal connecting to all Norwegian Web sites offering
information on study in the U.S.

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Building Block: Alumni
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4. The Embassy has organized a dozen college-specific receptions
over the past year, most hosted by the Ambassador, to help identify
and mobilize Norwegian alumni of American universities. The alumni
are reminded of their positive experiences in the U.S., have the
opportunity to connect with other alumni, and are asked to join one
of the embassy's educational initiatives:

--The Speaker Bureau - Norwegian alumni are the best voices to reach
young Norwegians. We ask them to visit high schools and civic
organizations to talk about life in America and their experiences on
campuses.

--The Mentor Program - Public Affairs works with educational
advisors at our partner organizations to match students to alumni
based on field of study, institution of interest and possible
scholarship experience. This encourages students to keep working
through the application process and helps reticent Norwegians brag
about their accomplishments in their personal essays.

--Volunteer Counselors - Public Affairs is linking volunteers to
ANSA, the Norwegian student advising organization, which will
provide them with advising training. An American Fulbright alumna
living in Norway is the first to become a trained educational
advisor and she visit schools to give presentations on study
abroad.

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Building Block: Student Advisors
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5. Norwegian high school advisors are busy teachers and most have no
international or specific U.S. experience. In a trial project, we
held an all-day training seminar to acquaint the advisors with the
reasons and procedures for studying in the U.S. The seminar
included a panel of human resource directors from two of Norway's
largest employers to emphasize the value businesses place on an
American education. Feedback on the seminar was enthusiastic. We
will engage this group with college rep visits and more information,
and have scheduled a second seminar for January outside of Oslo.

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Teacher Outreach: Frequent and Flexible
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6. The chances of a student considering study in the U.S. are
significantly increased when encouraged by an enthusiastic teacher.
Last fiscal year, Public Affairs gave grants to support two groups
of Norwegian teachers going on study tours to the U.S. To reach
more teachers and students through direct contact, we launched a
"Visit the Embassy" program and sent American officers to give
presentations at middle and high schools. Officers from the
Consular and Political/Economic sections, as well as the Deputy
Chief of Mission and Ambassador, have participated in these outreach
efforts. The U.S. Presidential election proved a topic of great
interest and we have had 14 presentations since the start of this
fiscal year, also telling our "captive" audiences about study in the
U.S. These visits expose the students to an American outside of the
television screen and also forge ties with the teachers--some of
whom have already become repeat requesters. In the same period, we
organized talks with eight different university student groups in
different cities.

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Student Outreach: Contests and Visits
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7. In addition to the outreach to classes, the Embassy as a whole
adds a youth element to every possible program. We invited science
students to a breakfast with Buzz Aldrin and student leaders to a
meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureates Al Gore and Rajendra
Pachauri. We organized student activities for Arbor Day and to
celebrate the return of a joint polar expedition, invited 150
students to our Independence Day Event, had a youth component at our
Interfaith Thanksgiving, and invited youth groups on U.S. Navy ship
tours. We used an essay contest to select participants for the Ben
Franklin Summer Institutes and have 4-5 slots reserved for
Norwegians to attend the Fulbright Outstanding Student Summer
Institutes. This year's Ben Franklin student representative has
convinced his school's administration to work with Public Affairs to
identify a sister school in the U.S. for class exchanges, video
conferences and other joint projects. Our Washington-funded Student
Video Diaries competition offered video cameras as prizes for
students who wrote the best proposal about how they would use the
cameras to document their experiences during their year abroad in
the U.S.

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Two-way Street
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8. It has been important to both promote the U.S. to Norwegian
students and also encourage more Americans to come to Norway. This
demonstration of mutual respect has paid off by better cooperation
and good public diplomacy. The Ambassador and the Norwegian
Ambassador to the U.S. traveled for three days across the Midwest
visiting schools and promoting both sides of exchanges. This
generated energy at the schools and substantial publicity. The
Embassy has helped the GON target U.S. schools and connected the GON
and the Department of Education to ease federal student-aid
accounting requirements.
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Building Block: Press
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9. Our educational exchange project was launched with a major news
conference involving all the partners, including the GON. The
Ambassador then traveled across Norway, generating high visibility.
We work persistently to place stories on educational mobility in
major media, local outlets, college web sites and niche media like
Norwegian-American heritage magazines and newsletters. The Embassy
has generated surveys showing interest in U.S. study and other
issues that have led to media coverage. Because U.S. education is
something highly admired internationally, it can prove an attractive
story for media.

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Building Block: Public/Private Partnerships
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10. The Embassy has provided the organization and obtained funding
from several shipping companies to convene maritime schools from
both nations to a conference where they developed a broad exchange
program and potential joint degrees. The Ambassador supported this
with a reception for the schools and the funders. An Economic
Officer has created several internships for U.S. students in
Norwegian law firms and major businesses. The Embassy is working to
get corporate sponsors to provide host families for Norwegian high
school students to fill a shortage which prevents several hundred
willing students from studying in the U.S.

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Making it Political
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11. The Embassy has worked hard to force the GON to address the
dropping student numbers through approaches to various ministries,
heads of political parties and interested business and labor groups.

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We also encourage Norwegian groups, such as the student organization
ANSA, to speak publicly on the issues. We focus on getting funding
for the freshman year and have succeeded in getting it on the
political agenda, with all the opposition parties supporting our
proposal. We continue lobbying the government; with 2009 an
election year, we hope to see our work pay off on this issue. The
GON has tried to calm the issue by spending more money on
educational exchange to the U.S. through scholarships, grants to
promote partnerships, and marketing.

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Motivating U.S. Colleges
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12. The Embassy has worked to engage U.S. colleges and universities
in increased exchange agreements and more recruiting in Norway. The
"Ambassadors Tour" discussed above led to the formation by the
Norwegian-American Foundation of the "North American Learning
Alliance," wherein six schools across the U.S. have agreed to
consolidate and streamline application processes and do joint
marketing. The University of Minnesota has made Norwegian students
eligible for in-state tuition and it added a sophisticated Web
portal for interested Norwegian students.

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Washington Support Critical
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13. Post deeply appreciates the support that ECA and EUR/PPD has
given to our educational exchange efforts. Two examples:
--Student Video Diaries: Public Affairs received $15,000 to support
a student competition and video production. We gave video cameras
to seven Norwegian students going to high schools and colleges in
the U.S. to record their experiences through their own eyes. A
special Facebook account lets other students share in these videos,
which will be edited into a short promotional video at the end of
the school year.
--The new Educational Exchange Coordinator position has been the
single most important element in our efforts. PAS could not fight
this battle without the funding to support the new staff member.


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Results so Far: Momentum and Progress
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14. Although the various sources of statistics tracking Norwegian
students in the U.S. present different numbers, an upward trend is
clear.
-- GON statistics track all Norwegian students receiving government
funding. In most cases this does not include students in their
freshman year or any self-paying students. Tracking only the
students on 1-2 semesters exchange programs, reflecting GON
priorities, the number went from 580-791 in one year. The combined
total of exchange students and full degree students increased 14% in
the past year.
-- Open Doors compiles numbers provided by U.S. institutions and
includes self-funded students, freshman, full-degree and exchange
students. These figures show that Norway sent 1,264 students to the
U.S. this year, an increase of 73 students, or 6.1% over last year.
-- Visa statistics mirror these rising figures. Issuance of F-1
student visas increased by 33%; J-1 visas for exchange students and
visitors increased 20%; and M-1 visas to non-academic students
increased by 72%.
-- The number of Fulbright applicants increased by 30% last year;
the quality of the applicants increased as well. In Europe, Norway
was bested only by France and tied by the UK in the number of
Fulbrighters sent to the U.S. In per capita terms, Norway is by far
Europe's leading contributor of Fulbrighters!

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Next Steps
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15. The Embassy intends to boost student numbers by expanding our
existing programs and exploring still others, including:
--Student Fairs - Public Affairs is subsidizing a joint booth with
Fulbright and other partner organizations at Norway's biggest
educational fair. We are also inviting American colleges to
participate, including the North American Learning Association (a
consortium of six colleges with ties to Norway). We will organize
presentations by Norwegian alumni on their alma maters throughout
the day.
-- Sports Scholarships - We have identified sports as an area where
Norwegians have skills that U.S. colleges appreciate and fund. We
are developing a strategy for connecting sports associations and
athletes with American coaches and recruiters and creating a sports
scholarship information packet for advisors, sports associations and
students.
--Advisor Seminars - Given the success of our first advisor seminar,
Public Affairs is planning to offer similar seminars both in Oslo
and around the country.

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-- Media outreach - We are exploring new ways to take advantage of
traditional and non-traditional media to reach untapped audiences.
We continue to promote our Facebook group and will arrange a Web
chat on study in the U.S. We are looking at ways to collaborate
with a local media organization that is hoping to develop a Web page
devoted to American educational opportunities.
-- High School Exchanges - Recognizing that high school exchanges
also play a positive role in building bilateral ties and in the
numbers of students seeking higher education in the U.S., the
Embassy is exploring ways to support such programs. In recent
years, the number of Norwegian high school students interested in
studying in the U.S. has far surpassed the number of available host
families. One idea is to ask a large American business or civic
network to identify and recruit new host families. If successful,
such an effort would yield another 100-150 Norwegian students
traveling to the U.S. every year.

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Summary of Initiatives
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16.
--BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS:
By developing partnerships including the GON, private sector,
student organizations and others, we have leveraged resources for
the project.

--SPEAKERS BUREAU:
By sending Norwegians and Emboffs to speak at schools, we created
opportunities to promote exchanges.

--EDUCATION WEB PORTAL:
Post funded the development of a one-stop-shop Web portal
(usastudier.no),with links to our partner organizations, to help
Norwegian students find all the information they need to study in
the U.S.

--STUDENT ADVISING VOLUNTEERS:
Training volunteers so they can give presentations and concrete help
to students.

--STUDENT VIDEO DIARIES:
PAS distributed six video cameras to Norwegian students who agreed
to film moments of their educational exchange experience in the U.S.
Their submissions are continuously uploaded into a special Facebook
account and we promote this group to all students interacting with
the Embassy.

--NETWORKS OF ALUMNI CHAPTERS:
By identifying Norwegian alumni chapters of American institutions,
Post has been able to recruit returnees to serve as mentors and
speakers.

--NEWSLETTER:
Post sends an e-newsletter three times/year to connect people,
inform them of opportunities, recruit them for programs and tell
them about our programs.

--PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT:
FCS and other sections work with Amcham to build support for
educational exchange from business. Public Affairs developed a
survey for AmCham business members, to show the high value placed on
an American education. An AmCham job fair for returning Norwegian
alumni of American institutions is planned.

--NGO INVOLVEMENT:
NGOs serve on our educational exchange task forces. Conoffs attend
NGO pre-departure orientations and offer organization-specific visa
appointments.

--ENCOURAGE U.S. STUDENTS TO STUDY IN NORWAY:
By making this a two-way effort, we have generated GON support and
built ties that contribute to Norwegian students traveling to the
U.S.

--PRIVATE SECTOR INTERNSHIPS:
Post is encouraging Norwegian businesses and law firms to offer
American students fully-supported internships in their companies and
to seek places for Norwegian students in U.S. businesses.

--MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS:
We actively look for ways to promote educational exchange through
newspaper inserts, collaboration with education-oriented Web sites,
and in setting up Web chats linking students to advisors.

-- WORK WITH UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS TO ENCOURAGE BILATERAL
AGREEMENTS:
PAS used a reception for the rectors of all Norwegian universities

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to encourage them to improve student mobility. We encouraged them
to maximize use of bilateral agreements and also asked the rectors
to energize their faculty, either by sending them on an exchange or
by encouraging them to find new links with American universities.

--YOUTH OUTREACH:
Using grants, we recruit for summer programs and encourage
participation in Embassy events.

-- NORTH AMERICAN LEARNING ASSOCIATION (NALA):
Post is promoting this new consortium of six American universities
with strong ties to Norway; they have been invited to exhibit in the
Public Affairs booth at an upcoming education fair and we will host
a reception for their alumni to mobilize them to recruit Norwegian
students.

-- PROMOTION OF SPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS:
PAS is building relationships with sports associations in Norway as
a way to recruit for American sports scholarships. We are
developing a sports scholarship starter kit and have invited a
university coach to come to Norway as an IIP speaker to talk about
athletic opportunities in the U.S.

-- MARITIME INSTITUTIONAL EXCHANGE:
We supported the development of a formal bilateral exchange of
students between Norway's maritime institutions and four maritime
institutions in the U.S.

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Our Checklist for Success
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17.
-- PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
by the Ambassador (weekly task force meetings, frequent speeches).

-- FOCUS RESOURCES
by making it a priority for entire Mission, not just Public Affairs
(e.g. Consular and Political/Econ section outreach during other
travel).

-- Build YOUTH OUTREACH
into many embassy events.

-- PARTNERSHIPS
with public and private organizations that focus on education.

-- POLICY ADVOCACY
with political parties and government.

-- Use all possible State Department PROGRAM FUNDS
to reach target goals (grants, speakers, etc.).

-- BE VISIBLE
at public fairs, events, giving speeches and in the media.

-- Have a DEDICATED STAFF MEMBER
to manage educational exchange program.

-- ENERGIZE
and unite other STAKE-HOLDERS.

-- SUSTAINED and frequent INTERACTION
with schools, teachers and students.

-- EXPLORE NEW MEDIA:
Facebook and other social networking sites, Web portal, Web chats.

WHITNEY