Like most Mexicans, Eugenio Yarce has been deeply affected by the violence between drug cartels and the Mexican army, which has filled news coverage with accounts of kidnappings, assassinations, and torture. But for Mr. Yarce, deputy rector for outreach here at the private Autonomous Popular University of the State of Puebla, or Upaep, the…

In a country where only 1 percent of college students can afford to study abroad, staking one's university's reputation on its international program might seem elitist. In a way, it is. But the University of Monterrey, where 40 percent of students participate in foreign-exchange programs, says that internationalization is also part of a broader…

Many college leaders are coming to understand that, in a global economy, they need to produce graduates and develop faculty members with strong international skills. The recognition has led them to take new, more deliberate approaches to work abroad. In the past, individual faculty members have had connections with colleagues overseas, but those…

For decades, college coaches in many sports have been recruiting internationally to stock their teams with the best players they can find. American universities in the NCAA's Division I gain competitive advantages with gifted young athletes from overseas, and the proportion of foreign players in many Division I sports has doubled since the…

Tens of thousands of international students every year use local recruiters in their homeland to help them get into colleges abroad. Despite the proliferation of the Internet, with e-mail and applications that can be submitted online, students in the developing world still heavily depend on commissioned agents to help them navigate what is to many…

The U.S. ambassador to India, in an interview with "The Chronicle" last week, criticized the opposition of some Indian government officials and politicians to legislation that would allow U.S. and other foreign universities to establish campuses or programs in the country. He spoke favorably, however, about India's willingness to take on…

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education and the China Scholarship Council, the ministry-directed agency that oversees educational exchange, the number of international students at Chinese universities rose dramatically over the past decade, from 39,000 in 1997 to 195,000 in 2007 (although only one-third of them were seeking degrees). While…

Reports on experiences of the increasing number of college students and scholars who are visiting Cuba, where they find fertile ground for research but intolerance of dissent. Also notes views toward such academic exchanges by various institutions such as the University of Miami, Florida International University, and the University of Havana. (DB)

The reorganization plan for government agencies under the Clinton Administration includes placement of the United States Information Agency (USIA), which oversees most government-sponsored academic exchanges, under the Department of State, where it was before 1978. The Arms Control and Disarmament Agency would also become part of the State…

Declining involvement of American students and scholars overseas because of unstable currency exchange rates is causing concern at a time when American sophistication in international affairs is becoming more important to the nation's future. (MSE)

Describes findings from the annual "Open Doors" report, which contains statistics collected by the Institute of International Education on American students abroad and on foreign students and scholars in the United States. The report shows heightened competition among American, Australian, and British institutions, as well as more…

Describes how the National Student Exchange helps undergraduates attend a different college for a semester or a year. (EV)

National Faculty Exchange, and organization that helps faculty members "get away" by teaching at another college, is described. The organization was established by a small group of colleges and universities that were looking for ways to renew their faculty. (MLW)

Reports on increasing difficulties experienced by Chinese students and scholars in obtaining U.S. visas, possibly due to more rigorous examination of individuals in "critical" technological fields following the recent spy case and to the high numbers of Chinese students who do not return to China. Critics claim the visa process is…

A historic American-Soviet agreement establishes an undergraduate student exchange program whose unique feature is that the Soviet students will be allowed to attend American institutions unchaperoned for the first time, allowing them to assimilate into American college life. (MSE)