New center provides U.S. schools an effective promotional platform for recruiting qualified Vietnamese students
IRVINE, Calif., April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — California ETEC officially opened the Vietnam Education and Training Center (VETEC) in Ho Chi Minh City on March 22, 2013. VETEC is being launched in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration supported by ITA's Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) to respond to the growing importance of the Vietnam market as a source of international students. In 2011/2012, more than 15,000 students from Vietnam enrolled in U.S. institutions, placing it as the eighth largest host market. The direct economic benefits to the U.S. are even more staggering – tuition fees and living expenses generated from Vietnam totaled more than $250 million dollars in 2012.
U.S. schools currently have limited choices to effectively promote and recruit students in Vietnam. The traditional model of attending high-cost, low-yield study fairs or working through private study agencies is in need of refinement. According to Mark Matsumoto, President and CEO of California ETEC, "The launch of VETEC will provide US schools an in-country platform to aggressively augment efforts to promote, screen and recruit qualified students. VETEC will be staffed by a dynamic team of bi-lingual student advisors and marketing specialists. Services to U.S. education and training providers will include:
- Year-round promotion of U.S. schools from a prime address in Vietnam
- High impact advertising campaigns tailored to specific school needs
- In-person student advising and counseling
- Facilitation of student and faculty exchanges
- Translation, interpretation and printing support
- Coordination of in-country logistics and meeting schedules
Why Vietnam?
Vietnam has a population of 91 million and nearly 60% are under the age of 35, and the need to support this target population is huge. Despite increased investment in education, Vietnam is unable to meet the demands for quality education. In 2012 alone, nearly 2 million Vietnamese graduated from high school and yet less than 20% of these students could find a pathway into higher education in Vietnam. This provides unprecedented opportunities for U.S. high schools, community colleges, traditional four-year universities and training providers to fill this breach.
Benefits to Vietnamese Students and Parents
VETEC will offer Vietnamese parents and students a trusted source to obtain accurate and objective information about U.S. study options. The range of services to be offered by VETEC include:
- In-person advising and counseling
- Direct access to U.S. school admission staff and counselors
- Explanation and guidance of application process
- Identification of scholarship opportunities
- Facilitation of English Placement Testing and remediation support
About California ETEC – CA ETEC was established in 2003 to exclusively promote the attraction of international students to the United States and expand the export of education services in Asia. CA ETEC's unique positioning as the leading higher education consortium in the State of California and collaborative partnerships with key state and foreign government agencies has helped the organization build a network of more than 100 schools throughout the U.S. CA ETEC coordinated the Meet Vietnam Education Forum on behalf of the Vietnam Consulate (SF) in 2009 and was a co-project administrator for the California Community Initiative for Egypt (CCI Egypt) sponsored by the Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 2008-2011. In May 2011, CA ETEC received the prestigious President's "E" Award for exporting excellence.
The Commerce Department's MDCP award program includes financial and technical assistance from the International Trade Administration (ITA) to support well-defined business plans aimed at increasing exports and U.S. competitiveness within certain industries. For more information about the Market Development Cooperator Program, please visit trade.gov/mdcp.
Contact: Mark Matsumoto
California ETEC
714-624-7001
Email