ACTR responds

[Jeanette Owen]

Dear Colleagues,

First of all, I would like to thank the many of you who have taken the
time to write in with your good advice, and to share your own positive
experiences.  

I am pleased to say that Mr. Hosseini has taken the advice of many
voiced here, and has today written to the outbound department directly
with the same questions he raised on SEELANGS.  We will reply to him
directly as well.  Although Mr. Hosseini has not been a participant
himself in an ACTR program, we hope that providing him with more
background on our current programs will bring us to a greater level of
understanding.  The expert voices on the list have already addressed
very ably the issues surrounding visa registration in Russia, as well as
the process of auditing classes while on ACTR programs, so I think a
brief summary will be fine here:

1.  ACTR takes visa documentation and registration very seriously, and
will not permit students to travel on their own without the necessary
paperwork.  Rules governing visas and registration are changing
constantly in Russia, and neither the Russian host universities, nor
ACTR, have any control over the process.  This fall, the resident
director had collected all passports earlier in November, so that the
university could process the required exit visas.  The resident director
had told the students that the passports might be ready by Thanksgiving,
but made no guarantees.  When we were subsequently told that the
passports would not be ready until the very end of November, the
resident director passed this information on to the students right away
(before Thanksgiving).  

2. Students are given information about how to audit Russian university
courses.  These instructions do include asking the students to do some
of the leg-work in identifying classes that would interest them, and
that would also fit into their schedule.  This is a necessary part of
the process, since auditing a class in the Russian university system
requires a high degree of motivation, as well as advanced Russian
language skills, on the part of the student to see it through.  The
resident directors and peer tutors are there for support, but since the
students would be the ones going to class and ultimately bear the
responsibility for taking on this commitment, we feel it appropriate
that they participate in identifying classes that will interest them.

3. We have been pleased by the number of highly-qualified applicants
for our job openings, and regret only that we do not have more
opportunities to hire for additional positions. In some cases, we make a
fairly general posting, anticipating possible openings for the
semester/academic year positions. In other cases, we know in advance
that we will need a replacement for one of these positions, or are
recruiting for our non-RLASP summer programs. Given the length of time
needed to obtain the appropriate visa, this requires us to post well in
advance of the starting time of the position. I can understand that the
process may appear drawn out to applicants.  Please look for another
posting to this list soon on changes we have made to continue to attract
the best candidates.

For anyone interested in learning more about the study abroad programs
offered by ACTR, and reading some first-hand impressions from current
participants, we invite you to visit the outbound website:

http://www.acrussiaabroad.org 

or go directly to:

http://www.acrussiaabroad.org/nStudentNotes.php  (see also the
"archived notes" link at the bottom of the page). 

Often the notes include the bad days along with the good.  We hope that
in the course of living through the challenges and rewards of study
abroad, students will have had the opportunity to encounter the full
range of experiences, intellectual discoveries, and emotional
connections that come with living and studying abroad in a real
environment, rather than a simulated American experience abroad. 

I hope that members of the SEELANGS community as well as former,
current and future participants will feel free to send questions and
comments about our programs directly to us.

The best way to send comments and questions regarding the RLASP
programs and summer programs in Russia are to direct them to Program
Officer Alissa Bibb or Program Manager Margaret Stephenson. For
questions about the Eurasian Regional Language Program, please direct
them to Program Officer Vladka Shikova or Sr. Program Manager Jeanette
Owen. 

By email: outbound at americancouncils.org 
By phone: 202-833-7522
By mail: 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, suite 700 Washington, DC 20036

Thank you all in advance for your questions and continued support.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Owen


Jeanette S. Owen, Ph.D.
Senior Program Manager
Outbound Programs

American Councils for International Education
1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036

Tel:  202-833-7522
Fax: 202-833-7523
www.acrussiaabroad.org

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