PEACE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR EGYPT COMPREHENSIVE REPORT January 16 - July 15, 1983 i11i,WICW America-Mideast Educational& Training Services, Inc. 1717 Piassachusetts Avenue, N.W. • Suite 100 . Washington, D.C. 20036 • (202) 797-7900 * Telex440160 GCa ble: Amideast AMERICA-MIDEAST EDUCATIONAL & TRAINING SERVICES, INC. PEACE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR EGYPT COMPREHENSIVE REPORT JANUARY 16, 1983 - JULY 15, 1983 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION....... ..................... . . .. I CAIRO FIELD OFFICE ACTIVITIES...... . . . . . . . . . 2 III. AMIDEAST/WASHINGTON PROGRAM ACTIVITIES............... 5 IV. MID-PROJECT REVIEW, FEBRUARY 1983, CAIRO............... 10 V. PROBLEM ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS............ . . . . 12 VI. CONCLUSION............. . ........... . 16 VII. APPENDICES A. Overall Peace Fellow Status Chart............ . . . 17 B. Peace Fellows Currently Enrolled in U.S. Programs... 73 C. .oaphical Distribution of Cutrently Enrolled Peace Fellows..... ........... 117 D. Field of Study Distribution of Currently Enrolled Peace Fellows.............. . 143 E. gpian Sponsorship Distribution of Currently Enrolled Peace Fellows... ........... .165 F. Cumulative Peace Fellow Enrollment: Academic Progress........ .................. 185 G. Peace Fellows Who Have Completed U.S. Programs. . . . 333 H. Peace Fellows Who Have Attended Conferences........ 365 I. Sample Forms: 1. Campus Visit Reports..... ............... .. 383 2. Academic Enrollment and End of Term Reports. . .. 391 3. Program Evaluation Reports by Peace Fellows. . .. 403 4. Program Completion Reports by AMIDEAST......... 413 I. INTRODUCTION AMIDEAST presents the sixth Comprehensive Report on the Peace Fellowship Program (PFP) for Egypt, covering all project activities from January 16, 1983 through July 15, 1983. A major human resource development project, the PFP was established jointly by the governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States. The PFP is committed to the education and training of 1500-1900 young Egyptian professionals at the advanced graduate /?-() level, at institutions throughout the U.S., in fields considered relevant to Egypt's needs as a developing nation. Funds for the PFP are provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). On the basis of its thirty years experience designing and operating human resource development programs for the Middle East, LAMIDEAST was selected by the Egyptian government to administer the PFP for a five-year period, through July 198 5j AMIDEAST provides technical, support, advisory, and training services, which include counseling, document preparation, placement, financial disbursement, orientation, program monitoring, record-keeping, and providing periodic reports, of which this twice-yearly Comprehensive Report is one example. All procedures followed are in accordance with established USAID guidelines for participant training programs. Candidates are nominated for the PFP by Egyptian universities, research institutions, government ministries, and public and private companies, for sponsorship in academic programs of 10- or 21-month duration. Selection of participants is made by the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), based on academic excellence and potential contribution to Egypt's development needs. Emphasis is therefore placed on such fields as Agriculture, Architecture, Business, Economics, Education, Engineering, Medicine, and Public Health. Peace Fellows enroll in programs of coursework and research at the graduate and post-doctoral level. 2 This report will provide information about program activities during the past six months, relating to the ongoing placement and counseling of Peace Fellows, and about program developments and issues discussed by AMIDEAST, the MOHE, and USAID in recent meetings. The report will identify problem areas and include recommendations for their resolution. Addenda in the form of charts and lists will present extensive cumulative data about PFP participants from the project's inception inJuly 1980 to mid-July 1983. II. CAIRO FIELD OFFICE ACTIVITIES During this reporting period, 231 Peace Fellow's files were received from the Missions Department. Sixty six files were returned to the Missions for reasons such as withdrawal from the program, not showing up for interviews, or insufficient English language proficiency. A total of 318 files were completed and forwarded to AMIDEAST/Washington for placement processing. As of July 15, 1983, the files of 29 10-month Peace Fellows and 26 21-month Peace Fellows were pending completion in the Cairo office; no files were still awaiting the PF to show up for the interview. The TOEFL exam was administered five times, with the following results: Exam # PFs # PFs 550 + 500 - 450 - Below Date Registered Tested Above 549 499 450 Jan 1983 51 46 3 10 18 15 Feb 1983 27 26 1 9 12 4 Mar 1983 48 43 1 14 17 11 May 1983 56 50 6 11 21 12 Jun 1983 51 - - - - Results not yet available - - - - Four pre-departure orientation programs were conducted at the American Cultural Center in Garden City. Featares of the orientation program are an introduction to the library system used at the Center, two films ("Student Life in the U.S." and "Graduate Study in the U.S,"), a discussion of differing cultural patterns in the U.S. and Egypt presented either by Mrs. Betty Atherton, the wife of Ambassador Atherton, or by Mrs. Marian Precht, the wife of Deputy Chief of Mission, a welcome and discussion of Peace Fellowship Program pre-departure requirements by AMIDEAST/Cairo Director Ronald Wolfe, a presentation by staff members of the Missions Department, and a roundtable discussion about life in the U.S. on the Peace Fellowship Program, with returned Peace Fellows providing first-hand observations and comments. A total of 68 prospective Peace Fellows attended these sessions. The number of Peace Fellows who travelled from Cairo to the U.S. during this time was 178. Counselor Sue Khalifa continued to travel to Alexandria to meet with Peace Fellows, conduct interviews, review recently­ received correspondence, and make other necessary arrangements. A total of 805 meetings with Peace Fellows were recorded during 23 one-day visits. This activity offered great convenience to Peace Fellows in the Alexandria area, who no longer have to take time off from work and pay the expenses of travel and lodging in order to conduct their necessary Peace Fellowship business in Cairo. It has also reduced the high pressure of student traffic in the AMIDEAST/Cairo office. During this reporting period three training programs were conducted in the Cairo office for Missions Department personnel. The trainee:, their titles, and the length of their training programs are given below: Ms. Omayma Ahmed Farahat Technical Member, Financial Section, Missions Department February 27 - March 31, 1983 4 Mr. Mahfouz Moustafa Ahmed Head, Nominations Unit, Missions Department April 3 - 28, 1983 Mr. Salah Abou El Kheir Technical Member, Students Care Section, Missions Department May 2 - June 2, 1983 The elements of the training program at the AMIDEAST/Cairo office include a week of observation and work with each of four distinct phases of the Peace Fellowship operation: the reference library of U.S. educational materials, the student counseling unit, the program coordinator's office, and the correspondence and follow-up section of the office. During this training program each trainee became involved in advising student visitors to the office including Peace Fellows, and familiarized themselves with how correspondence flows between the AMIDEAST offices and the EgyptLan government, learned basic information related to U.S. university requirements, and learned about specialized tests, including TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, ECFMG, and the VQE. They were given the opportunity to observe first hand orientation programs, learn travel and visa procedures, and .eview all the documents and papers which are required to make submissions to American universities for academic placement. It is hoped that the Missions Department will continue to assign staff members to the AMIDEAST/Cairo o fice for training programs. The result is to strengthen relationships between our offices, improve the ability of the Missions Department to conduct its own student programs, and to make our staff members more aware of the procedures, requirements, and constraints of each other. 5 III. AMIDEAST/WASHINGTON PROGRAM ACTIVITIES A. PLACEMENT From January 16, 1983 to July 15, 1983, 318 files were received at AMIDEAST/Washington, bringing to 1575 the total number of placement cases undertaken. Ten of these 318 have since been withdrawn at the request of the MOHF. The following should be noted about the 308 files entering active placement status during this 6-month period: 1.Length of fellowship 10 (13) months ................................... 191 (63%) 21 (24) months ...................................1 3 (36%) 20 months ..........................................4 (1%) 2. Degree/non-degree goal Ph .D .............................................. 61 M.S ............................................. 37 Degree program admission sought ................... 98 (32%) Master's level courses & research................ 152 Doctoral level courses & research................. 37 Post-doctoral research ............................ 21 Non-degree admissions sought ..................... 210 (68%) 3. English language preparation measured in TOEFL scores Above 525 ......................................... 61 500-525........................................... 45 450-500.......................................... 107 Below 450 .......................................... 1 No TOEFL sent with file ...........................74 6 4. Fields of study Health-related fields ............................. 99 (33%) Engineering & applied sciences .................... 91 (30%) Education & social sciences ....................... 44 (14%) Agriculture ....................................... 33 (11%) Business Administration........................... 30 (10%) Architecture.......................................6 (1%) Economics.......................................... 5 (1%) 5. Sponsorship Universities ..................................... 124 (40%) Government ministries .............................95 (31%) Public & private companies ........................ 72 (24%) Research institutes & academies ................... 17 (5%) 6. Gender Male ............................................. 238 (78%) Female ............................................ 70 (22%) 7. Cumulative placement statistics Total files received from beginning of PFP............. 1575 Number of participants who have completed programs ...... 440 Number of participants currently enrolled in U.S ........ 495 Number of participants withdrawn/cancelled .............. III Number of PF placements pending ......................... 529 These statistics portraya project of great size and complexity. Numerous cases require individual handling due to the inadequate English language preparation of many Peace Fellows, their highly specific academic subject goals, and the need to complete these goals within a designated specific time. 7 The average TOEFL score for Peace Fellows nominated during this 6-month period is just under 500. Most accredited U.S. universities now require 550 for admission to graduate programs. Almost 60% of these Peace Fellows will therefore be required to enroll in an intensive English language program before qualifying to begin their academic studies. iApproximately three-quarters of these recently-received cases are majoring invery specialized fields of study within medicine, engineering, the applied sciences, and agriculture. ( The greater the degree of specialization sought, the smaller the number of universities offering suitable programs. The problem is compounded when the only school or schools which offer the PF's specialty require a TOEFL score higher than 500 prior to admission. Nevertheless, AMIDEAST's placement efforts have been highly successful. Of the 1575 files received inWashington since the inception of the Peace Fellowship Program, 440 Peace Fellows have already completed programs in the U.S. There are currently 495 Peace Fellows in U.S. programs. Per Missions Department requests we have withdrawn III files from the program. Another 529 are now in placement pending status. Approximately 360 have received offers of admission to a U.S. university and are preparing to embark on their programs. Some 100 of these should arrive in time for Fall 1983. 4IDEAST anticipates that over 200 more Peace Fellows will arrive in the U.S. to begin programs by Winter 1984, and virtually all the rest of the currently pending cases will be placed by Fall 1984.