AICE Orlando Symposium – March 28-29, 2018: “Setting the Standards for Evaluating Institutional Recognition & Accreditation”
Symposium Speakers
Alexander Agafonov, Ph.D. is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Globe Language Services, Inc. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the University at Albany (SUNY), M.S. in Higher Education Administration from the University at Albany (SUNY) and B.A. in Foreign Languages/ Linguistics from Murmansk State Humanities University in Russia. He has worked in education for more than 20 years as a teacher, administrator, researcher and consultant. Prior to joining Globe Language Services Dr. Agafonov served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at ASA College in NYC. His extensive experience in the field of International Education includes advising international students, serving as PDSO (Primary Designated School Official), developing articulation agreements and dual-degree/ degree completion programs with US and foreign institutions, evaluating foreign credentials, and doing research in the field of comparative education. Dr. Agafonov served on accreditation and program review teams for Middle States Commission on Higher Education and New York State Education Department. He currently serves as Chair of the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc (AICE). (Endorsed Member of AICE)
Email: alexander@globelanguage.com www.globelanguage.com
Hany Arafat’s primary role is as the President and Senior Evaluator at SDR Educational Consultants. First established in 1999, SDR Educational Consultants specializes in comparative education research and the evaluation of foreign educational credentials to determine their U.S. equivalency. Hany has been working in the field since 2005. He has authored and co-authored highly-referenced research such as country profiles for NAFSA’s Online Guide to Educational Systems Around the World (profiles on the Palestinian Territories, the Sudan, Dominican Republic and El Salvador). He has also presented on a variety of topics at professional conferences in the field, including at NAFSA national/regional conferences, as well as at other major conferences in the field of international education, including at the annual AICE Symposium. Over the years, Hany Arafat has been a major contributor to the Credential Connection and GRADE databases and is currently serving as the Chair of the AICE Bylaws and Boards Development committee. He also serves as an international education consultant for the Houston Forum, and lends his expertise as an active volunteer on the MD Anderson Pediatrics Scholarship Committee. Email: hany@sdreducational.org www.sdreducational.org
Beth Cotter has been President and CEO of Foreign Credential Evaluations, Inc. since 2000. Beth received her B.A. degree in German from Wake Forest University and her M.B.A. degree in Finance from Georgia State University. She had eight years of teaching and educational administration experience in curriculum development at the post-secondary level prior to joining FCE in 1997. She has been a member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators since 1999, where she has presented at State and Regional Conferences. Beth is currently the Chair of the AICE Membership Committee. FCE has been an Endorsed Member of AICE since 2006. (Endorsed Member of AICE) Email: beth_cotter@fceatlanta.com www.fceatlanta.net
Jennifer Hong, Ed.D., Executive Director, Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education. Email: jennifer.hong@ed.gov
Barbara Glave began participating in international education when she transferred to the Universidad de las Américas, Mexico City, from which she graduated with a B.A. in Spanish, with minors in French and Linguistics. At LSU, she earned an M.A. in Spanish and Romance Philology, plus 24 additional credits in the same fields. From 1972-83, she taught Spanish, freshman English, and ESL at the University of Houston – Downtown. In 1982, she passed the ATA Spanish-to-English certification exam. In 1980, she co-founded SpanTran Educational Services in Houston; she remained until 2012. Since 2013-14, she has worked for Credential Consultants as a part-time translator and SDR Educational Consultants as a part-time evaluator and researcher. Barbara is a longtime member of the American Translations Association and NAFSA: Association of International Educators; she served Region III as ADSEC representative, 1995-97, and on the NAFSA Trainers Corps, 2009-16. She currently serves on the AICE Membership Committee and Scholarship and Publications Committee. Barbara has authored/co-authored ten country profiles for the NAFSA Online Guide to Educational Systems Around the World: Albania, Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and Sudan as well as an overview of Mexican education for NAFSA IEM Spotlight, posted April, 2014. In addition to the accomplishments detailed above, she has over 80 activities as a committee member, consultant, panelist, moderator, session presenter, and workshop leader in comparative international education. She is the recipient of the 2015 NAFSA Region III Outstanding Service award. Barbara is a consultant with SDR Educational Consultants (Endorsed Member of AICE)
Email: barbara@sdreducational.org www.sdreducational.org
Melanie Gottlieb joined the staff as Deputy Director of AACRAO in 2015. She came to the national office with 18 years as an AACRAO member, with experience in Records & Registration, Enrollment Management and International Recruitment and Credential Evaluation. She has served the association in a variety of leadership roles throughout her career, most recently as Vice President for International Education on the AACRAO Board of Directors. Melanie earned an MA in Information Science from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a BA in History /American Studies from Marlboro College in Vermont. Email: gottliebm@aacrao.org www.aacrao.org
Ann M. Koenig has been an associate director with AACRAO International since 2002. Her career in international education spans more than 25 years, including foreign credential evaluation in professional evaluation services, and campus-based work in international undergraduate and graduate admissions, student records management, academic advising and transfer credit evaluation, at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, a University of Maryland University College program in Germany, Golden Gate University in San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley. Ann has done in-depth research on education in several countries. She is the author of the ECE monograph An Overview of the Educational System of Albania (1993), co-author of the PIER workshop report on Poland (1992) and AACRAO Country Guide The Educational System of the Russian Federation (2008), and contributor to NAFSA’s A Guide to Educational Systems Around the World (1999), the AACRAO EDGE online database, AACRAO’s Guide to Bogus Institutions and Documents (2006), The AACRAO International Guide (2010 and 2016 editions), AACRAO’s Transfer Handbook (2015), and AACRAO’s quarterly journal College & University. A frequent workshop trainer and conference presenter, Ann specializes in sharing information on country educational systems, best practices in international academic record review and admissions, and academic credential fraud awareness. She has presented at professional development and training events sponsored by AACRAO, NAFSA, NAGAP, EAIE, and other organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Email: koeniga@aacrao.org
Aleksander Morawski, director of evaluation services at Foreign Credits, Inc., is an experienced international enrollment management professional with an extensive background in credential evaluation, university admissions, and management. He also serves as chair of the AICE Scholarship and Publications committee. Morawski completed his bachelor’s degree at Marquette University and master’s degree at San Diego State University, both in political science with a focus on international relations. He is an active and experienced trainer and member of NAFSA Trainer Corps, presently serving as workshop dean of the credential evaluation curriculum. He has served as the NAFSA Admissions and Credential Evaluation network leader, and is a regular presenter at local, national, and international conferences. (Endorsed Member of AICE) Email: amoraeski@foreigncredits.com www.foreigncredits.com
Quentin Law Phu has been working at Purdue University since January 2016. Quentin primarily works with international transfer students applying to Purdue from the United States and abroad. Quentin earned a Master of Education degree in Human Resource Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Quentin frequently speaks to individuals and groups about application requirements and international admissions practices. Email: qlawphu@purdue.edu
Johan Rognlie works as an Advisor at NOKUT, the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education. He has been a credential evaluator at NOKUT since 2014, focusing in particular on the Middle East. In addition, Johan assesses credentials from The Americas and selected Asian countries, including India. Email: Johan.Rognlie.Roko@nokut.no
Ujjaini Sahasrabudhe is the director of the Office of Graduate Admission at University of Southern California. She is responsible for coordinating with academic programs and managing graduate admission-related operations for the university. She holds master’s degrees in human development and family studies, as well as social and multicultural foundations of education. She has presented at conferences such as NAFSA, NAGAP, Association for the Study of Higher Education and Comparative and International Education Society. She formerly served as the managing editor for NAFSA’s IEM Spotlight e-newsletter. Email: usahasra@usc.edu
Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert is the founder, President and CEO of Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), incorporated in the State of California since 1994. She has authored the Country Guide Series Reports on Senegal (2000) and Cameroon and co-authored the 1998 book on the system of education of Hong Kong. She has contributed to PIER Reports on the systems of education of Central America (1987), Canada (1987), and the United Kingdom (1990). She served as Chair of the Admission-Section (ADSEC) Committee of NAFSA (National Association of Foreign Student Advisors: Association of International Educators) from 1999 to 2001, as Chair of NAFSA’s Region XII Southern District committee from 1995 to 1999, and served on AACRAO’s Publication and Reviews Committee from 1990-1993. She has provided training and made frequent presentations on foreign educational systems and the recognition of international credentials at conferences and symposiums in the United States and abroad. She is frequently called on by US government, academic institutions, state licensing boards, private enterprise as well as institutions and educational ministries abroad for assistance with international academic credentials. She holds the BA in Political Science from the University of San Diego and MBA from Pepperdine University. She is currently serving on the International Education Standards Council (IESC) of AACRAO and is President and Treasurer of the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE). (Endorsed Member of AICE) Email: jasmin@acei-global.org www.acei-global.org
Garrett Seelinger was raised in Morocco and England before earning a B.A. from DePaul University and an M.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Garrett has worked for the NAIA since 2014, evaluating documents for thousands of international students. (Affiliate Member of AICE) Email: GSeelinger@naia.org
Annetta Stroud began working with AACCRO in 2008 in the role of Senior Evaluator and Training Coordinator, and is currently the Associate Director for Training and Program Development. She has worked in the field of international education for over 15 years in both public and private institutions in various positions in international admissions and credential evaluation, student services and academic management. Her current role with AACRAO allows her to engage in the research of international comparative education and support the training of professional in the field, and has presented at various conferences including both AACRAO and NAFSA annual and regionals and the Education USA MENA Forum. Annetta holds a B.A. in Music from the University of New Mexico, M.A. in Adult Education from San Francisco State University, and an Ed.M. in Human Resource Development from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. Email: strouda@aacrao.org
Robert Watkins has been in the field of international admissions and credential evaluation for 40 years all of it at The University of Texas at Austin where he is Assistant Director of Admissions in the Graduate and International Admissions Center. A member of NAFSA, AACRAO and EAIE, he has presented frequently on international credentials at annual meetings of all three organizations. He is former Chair of the Admissions Section (ADSEC) now known as International Enrollment Management (IEM), former Vice President for International Education on the AACRAO Board of Directors, and served as Chair of the International Student Records Committee of the NCAA (2002-11). He served on and then chaired the former National Council on the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials (1992-2000) as a NAFSA representative and was co-author of the PIER Canada Workshop (1989) and PIER Philippines Workshop (2001) and now serves on the AACRAO International Education Standards Council (IESC) which formulates the Credential Advice in AACRAO EDGE.