The Japan-United States Educational Commission (JUSEC) was established in 1979 as a binational commission with support from the governments of Japan and the United States. From 1951 to 1979 the Fulbright office was funded by the United States government alone, and from 1949-51 approximately 1,000 Japanese travelled to the United States for study under the GARIOA (Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas) Program.
The Educational Information Service of JUSEC was established in 1964. At the present time there are four full-time advising positions including the Educational Information Officer.
In 1999/2000, 47,202 students from Japan were studying in U.S. institutions. For further details see the attached "Stats at a Glance".
Student Contacts in 1999-00:
In-person: 9,399
Mail/email contacts: 15,911
Telephone contacts: 73,173
Website hits: 192,610
Outreach: 7,363
Other: 252
Total: 298,708
Outreach Activities:
Group Advising Sessions: EIS provides group advising in separate sessions for the graduate and undergraduate levels in Tokyo (18 sessions per year) and in Sapporo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Naha (two advising sessions per city per year, plus one "Special Session" for local advisers per year). In addition, by invitation, EIS visits local universities and other international centers throughout Japan to provide group advising sessions. At most of these sites, EIS offers individual advising in addition to the group advising sessions.
Departure Orientation Program: In May, EIS provides a Pre Departure Orientation (PDO) for students who have been accepted into graduate and undergraduate and professional programs for the following academic year in the U.S. The Tokyo PDO sessions are divided into a three graduate sessions (natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, professional programs) and one undergraduate session. A combined session is offered in Osaka.
Cross-Cultural Visits Program: EIS works with the Women Group of the Tokyo American Club to provide host families for recipients of Fulbright and other prestigious grants prior to their departure for the U.S.
Other Activities:
U.S University Fairs: In cooperation with IIE, EIS manages a University Fair in Tokyo and Osaka, which attract approximately 130 institutions and 2,500 students.
Publications: EIS publishes a Pre-departure Orientation Handbook and numerous handouts on the study abroad process.
Support services for the Fulbright Program: EIS staff provides support of the American IEA grantees while they are in Japan.
Liaison with Educational Testing Service: EIS provides seminars on Computer Based Testing for TOEFL in cooperation with ETS/TOEFL as part of its Outreach Program.
Cost Recovery: The EIS Coordinator seeks sponsorship of EIS activities, including the University Fairs, the PDO Handbook and PDO sessions, the Group Advising Sessions, and the web site. In 1999/2000 such activities raised approximately $225,000.
Future Directions/Issues:
The Web: JUSEC and EIS see the development of interactive, Internet-based advising services as key to the continued evolution of educational advising in Japan. The website is under constant revision and the use of technology in advising is a key topic for the 2000 Special Sessions as part of the Outreach Program.
Student DataBase: Together with the development of the website, EIS is working to improve its student data through the refinement of its databases and through more aggressive collection of user data. A database is also kept of schools attending the U.S. university fairs.
Linkages: As the number of traditional college-age students continues to fall in Japan, Japanese universities and colleges face an increasingly competitive recruitment situation. In response, Japanese institutions are turning to linkages with U.S institutions as a way to bolster their competitiveness. Such linkages may involve the offering of US accredited courses on Japanese campuses, an increase in Distance Learning and Continuing Education course offerings (sometimes in cooperation with a U.S. institution) and of course, an interest in student and faculty exchanges. EIS is trying to help institutions make productive linkages by offering its website as a clearing house for institutions on either side who wish to establish a linkage. Registration is free for all accredited institutions.
Competition with the other English speaking countries for students: The British Council and the embassies of the other English speaking countries are marketing aggressively in Japan. For the most part, their numbers are in the area of ESL which technically falls outside of EISfs mission which is focused on the large number of college level students going to the U.S. from Japan. However, in response the increased competition U.S. based IEP/ESL programs are facing, EIS is working with AAIEP and the Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy to establish a U.S. government sponsored "Study in the US" fair which would be open to Intensive English Programs. The first such fairs will be held in March 2001 in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo.
EIS is pleased to see the U.S. Embassy, American educational programs and JUSEC cooperating to achieve common goals, and sees these efforts as being in line with efforts at NAFSA and elsewhere to persuade the U.S. government to establish an education policy and for the U.S. international educational community to begin to "speak with one voice."
Maintaining government and corporate support for EIS activities. EIS remains committed to providing its services free to users as a way to distinguish itself in the public's mind from the for profit study abroad agencies.
(As of December 2000)