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USBT-1999: Seven Years After
MAKING THE VCO CONCEPT
Viktar Khotsim, VCO Team Leader
USBT/PAL Alumnus
Long way to success
First EAC web page
 Option of interactivity
 Team-based user-friendly operation
 Local E-communities
 Web template idea
 VCO-Eurasia Project
 Multilingual Interactive Portal

Effective Tandem
Only an EducationUSA specialists working
effectively in tandem with professional
technician can develop the web project
successfully
ACTR
Virtual Office of the American
Center in Belarus
It is a web server of special structure with
innovations in:
 Operation
 Accumulation
 Analysis
 Dissemination
of the educational information
VEAC: Technical Innovations
Virtual Consulting Service
 Team-based user-friendly operation
 E-community
 WAP
 SMS-service
 Administrative Center
 ASRS

Conclusions and Observations
VEAC is an additional and important tool
that increases effectiveness of advisers
activity
 Creation of an effective multifunctional
web site is a costly operation
 Optimal site functioning is achieved via
team effort
 Concentration of important data in one
location has the confidence of user

Questions for the audience

How much time will you spend if decided to
create the web site for your center with the
same options?

How much money will it cost?

How much our competitors accomplish
while we are spending our time and money
in “re-inventing the wheel?”
PAL-2003: WEB TEMPLATE



Export of an effective multifunctional web product
based on the most current and successful
innovations by copying the program to local
servers
Avoid spending resources organizing multiple web
trainings for educational advisers
Employ web template as the core unit for a global
virtual structure (EducationUSA EAC network)
Types of the web templates
One-person EAC (Vladivostok, Russia)
 Alumni Center (Omsk, Russia)
 American Corners Network (Belarus)
 Country wide (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)
 Region wide (VCO-Eurasia)
 World Wide (VCO-Global)

Questions for the audience
 Who
is the network of DOS-affiliated
centers that specialize in US study?
 Do we participate in professional
trainings devoted to educational
advising for US study?
 Do we perform consultations on US
study in different regions of Eurasia
and deliver lectures?
Summary on questionnaire
Our network represents the best resource
on US study with huge potential that can be
realized more effectively via to Internet
technologies.
 Some advisers are very knowledgeable in
narrow fields of study in the USA.
 We already have a lot of useful information
and experiences that can be displayed for
the whole region.

The VCO Idea
To involve the most experienced advisers in
virtual consulting service based on teambased operation idea in one region as a pilot
project
 To create ONE internet resource based on
the web template method
 To focus other web sites in the network in
order to advertise one team-based operated
resource

Why we need to do that?
Fast development of the Internet
technologies.
 Disproportion between the number of EAC`s
and served population.
 Increased efforts by the European Union in
recruiting Eurasian students.

VCO PROJECT: EURASIA
Fall 2003
ETS EXCELLENCE AWARD

-
-
-
GENERAL CONSULTING DIRECTIONS (6)
If you want to study in the USA: general questions
Filling out application forms
Financial aid
Student visa
Testing procedures
Pre departure orientation

-
SPECIFIC FILEDS OF STUDY (10)
International relations
Civil Education
Distance Learning
Library Science
Journalism
Law
Education
Economics
Medicine
Business
VCS MODULE
Automatic e-announcement on all incoming questions.
 Multi way distribution of the informational modules
“question and answer”:
- sender
- web site (VCO)
- project manager
 A system of capturing new subscribers when asking
question through the VCO.
 A system of accumulation of informational modules
“question and answer”.

VCO: ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER
AC - is separate web site for professional use
only with password protected access.
The AC is developed in order to provide constant
update of the VCO content by the VCO team
without help of webmaster.
VCO - EURASIA PROJECT:
TWO YEARS OF ACTIVITY
Launched on January 22, 2003
Unique visitors – 65,893
 Subscribers – 675
 Questions answered – 278
 News posted - 121
 Useful information – 127
 Links - 129

VCO-EURASIA:
LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE
Expanding of the VCO-Eurasia experience to
other world regions
 Use of a Professional Training Program for
beginners n educational advising.
 The ultimate goal is to integrate the VCO
into the EducationUSA web network and
make the ECA mission more visible by
proclaiming it in many languages.

Project follow up
PLEASE PASS TO REACS
EDUCATIONAL ADVISERS
AND FULBRIGHT COMMISSIONS.
SUBJECT: EDUCATIONUSA VIRTUAL CONSULTING OFFICE WORKSHOP
ECA/A/S/A is pleased to announce that the EducationUSA
advising center in Moscow, Russia, will host a Virtual
Consulting Office (VCO) project workshop from November 28 to
December 2, 2005.
Plan of training
Pre-workshop stage.
 Workshop in Moscow, Russia.
 Post-workshop assistance.

Pre-workshop stage
VCO structure.
 Translation into 4 languages.
 VCO web portal
 VCO teams
 Content

VCO Workshop





Finalize the VCO structure and content
To learn how to operate and update the VCO
To create the VCO operational manual in 5
different languages
To prepare a set of distance training lessons
To develop the VCO strategy of development
EducationUSA
Virtual Consulting Office
Network of EducationUSA advisers that
provides professional e-consulting services
in different languages on study in the
United States.
Advising Without Borders!
VCO: New tool for advisers
and prospective students
Not a substitute for individual advising
 Cover regions without EACs
 Oriented for new audience
 Training model for beginning level advisers

VCO: How it works
Team-based operation
 Dynamic multilingual content
 Simple and unified structure
 Web template method

VCO TEAM LEADERS
Spanish CC, Rolando Ribera (Bolivia)
 Arabic CC, Lina ElLabban (Emirates)
 China CC, Frank Mok (China)
 English CC, vacant
 Russian CC, Viktar Khotsim (Belarus)

What we are looking to
achieve?
Long–lasting feedback from USBT and PAL
alumni
 Expanding the sharing of professional skills
and knowledge by educational advisers to a
wider geographic audience
 Implementing cheap and effective
mechanisms for training beginning level
advisers

Frank Mok, China
Lina Al-Labban, UAE
Rolando Ribera, Bolivia
Aleh Stryk , Belarus
(webmaster)
Allison Hawley, REAC
Viktar Khotsim, VCO TL
Ms. Allison Hawley,
REAC-Eurasia
VCO Workshop in
Moscow, Russia
Nov.28-Dec. 2, 2005
Working together
Establish dialog
 Know your audience
 Identify needs & Find mutual interest
 Promote US higher education
 Assisting US institutions

Facilitate student mobility
 Admissions & Recruiting
 Internationalization

VCO Statistics after launch on
March 6, 2006
34223 IP`ss
 1500 hits per one hour (max)
 2011 questions
 456 updates
 1209 subscribers
 30 consultants (21 country)

WashFile Articles on
EducationUSA
24 May 2006
EducationUSA Advisers Launch Multilanguage Online
Inquiry Service
"Virtual consulting"
now available in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Russian
VCO-Eurasia and VCO-Global:
Comparison Analysis
1600
1400
1200
1000
Eurasia
Global
800
600
400
200
0
Hits
Q&A
E-list
Updates
Rating of the VCO Consulting
Centers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Arabic (answered 1001 question)
Chinese
Spanish
Russian
English
VCO Structure
Consulting Center (5)
 Consulting Section (45)
 Local Mailing Lists (5)
 DPDP (5)
 VCO Mailing List (1075)

English
CC
Russian
CC
Arabic
CC
Spanish
CC
Chinese
CC
VCO-GLOBAL: Plans for the
future
Expand the number of VCO Team members
from 30 to 45
 Compile the VCO team: 100% from
USBT/PAL Alumni
 Implement DPDP for all Consulting Centers
and cover all beginning level advisers
 Open up to 3 new Consulting Centers

VCO: Long lasting feedback
and training model
• More active involvement of the USBT/PAL
Alumni in VCO activities
• Synchronization of professional trainings in
the USA with VCO activities
VCO Advertising:
need your help
Location of the VCO banner on your web
site with direct link to the project
 Include brief presentation of the VCO
project to you lectures, presentations and
individual consultations
 As a USBT Alumni we expect you to share
information about the project among
EducationUSA advisers in your networks

EducationUSA-Virtual
Consulting Office
ADVISING WITHOUT BORDERS!
WE WELCOME YOU TO JOIN THE VCO TEAM!