Education Fairs

Post Fair Report (Fall 2001, Taiwan and Korea)

Beginning October 19th, and continuing through October 29th, 2001, the IEF Education Foundation held its fall season of American Education Fairs in Taiwan and Korea. This report summarizes these Fairs.

• Attendance

• Student Identification Service to U.S. Schools ~ Please follow-up

• Results of Post-Fair Surveying of U.S. School Representatives

• Pre-Fair Promotions

• A Youthful Fair Attendee Profile in Korea and Taiwan - Wave of the Future

• Fair Highlights - Taiwan

• Fair Highlights - Korea

• IEF's CyberFair @ AmericanEducationFair.com - A New Benefit to Schools

• American Education Fairs in Taiwan, Korea and China - Spring 2002

Attendance

Attendance at the Fairs was down significantly from earlier years. We believe these declines to be reflective of the overall environment following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and subsequent news on anthrax mailings in the U.S. being widely promulgated via the media in both Taiwan and Korea. Air travel between East Asia and North America at the time of the Fairs was down 38%; participation in our Fairs very closely echoed these declines, which we consider to be temporary.

Additionally, legitimate student concerns were voiced over Senator Diane Feinstein's (D-CA) proposed moratorium on international student visa issuance, rumors that U.S. Embassies had stopped issuing student visas, and rumors that U.S. schools would stop issuing I-20 visas to international students after the terrorist attacks. Clearly, when taking into account the above factors and uncertain economic conditions, we faced an unusual, uphill battle in attracting students in the fall of 2001. 

City Attendance Student Registration  Forms Received Taipei 5,806 2,753 Kaohsiung 3,800 871 Taichung 1,150 412 Seoul 1,620 674 Total 12,376 4,410

The above figures include those who pre-registered on IEF's web site.
*IEF's first American Education Fair in Seoul.

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Student Identification Service to U.S. Schools ~ Please Follow-up

New in 2001, IEF is following up our Fairs with the provision of specific information on designated students to our participating schools. At the Fairs, students who filled out registration forms were assigned identification numbers, which were place on nametags. Schools were then able to write down the numbers of Fair participants showing promise as prospective students, providing these numbers to IEF. On a per request basis, IEF is providing schools with detailed student information, including email addresses. Please email your request for detailed information on specific students by including student numbers and a return address to: tdosermagen@ief-usa.org.

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Results of Post-Fair Surveying of U.S. School Representatives

Following participation in one or more of IEF's Fairs, school representatives were asked to provide IEF with valuable input on how they viewed the Fairs. With an eye toward constant improvement, IEF noted the following major themes from respondents:

• Solicit More Student Visitations

• Add Fair Exhibition Days

• Lengthen Daily Fair Hours

• Lower Fair Prices Where Able

As a result of this valuable input, IEF's spring, 2002 Fairs will feature all of the following:

• Significantly reduced prices and savings incentives

• Two days of exhibitions in each of the tour's three largest cities of Seoul,Taipei and Shanghai 

• Increased daily exhibition hours at all venues including Kaohsiung, Taichung and Nanjing

• Dramatically enhanced marketing efforts

• New venues like COEX, Seoul.

IEF salutes those who provided this valuable input on how we can improve on our service to schools.  Individual Fair criteria were rated as follows, on a scale from {10 - Outstanding} to {3- Poor}:

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Pre-Fair Promotions

Interestingly, IEF's pre-Fair promotions for each of the Taiwan exhibitions exceeded those of any previous year, contributing to our belief that declines in Fair attendance was due to other causes. The following is a summary of our pre-Fair promotions: {Key: K - Korea Fair T - Taiwan Fairs A - All Fairs}

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A Youthful Fair Attendee Profile in Korea and Taiwan - Wave of the Future? 

An analysis of the Fair attendees reflects the highly successful recruitment of students by U.S. private high schools and boarding schools. This is a reflection of the special emphasis IEF placed on Fair promotions toward this youthful cohort since Taiwan's and Korea's Ministries of Education announced in 2001 their significant liberalization of study abroad requirements for middle and high school students. We anticipate this trend toward younger students interested in studying abroad to only increase. 

Taiwan Fair Students' Educational Attainment Percentage of Total High School 12.6% Two Year College 11.5% Four Year College 67% Post Graduage 8.7%

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Fair Highlights - Taiwan

Running from October 19th through 23rd, IEF's Taiwan Fairs were held in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung.  This was only the second time around for our newcomers in Taichung, with its growing central Taiwan regional student population. Immediately following IEF's first fair in Taichung (spring, 2001), IEF representatives visited colleges and universities in central Taiwan for exchanges of views on how the second fair should be conducted. In the meantime, we designed varieties of promotional materials for distribution to schools in the region. Some schools even invited IEF counselors to give student briefings on study in the USA, with a great many students expressing interest in Fair attendance. Media people were then brought in for briefings, and posters and flyers were mailed to schools. Close to 40 US schools participated in the Taichung event, and the prospects for future fairs in Taichung are quite good.

Three features were pre-arranged for all fairs by IEF: A reinforcement of security guards on the scene was made through the foreign affairs sections of local Police Departments. The new student numbering system was instituted, designed for the benefit of participating schools in tracing future potential student prospects. All incoming students were requested to fill out a personal information sheet before being allowed to enter the exhibition sites.

As in previous Fairs, the AIT serving as an honorary sponsor, briefed in advance the American attendees on visa and other related issues. In particular, they reported that policy and procedure on F-1 visa issuance remains unchanged in Taiwan despite the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and that the percentage of student being granted student visa remains between 95 to 97. The fall fairs, like before, brought great attention among the local media. A total of 36 reports were filed, in addition to four special newspaper supplements on the exhibitions. To gain momentum for the IEF events, a special seminar on the effects of Taiwan's entry into the WTO was held the day before the opening of the Fair. Media representatives were able to get first hand information from a distinguished panel of guests as well as discuss related developments since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Taiwan marketplace will continue to thrive as a 'must visit' choice for U.S. schools - IEF is pleased to be the leader in this important top-five student source.

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Fair Highlights - Korea

IEF's first foray into the Korean student market featured a one day Fair held on October 28th at the JW Marriott, Seoul, with special school visitations to Korea's top women's university (Ewha), followed by Korea's top foreign language high school (Daewon). As a result of these visits, school representatives directly recruited students from Daewon FLHS, nearly all of whom will be studying abroad. Ewha University also extended the hand of cooperation to our school representatives, as it wishes to set up exchange programs with U.S. schools. 

Inroads were also made with a 24 member association of foreign language high schools in Seoul, which will yield special Mini-Fairs in the spring of 2002, augmented by a 2 day Fair at Seoul's massive COEX venue, promising greatly enhanced student recruitment opportunities for IEF's educational partners next season. For our U.S. private high schools and boarding schools, the future for student recruitment in Korea is bright. IEF will continue cultivating new relationships with Korean middle schools.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul provided outstanding support of our Fair in two important ways - with full briefings on the security and visa situations. The Fulbright Commission in Seoul also briefed U.S. Schools on the potential Fulbright has to support U.S. schools by posting school information and links in the Korean language at no cost. Educational testing services were described and showcased.

Korea is a top-five student market which IEF is now pleased to have established a foothold within - and it represents a future filled with wonderful student recruitment opportunities in the coming years.

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IEF's CyberFair @ AmericanEducationFair.com - A New Benefit to Schools

The IEF Education Foundation is pleased to introduce a new, unique and fully comprehensive CyberFair, or on-line guide to American colleges and universities, at the web site: AmericanEducationFair.com. The CyberFair is both for the convenience of students in China, Taiwan and Korea, and to extend the exposure of the U.S. schools beyond the time and space of the traditional "brick and mortar" Fair. 

Students can use the CyberFair web site to visit virtual booth pages, which list comprehensive information such as school type, enrollment, campus size, school calendar, degrees offered, strong majors, campus contacts, special academic programs and major annual events - with a convenient link to the school's own web site.

The CyberFair web site is perfectly suited for international students. All U.S. schools participating in one or more of IEF's American Education Fairs will be listed on the CyberFair for one full year after the Fairs. 

Log-on to www.AmericanEducationFair.com now and visit the CyberFair!

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American Education Fairs in Taiwan, Korea and China - Spring 2002

The IEF Education Foundation is pleased to announce that this spring, we are slashing prices for our Korea Fair, adding one additional Fair day for exhibition, and adding Mini-Fairs at selected foreign language high schools throughout Seoul. Additionally, we will be holding our Seoul Fair at an outstanding, proven venue, joining KTF's spring fair at COEX Seoul. Last year, this venue saw nearly 40,000 student visitations.

We are pleased to add two attractive stops in China to our Spring Fair tour. Please plan on joining us in Shanghai, China's largest city, and Nanjing, southern China's higher education center, and thriving metropolis of nearly 3 million. Pack your materials - these Fairs promise to be very well attended.

Also, you will soon receive our special Spring, 2002 discount packages in the mail - check it out for great savings. For instance, those going to Shanghai, Nanjing and Seoul will save $500 on the optional services of your choosing. For those interested in the two-day fairs coming to each of our three largest cities (Taipei, Seoul and Shanghai), you save $300.

Finally, IEF is adding longer daily exhibition hours. We thank you for considering IEF, and look forward to delivering on our promise of outstanding, quality Fairs in 2002. See you in East Asia! 

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Related Materials to Review

• Fairs in Taiwan
• Why Recruit in Taiwan?
• Historical Highlights
• Related Links about Taiwan