Forward Progress: News & Updates

Bing Goes to New York

Last month, Bing Liang, president of US University Pathways (USUP), had the honor of participating in the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual convention in New York City. CGI brings together business, government, and civil society leaders to drive progress on a variety of economic, health, and humanitarian efforts around the globe. Bing’s presentation focused on USUP’s work with Girls College in Afghanistan to bring scholarship opportunities to students seeking a pathway to college in the United States. As a result, USUP connected with philanthropic organizations eager to learn more about ways they can help.

Enrollments Are In

Related to the news above, Forward International Academy (FIA) is welcoming students from Afghanistan this month! The USUP team continues to also engage with several prospective partner schools and has recently met with representatives of schools in Algeria, Peru, Pakistan, and Poland to discuss programming opportunities.

FIA Team Additions

In this space several weeks ago, we highlighted our efforts to bring highly qualified staff to FIA to support our learners. We now have a teacher team that is experienced and well-credentialed in their content areas. Each has at least 10 years of teaching experience, a Master’s degree or higher, and is very skilled in communication, problem-solving and the strategic use of technology. Special thanks go to team-member Mighty Lou Tinambacan for her great work in referring our newest colleagues.

Wisconsin Partnership List Grows

As many of you know, USUP maintains cherished partnerships with several colleges and universities located right here in Wisconsin. With the recent addition of Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), USUP now partners with eight institutions of higher education. A partnership essentially means that FIA students whose transcripts and records meet established standards receive admission to that university or college upon graduation. Students are also eligible to receive generous scholarships. Partnerships are a great way to collectively promote the excellence of Wisconsin education to our international students and help pave the way to a rewarding post-secondary experience. Thank you to all of our Wisconsin partner universities and colleges!

Virtual Fair for International Students

And with our partnerships in mind, USUP is facilitating a virtual fair with our Wisconsin institutions of higher education on November 12th and 13th for high school students in Ukraine and Portugal. Attendees will learn about partner universities from their international admissions specialists in a 15-20 minute presentation, after which students will have the opportunity to ask questions.

AIRC Featured Webinar

Back in August and September, we had the privilege of sharing insights and strategies for applying Artificial Intelligence (LLMs) in education - from the classroom to the central office. Over 80 partners, friends, and colleagues signed up for one of two webinars to engage in the topic. Since then, we have collaborated with The Association of International Enrollment Management (AIRC) to host an AI-powered webinar on November 13th, specifically tailored for AIRC’s member audience, which includes USUP. If you would like to see a recording of our earlier AI Foundations for Educators webinar, please reach out to Dave Vitale.