R 230634Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1923

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000519 
 
 
STATE FOR S/P, EAP/PD - RFERGUSON-AUGUSTUS, EAP/MTS, ECA/A/S/A - 
DMORA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL ID
SUBJECT: EDUCATION #4 - FOLLOW-UP TO THE SECRETARY'S INDONESIA 
VISIT: MISSION INDONESIA'S HIGHER EDUCATION STRATEGY 
 
Ref.:  A) Jakarta 373 B) Jakarta 379 C) Jakarta 460 
 
¶1. Over the last decade, Australia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, 
Great Britain, and other countries expanded and modernized their 
student recruiting systems in Indonesia. The United States did not 
with unfortunate and predictable results: the U.S. is no longer the 
top destination for Indonesian students and there are just half as 
many Indonesian students in the United States now as there were a 
decade ago - despite record numbers of Indonesians studying abroad. 
The mission is developing ideas to implement the Secretary's vision 
of doubling the number of Indonesian students in the U.S. to make up 
for this lost decade. 
 
¶2. International data indicate that Indonesia may be a symptom of a 
broader trend: declining American competitiveness in the world 
higher education market.  According to statistics compiled by the 
American International Recruitment Council, the total number of 
international students in the United States stagnated over the last 
decade, despite massive increases in the number of foreigners 
studying abroad.  In other words, while in absolute numbers it 
appears that we are treading water, the reality is our market share 
has sunk dramatically. 
 
¶3. In recent weeks, the Mission has been working with EAP to develop 
approximately $30 million in possible programs to support the 
Secretary's goals. These programs are essential in moving forward on 
the education agenda. Unless coupled with a targeted mission 
strategy, however, these programs on their own will not be 
sufficient to double the number of Indonesian students in the United 
States within five years.  To accomplish that goal, the Mission has 
had some suggestions for an education promotion strategy and action 
plan. 
 
¶4. One of the first steps in the plan will be to identify and engage 
other stakeholders with an interest in promoting U.S. higher 
education. Obvious stakeholders include American universities, 
Indonesian alumni of U.S. schools, private recruiters, and local 
education institutions.  In Indonesia, the Mission is probably the 
only entity capable of focusing the efforts of this diverse group. 
 
¶5. Another important step will be emulating the methods of our most 
dynamic competitors. This includes improving our student advising 
system, establishing a nationwide alumni alliance; advertising on 
line and in the mass media; creating and distributing promotional 
materials; and utilizing the full public affairs tool set, including 
exchanges, English teaching, DVCs, media placements, the Mission 
Outreach Program, etc., for maximum effect. 
 
¶6. Finally, the mission will identify key schools and other 
institutions which produce the largest number of students with the 
educational and financial background needed to study overseas and 
target them for outreach programs. Because these schools also train 
a disproportionate number of the country's future economic and 
political leaders, targeting them will support our broader public 
affairs goals as well. 
 
¶7. Much of this strategy is uncharted territory for U.S. Missions 
abroad. As this plan unfolds, the Mission will develop methods which 
can be used in other countries. Indonesia will be a proving ground 
for strategies that can be rolled out in other parts of the world. 
 
¶8. Because of college application timelines, we expect that this 
year's efforts will not have a significant impact on this year's 
student numbers but will instead form the basis of future growth. 
 
¶9. Not all elements of the following action plan can be undertaken 
with existing resources. Some critical aspects of the plan require 
funding and support from Washington. This is no small effort; the 
strategy will require substantial and sustained effort and a major 
realignment of Mission priorities. 
 
¶10. Finally, there is one issue that is out of the Mission's control 
but which affects our ability to recruit students as well as how we 
are perceived: the SAO process.  Incidents in which students have 
missed entire semesters or been forced to switch programs because 
their visas could not be released have put a chill in many potential 
students, particularly those with Muslim-sounding names.  We hope 
that Washington can look at how to ease the burden of the SAO 
process on student visa applicants by either fine tuning the 
criteria or devoting more interagency resources for faster 
resolution. 
 
The Plan in Detail 
------------------ 
 
¶11. In discussions with alumni and educators, we have identified 
several general steps which must be taken to maximize the number of 
Indonesian students choosing to study in the U.S.  Working alone and 
with other stakeholders, the Mission will undertake activities to: 
 
- significantly increase contact potential students have with 
Americans and Indonesian alumni; 
 
- develop and distribute effective and informative promotional 
materials; 
 
- make it easier for potential students to research and apply to 
American schools; 
 
- debunk misperceptions about the visa process and America's 
openness to foreigners; 
 
- highlight the value and augment the prestige of an American 
education; and 
 
- identify and engage key institutions and organizations which can 
support our efforts. 
 
Key Plan Components 
------------------- 
 
¶12. The Mission will undertake specific activities to accomplish the 
above goals including: 
 
- Identify critical source institutions: A small fraction of 
Indonesia's high schools train a majority of the students who will 
eventually study abroad. The Mission will identify these 
institutions and prioritize them in recruiting and other outreach 
efforts. 
 
- Seek out and emulate best practices:  We will also review 
EducationUSA's activities from top to bottom to identify strengths 
and weaknesses. EducationUSA will also seek out best practices from 
our competitors and sister organizations around the world. 
 
- Engage U.S. partners: Effective recruiting requires close 
collaboration with U.S. institutions of higher education. Ambassador 
Hume has already written the top twenty schools receiving Indonesian 
students in 2008, as well as 70 schools which have demonstrated 
interest in Indonesia. AMINEF/EducationUSA followed-up those letters 
with an offer of assistance for recruitment.  We will further follow 
up by requesting promotional materials, alumni lists, and key 
contacts - including email and Facebook/Friendster addresses of 
Indonesian student "Ambassadors" who can correspond with potential 
students. We will assist them in holding information and outreach 
sessions by DVC and other means. 
 
- Build relations with private student advisors: numerous private 
advisors provide fee-for-service assistance to students wishing to 
study abroad.   We will identify reputable advisors, provide 
information to them, and encourage them to promote American schools. 
 
- Enlist alumni and other allies: Indonesian alumni and Indonesian 
students in the U.S. are powerful recruiting tools.  These groups 
tend to be enthusiastic, motivated and eager to support our programs 
if given space to do so. The Mission is identifying individual 
alumni and alumni groups in order to form a nationwide American 
alumni alliance. The Mission is now recruiting a full-time LES 
alumni coordinator, who will greatly enhance our efforts in this 
area. 
 
- Honor our Alumni: The Mission will host a mega-event which honors 
and highlights the contributions of notable alumni. - Establish an 
eminent persons group: The Ambassador will form an 
advisory committee of prominent alumni which will prepare 
recommendations for promoting American higher education and help 
engage local media. 
 
- Improve access to testing facilities: At present, students living 
outside of Jakarta must travel great distances in order to take 
standardized tests, a burden students heading to competitor 
countries do not bear. The Mission will work with Educational 
Testing Service (ETS) to find ways to expand the number of 
standardized testing sites around the country, and possibly 
reverting to the use of the paper-based TOEFL. 
 
- Monitor emerging trends: The Indonesian student market is 
evolving. Two segments that are growing rapidly are post graduate 
and community college programs. To ensure that Mission efforts 
remain up to date, the consular section will monitor these trends 
and the education working group will ensure we can take advantage of 
them. 
 
- Engage in strategic outreach: The Mission will send information 
packets to key high schools and other institutions.  The Mission 
will also target these schools for outreach by EducationUSA, Mission 
personnel and Alumni. 
 
- Augment participation in recruiting fairs: numerous organizations 
regularly organize recruiting fairs in major cities around the 
country. The U.S. only occasionally participates.  We will carefully 
investigate the pros and cons of participating in additional fairs 
(cost vs. benefits) and increase participation in those fairs proven 
to attract large numbers of students who are serious about study 
abroad. 
 
- Refute inaccurate visa myths: the Consular section will organize 
an active outreach program to counter myths about the student visa 
process. Outreach will include information sessions as well as 
sessions for the media. 
 
- Mobilize the public diplomacy toolset: The public affairs section 
will strategically employ tools such as outreach to old and new 
media, speaker programs, American Corners, etc. to support the goal. 
 
- Develop and exploit online resources and tools:  A bilingual 
website will be developed and promoted to assist potential students 
(and their parents) around the country. We will also organize 
counseling and question and answer sessions, perhaps via blogging or 
podcasts or DVC. We will also utilize social networks to promote 
American higher education. 
 
- Prepare promotional materials: We will collect and prepare 
promotional materials, including video, posters, handouts, 
brochures, etc. (Note: ECA recently funded a single country outreach 
coordinator for Indonesia.  The position reports to IIE through its 
Indonesia partner, IIEF, and is based at EducationUSA in AMINEF 
office in Jakarta.) 
 
- Public Relations and Advertising:  Competitor countries advertise 
regularly in national and specialized media such as in-flight 
magazines. They also have sophisticated branding and promotional 
strategies. We will identify media partners and firms which can 
assist in developing and executing a public relations strategy, 
including designing and placing advertisements, producing locally 
appropriate marketing videos, and in building an on-line presence. 
New resources will be needed to finance this effort. 
 
How Washington Can Help 
----------------------- 
 
¶13. There are additional ways that Washington Agencies can assist in 
these efforts: 
 
-- Support requests for specific funding: A comprehensive 
outreach/marketing strategy is currently being prepared, which will 
include new resource recommendations to achieve our goals, including 
possibly upgrading and expanding advising centers in Indonesia. 
Before May 1, Mission will review the report, set priorities, and 
request additional FY 2009 funds. 
 
- Create a senior private sector advisory committee in the United 
States comprised of public and private institutions of higher 
education to explore ways they can work together and with the 
Department to promote American higher education abroad. 
 
- Review the SAO process to fine tune the criteria or devote more 
interagency resources to eliminate the SAO backlog. 
 
HUME