U.S. CENTRAL ASIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Supporting the quality of - and affordable access to -
Western business know - how and practices in Central Asia
Enterprise Student Fellowships
Program Design and 2007 Launch
The Enterprise Student Fellowships are the linchpin for all the Foundation’s programs. These scholarships provide the most gifted, financially disadvantaged students from across the five countries of Central Asia with the opportunity for a business education they would not have access to otherwise.
Enterprise Student Fellowships were awarded to 63 students whose family incomes ranged from $50 to $250 a month in September of 2007. Enterprise Student Fellows are the first in their families to attend a university, and many were also the first in their families to have attended and graduated from secondary school.
Enterprise Student Fellowships were made available at the following two universities initially selected for participation in the program:
- American University of Central Asia (AUCA) located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and
- Kazakhstan Institute of Management Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP) located in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Fellowship awards are formally accepted by the candidate and stipulate maintaining a minimum level of academic excellence (a 3.0 GPA). Although Student Fellowships are granted on a year-by-year basis, recipients are informed of the Foundation’s intent to continue their award for the full four years of undergraduate study, provided the conditions of the Fellowship are fulfilled.
In light of the compressed time frame between Foundation authorization and commencement of the academic year, American Councils and the Foundation agreed on an expedited process for identifying eligible candidates by starting with the pool of students who had passed the admittance tests at the selected universities and applied for financial aid.
At AUCA, 49 candidates were identified, all of who were from Kyrgyzstan, with 14 coming from outside the country’s capital of Bishkek. After extensive interviews, and on the recommendation of American Councils, 42 Student Enterprise Fellowships were awarded for a total $43,000 in scholarship funds. AUCA requested that the Foundation’s awards mirror its own approach and practice of providing partial tuition scholarships, and for the first year of its program the Foundation agreed to this request by providing scholarships ranging from $300 to $2,050.
At KIMEP, the university welcomed the Foundation’s commitment and worked closely to facilitate identification of a qualified pool of candidates who met not only the Foundation’s criteria for financial need and academic excellence, but diversity based on country of residence and region (urban vs. rural). KIMEP’s support and commitment to diversity was reflected by cost-sharing in the form of tuition remissions and waived fees totaling $34,000, and by reserving space in its dormitory facility for Student Fellows that required local housing in order to attend KIMEP. The Foundation awarded twenty-one Enterprise Student Fellowships (ten full fellowships, and eleven partial fellowships) totaling $91,000 – with ten of the eleven partial fellowship recipients effectively receiving full scholarships through the cost-sharing contribution made by KIMEP. Additionally, all Fellows received textbook and spending allowances, with all Fellows from outside of Almaty receiving travel allowance and dormitory housing. Of the Enterprise Fellows, eleven were female and ten were male, with seven from Kazakhstan, eight from Kyrgyzstan, two from Turkmenistan and four from Uzbekistan.
Assessment and Next Steps
Together, the Foundation and American Councils are committed to the success of all Enterprise Student Fellows. As part of its program design, American Councils maintains regular communication with Enterprise Fellows and university administrative staff and faculty to ensure the academic progress and overall wellbeing of students. Grades will be evaluated each semester and support provided, as appropriate, to facilitate fulfillment of program requirements. The results of the first year program, including input from the Student Fellows, will help to enhance the effectiveness going forward.
American Councils has developed an extensive recruiting effort for the academic year 2008-2009 — an effort it could not undertake for 2007 given the short lead-time. Efforts include an online application and outreach throughout Central Asia to help achieve the Foundation’s country and regional diversity goals.
Plans For The Future
As the linchpin of its programs, the Foundation is most concerned during this start-up phase to establish a strong and effective operating Student Fellowship program.
The Foundation seeks to:
- Continue and build the Enterprise Student Fellowship program to meet its diversity goals of affording opportunities to financially disadvantaged, gifted students from each of the five countries and from diverse regions within the countries;
- Learn from the experience and feedback of this year’s Enterprise Student Fellows to create a stronger program to support next year’s incoming class – for example, creation of second year mentors for the first year class;
- Build upon the relationship with partner universities to monitor the progress of Enterprise Student Fellows, and tailor support provided by the Foundation and American Councils to reflect each university’s programs and priorities to maximize opportunities for the Student Fellows success during their university years and subsequently in securing employment; and
- Explore further opportunities for additional resource sharing with partner universities that will expand outreach, recruitment, and the benefit provided by the Foundation’s student fellowships. And, in view of the limited dormitory space at KIMEP and lack of dormitory facilities at AUCA, how to best secure living accommodations for Fellows who must travel from other countries or outside the city region where the universities are located.