Radio Wuda 第二学期第六次听力文字材料

如何申请美国大学系列

This is the VOA Special English EDUCATION REPORT.

This week, we continue our series of reports about how people from foreign countries can attend a college or university in the United States. A copy of this report can be found on the Special English web site at www dot voaspecialenglish dot com.

One way to earn a degree at an American college or university is to stay at home and use a computer. American universities have been offering classes online for a number of years. Students who have taken online classes say they like them. One reason is because they do not have to travel to a building at a set time to listen to a professor. Professors say they have better communication with students through electronic mail notes than they do in many traditional classes.

Some colleges offer academic degrees online. One is Jones International University in Englewood, Colorado. Its web site says it is the first fully online accredited university. It offers both bachelor's degrees and master's degrees.

The University of Phoenix in Arizona has been offering degrees online since nineteen-eighty-nine. University officials say they try to provide students with a social experience as well as an educational one. For example, in some programs, groups of the same six students progress through all their classes together. They communicate by computer.

Another online school is Cardean (CAR-dee-an) University, near Chicago, Illinois. It began operations two years ago. It is offering online classes leading to a Master's of Business Administration degree. Cardean University uses a problem-solving method of teaching. Students attempt to solve real problems in their classes online instead of reading information.

Anyone with a computer can find information on the Internet about these schools and others. You can use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Type "online education," and choose from a list of schools. Each will provide information about its programs and costs.

However, experts say you should not send money to any school that says you can get a college degree without doing any work. These are illegal operations. Experts also say that you should find out if such college degrees are recognized in your country before you decide to get an education online.

This VOA Special English EDUCATION REPORT was written by Nancy Steinbach.

We continue our series of reports about how foreign students can attend a college or university in the United States. This report is on the Special English Internet Web site, w-w-w dot voaspecialenglish dot com.

The State Department has rules for giving permission to foreign students to study in the United States. The rules can be found on the State Department's travel Web site. The address is t-r-a-v-e-l dot s-t-a-t-e dot g-o-v. Under Services, go to Visas for Foreign Citizens to Come to the United States, Nonimmigrant Visas, Student and Exchange Visitor Visas and Applying for a Foreign Student Visa.

Every foreign student who has been accepted by a college or university to study in this country must have a legal document called a visa from the United States government. The rules for getting a visa have changed since the terrorist attacks against the United States last year.

National security is the most important issue in deciding if a person should be permitted to enter the United States. It now takes a longer time for a person to receive permission to enter the country. This past summer, a new policy took effect. It requires additional security investigations of men between the ages of sixteen and forty-five from twenty-six countries. Officials say these men are waiting the longest for their legal papers.

A State Department spokesman said visa applications that used to be approved in days are now taking much longer. This is because officials must see if the name of each student appears on lists of foreigners with possible links to terrorists. Officials say that future security investigations are expected to take less than one month from the time of visa application.

The State Department says international students are not being studied any more closely than people who want to enter the United States for other reasons. But students must enter the country before their college classes begin. So they must apply for the visa as soon as they can to permit enough time for approval.

Other new rules have also taken effect. For example, universities must place a confirmation document on a State Department Web site for every international student they admit. We will have more information about this next week.

We continue our series of reports about how foreign students can attend a college or university in the United States. This report is on the Special English Internet Web site, w-w-w dot voaspecialenglish dot com.

Last week, the Education Report discussed changes in the government rules for getting legal permission to enter the United States to study. Today, we tell about ways the government plans to follow foreign students inside the country.

One way is by using a new computer security system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System or SEVIS. All schools will enter information about their foreign students into this computer network. The SEVIS system will go into effect on January thirtieth, two-thousand-three.

SEVIS will link about seventy-four-thousand American colleges, universities and technical schools to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It will give the I-N-S and the Justice Department detailed information about each student. The government will be able to tell if the student is attending classes or if the student leaves school. The government will also use the system to let the schools know that a student has entered the country. The new rules require schools to tell the I-N-S within thirty days if the student is attending classes.

SEVIS is one of a number of ways that government officials are getting more control over foreign students. Earlier this year, officials said they may not approve requests from foreigners who want to study some kinds of science or technology subjects. These include subjects that could provide knowledge about how to make dangerous weapons. And the Justice Department has begun a new system to follow foreign visitors entering and leaving the country.

The program involves fingerprinting a small percentage of foreign visitors. The fingerprints will be studied to see if they are the same as those of known criminals or terrorists. The fingerprinted visitors also must tell the government from time to time where they are living and what they are doing in the United States. They must also let officials know when they leave the country.

Information about SEVIS can be found on the I-N-S Web site. The address is w-w-w dot i-n-s dot g-o-v. Then go to SEVIS Resources or Special Registration.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.