Education officials from Algeria to visit Wright State

A four-member delegation of education officials from the north African nation of Algeria will visit Wright State University as part of a trip to examine the American educational system.

The delegation, which will be at Wright State on April 14 and 15, will tour campus, observe a French class and hear presentations on maintaining accreditation and the roles of the Faculty Senate and staff advisory councils.

Algeria, with a population of 38 million, has an economy based on oil resources. It has 26 universities and 67 institutions of higher education, which in 2008 served 1 million Algerians and 80,000 foreign students.

Michelle Streeter-Ferrari, director of Wright State’s University Center for International Education, said members of the delegation have been identified as emerging leaders in the field of education in Algeria, which has strong connections to educational systems in France and Europe but not the United States.

“One thing the State Department is trying to do is to introduce them to the United States and have them get a better understanding of what our educational system is like,” said Streeter-Ferrari.

The group’s goals are to examine the process and role of accreditation, meet with university faculty and staff, survey student services and international student programs and discuss administration and leadership.

The delegation includes three members of the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. They are Nacera Khemissa, chief of the Academic Evaluation and Progression Office; Ilhame Khennouf, head of Academic Content for Social Sciences, Law, Economics, Political Science and Islamic Studies; and Safia Kocheida, chief of the Diplomas Office.

Representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is Mohamed Lamine Nait Youcef, desk officer for the Americas Bureau.

The visit is part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program through Wright State’s Dayton Council of International Visitors.

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