[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5637-5638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2266]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 6890]


Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; Secondary School 
Student Sponsor On-Site Reviews

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department has designated United States organizations to 
conduct Secondary School Student exchange programs since 1949, 
following passage of the United States Information and Educational 
Exchange Act of 1948 and adoption of 22 CFR part 62--Exchange Visitor 
Program regulations (14 FR 4592, July 22, 1949). Over the last 60 
years, more than 850,000 foreign exchange students have lived in and 
learned about America through these Secondary School Student programs. 
Educational and cultural exchanges are the cornerstone of U.S. public 
diplomacy and an integral component of American foreign policy. 
Secondary School Student exchange programs promote mutual understanding 
by providing foreign students the opportunity to study in American high 
schools while living with American host families. Not only are the 
students themselves positively transformed and enriched by these 
experiences, but so too are their families, friends, and teachers in 
their home countries.
    Globalization and the changing demographics of potential American 
host families, however, are having an impact on the traditional 
Secondary School Student exchange model. As a result, the Department 
has taken steps over the past several years to clarify and amend 
existing regulations; identify program issues that require further 
attention; cap program growth; more closely monitor sponsor 
performance; evaluate sponsor compliance; and, when necessary, impose 
administrative sanctions up to an including the revocation of the 
sponsor's program designation. In addition to these efforts, the 
Department has determined that a comprehensive review of each 
individual designated sponsor organization and its business practices 
is necessary to assist the Department in meeting both its policy 
objectives and oversight obligations for this category of exchange. The 
review of individual designated sponsors is conducted under the 
Department's regulatory authorities set forth at 22 CFR part 62.
    Initially, the Department will conduct on-site reviews of all fee 
charging program sponsors. Excluded from this first round of review are 
all Rotary programs, schools, school districts, and government 
programs. Following the first round of on-site reviews, the Department 
will determine whether to conduct on-site reviews of some or all of the 
remaining non-fee-charging sponsors, or if a comparable review of these 
programs can be conducted through some alternative method.
    The Department intends to examine a broad range of sponsor 
operations. The process will encompass in-depth financial review; 
examination of program pricing structures; appraisal of organizational 
operating models; review of hiring criteria and training policies for 
program employees and agents; evaluation of third party contractor 
relationships; and standard operating procedures, especially those 
related to the screening and selection of host families and the 
repatriation of program participants. Other areas of review will 
include, but are not limited to, decision-making processes (including 
the numbers of students accepted); self-imposed compliance mechanisms; 
procedures for handling student problems; standards for the selection 
of housing with host families; and policies for refunding deposits or 
payments when applicants cannot participate due to visa denial or 
sponsor inability to secure a placement. The Department will also 
examine the relationships between sponsors and third parties, including 
foreign partners. In the case of foreign partners, the Department will 
review their role in the overall placement process and the fees they 
charge for their services. The Department will scrutinize all 
contractual relationships under which designated sponsors outsource 
``core'' services, i.e., the screening, selection, placement, 
orientation, and monitoring functions that constitute the core elements 
of international exchange programming.
    It is the Department's intention that the burden of these reviews 
on sponsors will be minimal. Most document production will precede the 
on-site reviews and will involve standard and already existing business 
documents. The on-site portion of the review will entail interviews 
with key employees and review of files, but may also involve other 
follow-on areas of inquiry.
    Sponsors will be given at least ten business days' notice of the 
on-site review at which time they will be asked to submit required 
documentation within five business days. The Department will try to be 
flexible with scheduling of reviews to ensure the availability of the 
sponsor's responsible officer, alternate responsible officer(s), and 
other key employees who will need to be interviewed. Many of the 
reviews will be completed in two business days by two-person teams of 
Department employees from the Office of Designation and the Office of 
Exchange Coordination and Compliance. Individual circumstances, 
however, may result in the Department bringing additional staff or 
extending the length

[[Page 5638]]

of the review. In addition, a representative from both the Department's 
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Grants Office and Youth 
Programs Division will join the review teams for those sponsors that 
place secondary school students under the terms of grant awards.
    These reviews will not replace the redesignation process nor alter 
the requirements that sponsors submit applications for redesignation 
prior to the expiration of their current designations. Nor will the 
reviews take the place of the annual data reports required by 
regulation. Following the reviews, the Department will compile and 
share best practices and lessons learned with the exchange community. 
The Department recognizes it may also find operations that require the 
imposition of corrective action plans, or it may find that some 
entities no longer meet the eligibility requirements necessary to 
retain their designations. The Department believes that these reviews 
will provide an opportunity for continued growth of the partnership 
between the Department and program sponsors necessary and that the 
reviews will further our shared goal of ensuring that these young and 
potentially vulnerable exchange program participants all return to 
their countries with fond and meaningful memories of their successful 
exchange adventure in the United States of America.

    Dated: January 28, 2010.
Stanley S. Colvin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchanges, Bureau of 
Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2010-2266 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-05-P