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SubscribeIndependent Evaluation of FSA Undergraduate Program (FSAU) Highlights Program Benefits
According to an independent evaluation of FSAU, alumni are significantly more likely than their peers to actively engage in community service and to be employed -- particularly in the international sector -- in their home countries. Additionally, FSAU alumni are significantly more likely than their peers to hold a positive view of the United States.
The independent evaluation of the FSAU program was ordered by the US Department of State’s Office of Policy and Evaluation in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The evaluation was conducted by Aguirre International between March and August 2002 in six of the twelve countries covered by the program -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The evaluation findings are based on alumni and semi-finalist focus groups, and interviews with 484 alumni, 333 semi-finalists, and 353 random cohort participants.
The evaluation states that FSAU alumni “show evidence of change directly as a result of the program and incorporate these newly acquired skills, attitudes, and beliefs into their private and professional lives in their home countries.” For example, according to evaluation findings, alumni “are significantly more likely than both semi-finalists and the random cohort to support equal rights for all citizens regardless of circumstances.” According to an Armenian alumnus, FSAU alumni “are Americanized completely. I am not talking about our way of life, I’m talking about our mentality.”
The focus of the evaluation was to determine whether or not the program was meeting its goals as stated by the legislative mandates under which the program operates; the FREEDOM (Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Markets) Support Act, and the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, which calls for the promotion of mutual understanding through exchange activity. The evaluation concluded that “the FSAU program is meeting both its immediate and longer-term goals,” and encourages the program to reinforce the positive experiences of alumni through alumni activities focused on professional development.
The FSAU program was established in 1992 to foster democratization and economic development in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan through intensive one-year academic programs for undergraduate students. Fellows complete one year of non-degree academic study at qualified undergraduate institutions and community colleges. Fellows are also required to take part in community service activities and complete a part-time internship during the program.
Copies of the completed FSAU evaluation and FSAU evaluation executive summary are available for download online on the ECA website.
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