Appendix B - GPA Letters

GPA Letters:

Dear Overseas Language Program 2000-2008 Fellows,

The International Education Programs Service (IEPS) of the U.S. Department of Education has contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a research organization based in Washington, DC, to conduct an assessment of the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad – Advanced Overseas Intensive Language Program (Overseas Language Program). As a past fellow sponsored by the Overseas Language Program, we are interested in your feedback. Over the past several months, IEPS has worked with AIR to provide a comprehensive tool to gather information on your various aspects of experiences as an Overseas Language Program fellow. IEPS will use the information from the survey to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement.

Over the next month, you will be sent a link to the on-line survey directly from AIR. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your experiences as an Overseas Language Program fellow. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and responses will be aggregated when presenting findings to ED and for reporting purposes.

Your input is critical to evaluating the impact of the Overseas Language Program fellowship on increasing fellows’ language proficiency and cultural knowledge and for understanding how the program can be improved. We hope that you will take 30 minutes out of your busy schedule to complete the survey so that we may be able to better serve our country’s needs for foreign language education.

Dear Overseas Language Program 2009 Fellows,

The International Education Programs Service (IEPS) of the U.S. Department of Education has contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a research organization based in Washington, DC, to conduct an assessment of the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad – Advanced Overseas Intensive Language Program (Overseas Language Program). As a recent fellow sponsored by the Overseas Language Program, we are interested in your feedback. Over the past several months, IEPS has worked with AIR to provide a comprehensive tool to gather information on your various aspects of experiences as an Overseas Language Program fellow. IEPS will use the information from the survey to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement.

Over the next month, you will be sent a link to the on-line survey directly from AIR. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your experiences as an Overseas Language Program fellow. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and responses will be aggregated when presenting findings to ED and for reporting purposes.

Your input is critical to evaluating the impact of the Overseas Language Program fellowship on increasing fellows’ language proficiency and cultural knowledge and for understanding how the program can be improved. We hope that you will take 30 minutes out of your busy schedule to complete the survey so that we may be able to better serve our country’s needs for foreign language education.

Dear Overseas Language Program Project Director,

As you are aware, the International Education Programs Service (IEPS) of the U.S. Department of Education has contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an assessment of the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad – Advanced Overseas Intensive Language Program (GPA Intensive Language Program). Over the past several months, IEPS has worked with AIR to provide a comprehensive tool to gather information on various aspects of your various aspects of the administration of the GPA Intensive Language Program fellowship at your institution. IEPS will use the information from the survey to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement.

The enclosed electronic copy of the survey will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. It has been sent as a Microsoft Word file so that it can be completed electronically and returned via email when completed. Not all questions in the survey may apply to the GPA Intensive Language Program fellowship at your institution. We are interested in gathering information about the administration of the GPA Intensive Language Program at your institution and your perspective on its impact on improving fellows’ language proficiency. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members knowledgeable about the project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded. We understand that you may no longer be the administrator for the GPA Intensive Language Program fellowship at your institution or that your institution may no longer administer the fellowship. Your responses are still critically important to the evaluation of the GPA Intensive Language Program. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and responses will be aggregated when presenting findings to ED and for reporting purposes.

As a Project Director your input is critical to understanding the features of the fellowships across the country and the impact of the program in increasing the language skills and cultural competence of participants. We hope that you will take 90 minutes out of your busy schedule to complete the survey so that we may be able to better serve our country’s needs for foreign language education.

Timeline

Task	Date
Send out Introduction Letter from Dept to let them know a survey is coming to assess bounce back	2 weeks before Survey Date
Send out AIR Letter & Survey Link The survey will be open for 2 months	Survey Date
Send out Reminder Letter 1*	1 week after Survey Date*
Send out Reminder Letter 2*	3 weeks after Survey Date*
Send out Reminder Letter 3*	4 weeks after Survey Date*
Send out Reminder Letter 4*	6 weeks after Survey Date*
Send out Last Reminder Letter	7 weeks after Survey Date
Close Survey	2 months after Survey Date

*Number of Reminder Letters and when they will be sent out may change based on response rates.

American Institutes for Research^® B-1