Long-Term Inbound Standards
Glossary
Agent
Individual or organization authorized to represent or act on behalf of the organization in administering one or more aspects of the program, for example, an overseas partner.
Organization
Entity that sponsors international student exchange activities.
Program
Organized international student exchange activity that begins with participant recruitment and selection, includes the components outlined in the standards that follow, and terminates when the participant returns to his or her point of origin or otherwise severs the relationship with the program sponsor. Programs applying for CSIET listing must have a minimum of one current international student exchange participant in each cycle that is being evaluated for each program (i.e. J-1/F-1 inbound).
Volunteer
- A representative who is compensated for out-of-pocket expenses only. If a representative receives regular compensation, such as a per student placement fee, this individual cannot be considered a volunteer.
- A host family that provides room and board gratis to a student.
Federal Waivers
The CSIET Board of Directors has ruled that if the State Department or an agency of the U.S. government provides an exception that may affect compliance with CSIET standards, the organization to which the waiver has been granted may operate under that exemption upon written presentation of such waiver to CSIET upon application for CSIET listing.
STANDARD 1: EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
- A. Programs shall be designed to fulfill educational purposes related to an international experience.
- B. The organization sponsoring the program shall have clearly established goals and learning objectives to fulfill the educational purposes of its programs.
STANDARD 2: ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
- A. The structure and administration of the organization shall be clearly defined.
- B. The organization shall have the personnel needed to administer its programs effectively.
- 1. The organization is accountable for the full scope of the programs it administers, including actions taken and representations made by its agents, and maintains responsibility for its students both within the United States and abroad.
- 2. The organization shall maintain direct, hands-on control of the placement and supervision of inbound students and the hiring, firing, and remuneration of local representatives. It may not enter into a relationship with another entity that appears to exercise such control.
- C. The organization shall be organized under the laws of one of the 50 states of the United States or the District of Columbia.
- D. The organization shall demonstrate success in international student exchange through at least one full year since its incorporation.
STANDARD 3: FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
A. The organization shall be capable of discharging its financial responsibilities to all participants.
B. The organization shall have sufficient financial backing to protect all monies paid by participants and to ensure fulfillment of all responsibilities to participants.
C. The organization shall have an independent Certified Public Accountant annually prepare an audited or review financial statement.
STANDARD 4: PROMOTION
A. The organization’s promotional materials shall professionally, ethically, and accurately reflect its purposes, activities, and sponsorship.
B. The organization shall not publicize the need for host families via any public media with announcements, notices, advertisements, etc., that:
- are not sufficiently in advance of the student’s arrival
- appeal to public pity or guilt
- imply in any way that a student will be denied participation if a host family is not found
- identify photos of individual students and include an appeal for an immediate family.
Supplemental Guideline: Public Media Advertisements
CSIET has found the following words or phrases to be unacceptable: Urgently Needed, Don’t let me be homeless, This is an emergency…
CSIET has found the following words or phrases to be acceptable: Open your hearts and homes, Host an International Exchange Student…
It is permissible to use a picture of a student, a first name, age, country of origin, and a composite or generic listing of interests in an advertisement in order to demonstrate the personal nature of the program and the types of interests that students have. It is not permissible to use an actual photograph of the student seeking placement. It is also not permissible to identify that specific student as needing a home, nor is it permissible to refer to a student’s athletic ability or accomplishments. Written waivers must be obtained for the use of any student photographs.
C. The organization shall not promote or recruit for its programs in any way that compromises the privacy, safety or security of participants, families or schools. Specifically, programs shall not include personal student data or contact information (including address, phone or email addresses) on websites or other promotional materials.
D. All promotional materials/activities shall distinguish the program and the sponsoring organization from others operating under:
- affiliated or related corporate structures
- the same or similar names or symbols.
E. The organization shall fully disclose all fees, including school tuition, host family reimbursements, and other required or optional costs to prospective students and their natural families before enrollment. (If host families provide room and board gratis to the students, publicity should state that fees cover “selection and placement in host families” and not imply in any way that the fees paid by the students cover “room and board.”)
F. Neither the organization nor its agents shall promote its programs as providing opportunities for school athletic participation, high school graduation, or driver’s education instruction unless specifically authorized to do so by the organization’s school partners, and then only on a school-by-school basis;Neither the organization nor its agents shall allow any student on its program to engage in household domestic service, childcare, employment, or other activities that are either prohibited by law or regulation, or might compromise the student, program or school;
G. The organization shall not state or imply in its promotional materials/activities that persons who are compensated other than out-of-pocket expenses are volunteers.
STANDARD 5: STUDENT SELECTION AND ORIENTATION
STANDARD 6: STUDENT PLACEMENT
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- select host families on the basis of criteria appropriate to the program.
- conduct an in-person interview with all family members residing in the home where the student will be living.
- match students and host families on the basis of criteria appropriate to the program
- complete placement arrangements sufficiently in advance of the student’s departure from home to ensure adequate time for preparation and orientation of the host family (Whenever possible, a student should be placed with a host family who has made a long-term commitment to host the student prior to the student’s departure from his/her home country. In cases where this is not possible, a student may be placed with a short-term host family until long-term arrangements can be made. All short-term families must be selected and oriented according to the same criteria as are long-term families. The short-term nature of the host family placement must be fully disclosed in advance to the student, his/her natural parents, and the school principal and be acceptable to them. Short-term families may, of course, also be utilized when a host family placement has not worked out and a new family must be found).
- provide suitable orientation and training to the host family (When a family expresses an interest in hosting a student and a representative makes the initial home visit to explain the program, this is not to be considered the “host family orientation.” CSIET suggests that host family orientation include information on the student’s expectations about family and school life, customs, religion, and mores of the student’s native country, the academic program in which the student will be enrolled, potential problems in hosting international exchange students, and suggestions on how to cope with such problems.
- vet all adult members of the U.S. host family residing in the home through a national criminal background check in the United States.
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- J-1: A Direct Placement is one in which either the student or the sending organization in the foreign country is party to an arrangement with any other party, including school personnel, for the student to attend a particular school or live with a particular host family; however,
- F-1: The term Direct Placement, in the context of the original J-1 definition, does not apply because federal regulation requires all international students to “apply and be accepted by an SEVP approved school” prior to applying for the F-1 visa. Therefore, in its continuing effort to facilitate the needs of its partners at state associations, CSIET asks that programs provide transparency and report to the NFHS any F-1 student for whom participation in interscholastic varsity athletics was a known motivating factor at the time of application.
U.S. State:Name of Student:Country of Origin:Local Rep Name/Number:Name/City of U.S. Host School:Nature of the Direct Placement:Visa Type (J or F):
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- arrange accommodations on the basis of criteria appropriate to the program
- ensure the adequacy of the accommodations with respect to location, cleanliness, safety, nutrition and supervision
- confirm the accommodations sufficiently in advance of the student’s departure from home.
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- secure written, student-specific acceptance from the school principal or other designated responsibility school administrator prior to the international exchange student’s departure from his or her home country.
- provide the school with the following information about the student:
i. academic records, translated into English or other language as appropriateii. number of years of school completed prior to arrival and number of years required in home country for the completion of secondary school
STANDARD 7: OPERATIONS
STANDARD 8: STUDENT INSURANCE
STANDARD 9: ADHERENCE TO GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
1. Cease operation2. Merge with or become acquired by another organization3. Receive a notice of intent to sanction, or receive sanction/s (including but not limited to letter of reprimand, probation, suspension, and/or forms reduction) by the US Department of State or any other government agency.
As revised by the Board of Directors, April 2020