3/9/98

ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University is providing special assistance to students from four Asian countries facing financial difficulties -- South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand -- following the sudden drop in Asian currency values. Currency values in the four countries have dropped by as much as 80 percent since last fall when Asian stock markets plummeted, adversely affecting currency values.

"We have agreed to extend payments of tuition and fees for students of the four affected countries for winter quarter until the end of summer quarter," said Alan Boyd, director of International Students and Faculty Services. "If necessary, we will do the same thing for spring quarter."

Boyd and other advisors have met with more than 90 students from the affected countries. The students were seeking delays in paying tuition, extension of university rent payments, loans and help obtaining work permits.

Jae-Hak Lim, president of Ohio's Korean Student Association and a senior telecommunications major, said the university's efforts have been helpful for Korean students.

"We have to pay more than twice as much as before for everything," Lim said. "We really appreciate the aid from the school and hope the currency problems will be getting better by the end of June," Lim said.

Despite the university efforts to assist students, enrollment of students from three of the four countries have declined over the past year. There was a slight increase in the number of students from Thailand enrolling fall quarter.

"Out of 65 Korean students, at least 19 didn't register for the winter quarter," Boyd said. "The bottom line is that educational exchange between these Asian countries and the United States is going to be seriously affected in the near future," Boyd said.

Ohio University traditionally has one of the largest percentage of international students for a state-assisted university in Ohio. Winter quarter 1998, 1,008 students from more than 100 foreign countries enrolled at Ohio University.