Mansoura U seems to be one of the best universities in Egypt if not the entire area. I see HUGE exchanges with other universities and it seems to be a university that has extensive professional relationships with other univerisities. Not sure this helps.....
There are references to this exchange program on the Montana State U website. The governor of Montana spent 7 years in Saudi Arabia, and speaks Arabic. Montana is one of 5 state Universities with this particular type of exchange program.
Apparently the rule for the kind of visa these fellows were issued, one can enter the US within a certain number of days before the course begins, and must show up at the course on the first day of class. I guess this is why there is a time lapse between their entry and the BOLO.