A Decline in Foreign Students Is Reversed - New York Times

Some good news for once -- foreign students attending our universities in greater numbers. A Decline in Foreign Students Is Reversed - New York Times This is an important and welcomed development for our economy and influence in the world (even though it will make life alittle harder for my oldest son when he applies to college in two years). Our government, both the bureacrats and the politicians, should make this a political priority. Foreign students attending US universities is important for a number of reasons. While we must continue to be mindful of who we are letting into our country for national security purposes, and universities need to be willing to act as partners with our government in this regard, the benefits of foreign students studying here tremendously outweigh the risks by:

1. Facilitating the export to Asia and the Middle East of liberal American political ideals, helping to build cultural and political allies --seeing reference in this article to a college fair in Vietnam warms the cockles of my heart -- this is exactly the type of place where we should be trying to gain greater penetration,

2. In a world awash with anti-Americanism and a very bad image of Americans and American culture, this trend helps put positive images in the minds of a University-educated elite who will return to their countries with real life experience of living with and in America. Inter-personal relations can't help but soften the negative rhetoric and help our relations with other peoples, whcih can traslate itno support when we need it. Further, foreign education is still a luxury for the advantaged (or those to become advantaged) in most countries around the world, and the recipients of this education can be expected to become the policymakers and influencers of tomorrow in their cultures in government, business and the press.

3. Some of these foreign students will elect to stay here -- which will be a boon for our economy. At the risk of sounding racist, I have felt for a long time that the Canadians, who encourge immigration of the well-educated and wealthy -- and damn the rest -- had it right. These university-trained foreigners are equipped to add to our society in a meaningful way, and also bring with them ties to their homelands that can help expand economic opportunities for all Americans.

4. Very importantly, with the advent of Globalism and outsourcing, the US is running out of things that the world wants, and is willing to pay for. This portends dire consequences for the future economic health of our children. The main areas of growth in our economy seem to be housing construction (say goodbye to that for a while), law, finance, healthcare and education. Law and finance revenues can move abroad through outsourcing easily, as the rest of the world becomes more sophisticated, and London and other centers gain ground on our dominance. Education and healthcare are areas where it is much easier to bring revenues into the US, based on brandname and bricks and mortar. Yes, foreign co-branding "affiliations" by colleges and hospitals will export some of this dollar-generating opportunity. But they will also create a stronger brand and revenue and cheaper R&D for the US-based mothership, and more importantly, and there will always be a desire, if we market it correctly, for people to come to the US-based bricks and mortar for their educational and healthcare needs. We must vigorously promote this as an area of economic development. It is also worth noting that foreign students are almost always "full or premium pay", non-scholarship students.

5. Lastly, this article also highlights the increased trend of US kids attending school abroad for at least part of their education, which can only make our children better adept at flourishing in a global economy, through greater familiarity with foreign cultures and needs, and development of foreign webs of relationships.

Good way to start a Monday morning.