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International Education MattersA
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"U.S. Grad Schools
Lose Foreign Applicants" Potentially threatening the United States' academic preeminence, significantly fewer graduate students from abroad are applying to study at top U.S. research institutions, including several Illinois universities, according to a new study sponsored by leading education groups. The study, commissioned by groups that include the American Council on Education and the Council of Graduate Schools, found that 60 percent of 130 doctoral and research universities participating in the study reported a decline in international graduate student applications, and 28 percent of the schools reported no change. Officials at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reported a double-digit percentage drop in applications this year compared with last, and the University of Illinois at Chicago charted a 30 percent decline. "International students are seeing wonderful opportunity and welcoming arms in other countries," said Stanley Henderson, associate provost for enrollment management at U. of I. "There's almost a sense in our profession that students are voting with their feet." Education officials say the drop portends problems for the country's academic and economic dominance. They say the need for national security should not supplant the importance of attracting top international students to U.S. schools. "America's economy is increasingly based on science, technology and engineering," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents 1,800 college and university presidents. "So it's in our best interest to remain the destination of choice for the world." The report on graduate student applications was released as congressional testimony and a new General Accounting Office report Wednesday highlighted obstacles foreign students face in getting visas. The GAO reported that background checks for science students and scholars took an average of 67 days to process and even longer when applicants were from China, India or Russia. The report by the educational associations doesn't explore the underlying reason for the decline in graduate school applications. Officials say a "reliable analysis" of the reasons for the drop-off would require a separate survey. But the report notes that the perception that "an unwelcoming climate" for international students now exists in the United States. The result, said the U. of I.'s Henderson, is that international students are seeking education in other English-speaking countries. "This is an instance where the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are taking advantage of our having made it more difficult for students to come to this country," Henderson said. At UIC, international student applications to graduate school have plummeted 30 percent, to 3,660 this year from 5,199 a year earlier. Copyright (c) 2004, Chicago Tribune This file was updated on March 12, 2004 |
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