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Decline Seen in Science Applications From Overseas
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:26:43 -0500
Decline Seen in Science Applications From Overseas February 26, 2004 By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 - Bucking a trend that dates to the end of World War II, the number of foreign students applying to graduate and doctoral programs in science at American universities is declining broadly, according to a survey of 130 such programs released here today. The findings came as the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reported that foreign students and scholars hoping to study science or certain technologies at universities in the United States must wait an average of 67 days to receive a visa. For some of them, the delays extend up to a year, the report said. "It's really what we've been fearing all along," said Vic Johnson, associate director for public policy at the Association of International Educators. "It's the accumulation of a lot of things that is just causing a change in the attractiveness of the United States as a destination for students and scholars." The General Accounting Office study said the nation's system for issuing visas for research in sensitive areas was unnecessarily slow and cumbersome. For example, it said, while the State Department, the F.B.I. and the Department of Homeland Security are all involved in researching candidates for visas, the three agencies do not have data systems that can work with each other. In addition, the report said, it takes the State Department two weeks just to notify consular officials abroad once it has cleared a candidate to receive a visa. "Everyone has to be willing to put up with more delays and bureaucracy in the post-Sept. 11 world," Representative Sherwood Boehlert, the New York Republican who is chairman of the House Committee on Science, said at a hearing on the report today. "But we still have an obligation to ensure that we are not needlessly alienating scholars from around the world who could help this nation, and that we are not unnecessarily hamstringing or burdening our universities and research centers." Administration officials said they recognized the need for greater cooperation, and were taking steps to reduce the delays. Asa Hutchinson, under secretary for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security, said the administration's goal was to "remain a welcoming nation to foreign scholars and scientists and not compromise security requirements." Some 586,000 overseas students enrolled in American universities last year, and organizations representing international students estimate they contribute more than $11 billion to the United States economy. After the Sept. 11 attacks exposed a visa system in disarray, Congress ordered an overhaul. It increased scrutiny of foreign students, particularly those from countries deemed to pose a risk to the United States, and imposed new restrictions on students of science and technology that could be used in making weapons. The tougher screening has drawn criticism from some scholars. Giorgio Agamben, an Italian professor of philosophy and political theory, chose not to teach a seminar at New York University, saying he could not accept the use of finger and retinal printing or other biometric scrutiny of visitors, like subcutaneous tattooing. Catharine R. Stimpson, dean of the graduate school of arts and science at N.Y.U., said the effects of the tougher visa procedures were seen largely in the sciences. Applications from Chinese students, she said, were down 50 percent this year. "That's 400 students," she said. The survey of universities, done by Mr. Johnson's organization and others representing institutions of higher education, found that 59 percent of some 130 research universities and doctoral programs were seeing declines in applications from overseas students, while 28 percent said the number of foreign applications showed no significant changes. About 11 percent said they saw an increase. The survey also polled the 25 research and doctoral institutions that enroll the most foreign students. Nineteen responded, all saying their foreign applications were down, most by more than 10 percent.http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/26/education/26VISA.html?ex=1078925993&ei=1&en=06f827887f0eb0ed
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- Decline Seen in Science Applications From Overseas Dave Farber (Feb 27)