FYI #138: Foreign S&E Students

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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From: fyi () aip org
Date: October 14, 2004 8:17:39 PM GMT+01:00
To: farber () CENTRAL CIS UPENN EDU
Subject: FYI #138: Foreign S&E Students
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FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 138: October 14, 2004

Committee Considers Foreign S&E Students at U.S. Universities

Tighter visa restrictions in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
may not be the only, or even the major, deterrent to foreign
students and scholars considering studying or working in the U.S.
This was one of the main points to come out of an October 11-12
meeting of the National Academies' Committee on Policy Implications
of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the
United States.  Several invited speakers emphasized how more
aggressive advertising and recruitment efforts by other countries
could be attracting increasing numbers of foreign science and
engineering (S&E) students to institutions outside of the U.S.
Speakers also commented that state and institutional budget cuts in
the U.S. may have resulted in fewer sources of financial support for
foreign graduate students and postdocs, and that in many countries,
the U.S. may be viewed as less welcoming than in the past.  An
official from the State Department told the committee that the
processing of student visa applications had "turned the corner,"
with backlogs reduced and processing time down significantly.

There is a "growing interest" in attracting non-European students
and researchers to Europe, stated Mary Kavanagh, Counselor for
Science, Technology and Education for the European Union (EU).  She
informed committee members that, in support of the EU's goal to
become "the most competitive knowledge-based economy" by the year
2010, Europe is placing "great emphasis" on facilitating the
training and mobility of graduate students, postdocs, and
researchers, both within Europe and beyond.  The Union is urging all
member countries to invest 3.0 percent of GDP in R&D by 2010, and
recently, under the Marie Curie program, significantly increased
funding for a broad range of grants, awards, fellowships, training
programs and conferences for students and researchers that enable
movement within Europe and abroad.  "We consider mobility of
researchers fundamental" to good science, she said.  Most of the
programs are advertised in, and open to applicants from, non-member
countries, and some funds are aimed specifically at bringing
non-European researchers to EU countries for several years.
Kavanagh also described the Bologna Process to ensure that degrees
from different countries are comparable and credits transferrable; a
total of 40 countries are currently participating in this process,
although the U.S. is not.

Why are numbers of foreign undergraduates in the U.S. increasing,
while the numbers of foreign graduate students involved in research
seem to be declining? asked Fazal Rivzi, Professor of Education
Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He discounted 9/11 and tightened visa restrictions as major factors,
and instead attributed the trends to the drying up of state and
institutional sources of graduate student funding, and heavier
recruitment from outside the U.S.  At the same time, he said, some
U.S. community colleges and four-year institutions are advertising
more broadly, perhaps contributing to the increases in foreign
undergraduates.

National Science Board (NSB) member George Langford of Dartmouth
College briefed the committee on an August 2003 NSB report on the
Science and Engineering Workforce (see
http://www.aip.org/fyi/2003/076.html).  The report, he said, warned
that the U.S. "can't continue to rely on large numbers of
[international] graduate students to provide the talent in this
country."  The Board proposed a number of strategies to attract more
domestic students to S&E fields, including adequate stipend levels,
broader graduate education options, and consistent federal funding
for S&E doctoral programs.  Greater demand and better salaries are
what will attract domestic students, one committee member said,
remarking that U.S. companies "want more American students but at
cheaper prices."  A second committee member noted that the number of
U.S. students pursuing graduate work in S&E increases when the
business cycle is in a downturn and other job options are scarce.
The discussion continued with another committee member stating that
"we can create a reliable flow of foreign students [to the U.S.] if
we want to," with the right incentives, and another asking, if the
U.S. tries to maintain the number of foreign S&E graduate students
and at the same time increase the number of American students, will
there be enough jobs to support them all?  Langford was asked
whether the Board had examined how mechanisms for funding research
in this country might discourage American students from pursuing S&E
(such as research faculty having little time for teaching, possibly
leading to larger undergraduate class sizes in science fields).
Langford said the Board had not addressed that in detail, but has
asked NSF to set up a workshop to look at such issues.

Speaking on the second day of the meeting, Janice Jacobs, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Visa Affairs at the State Department,
reported "significant progress" in the processing of visa
applications, and agreed that "it is important to also look at other
things affecting students' decisions to come to the U.S."  She, too,
stated that "the market for international students, especially in
S&E fields, is becoming more competitive globally," and that budget
cuts may have undermined some U.S. sources of financial support.  In
addition, she acknowledged that, "in many parts of the world, the
U.S. is seen as a less welcoming place" in recent years.

In describing the progress made in processing visas, Jacobs said
that for applications requiring a visa mantis clearance "to guard
against the transfer of sensitive technologies," a backlog of
several thousand applications was cleared in July, and the average
processing time has been reduced to 22 days, down from 75 days a
year ago.  The number of clearances denied is "very small," she
added.  The State Department, she said, is taking steps to ensure
that all consular officers have the latest guidance on what
information to collect and which applications should be sent to
Washington for review.  She also said that ambassadors and consular
officers were seeking ways to counter impressions of the U.S. as
unwelcoming, including op-eds and columns in the local press and
speeches at local events and institutions, but she said the
department had not conducted any scientific studies on changing
attitudes to the U.S. among potential students.

Jacobs was asked about the requirement that students prove they do
not intend to immigrate to the U.S. in order to obtain a visa, and
whether the State Department would reconsider that provision.  She
replied that in reality, the number of students from countries like
China who actually return to their home country is quite low, but
that the new SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System)
program will enable consular officers to verify whether student
applicants have actually been accepted at a U.S. institution.  As
for changing or eliminating the non-immigration provision, she said
the decision would be up to Congress.  Although the visa process
continues to be under increased scrutiny on Capitol Hill, she said,
"some [Members of Congress] would like us to be stricter; others
would like us to ease up."  Although she thought the intelligence
reforms now in Congress might have some impact on visa processing,
she was not aware of any pending legislation that she considered
"worrisome."

###############
Audrey T. Leath
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi () aip org  www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3094
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