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."
Enlarge text
Shrink text
Print
E-mail
Digg this
Del.icio.us
Furl