There is a great op/ed in today's NYT written by Prof. Nye of Harvard about the falling number of student visas issued by the U.S. post-9/11. The key paragraphs:
Recent reports show that total foreign student enrollment in our 2,700 colleges and universities dropped 2.4 percent, with a much sharper loss at large research institutions. Two-thirds of the 25 universities with the most foreign students reported major enrollment declines.
The costs to the American economy are significant. Educating foreign students is a $13 billion industry. Moreover, the United States does not produce enough home-grown doctoral students in science and engineering to meet our needs. The shortfall is partly made up by the many foreign students who stay here after earning their degrees.
Equally important, however, are the foreign students who return home and carry American ideas with them. They add to our soft power, the ability to win the hearts and minds of others. As Secretary of State Colin Powell put it, "I can think of no more valuable asset to our country than the friendship of future world leaders who have been educated here."
In my humble opinion, it is very important that we allow foreign students to study here in the comparable numbers to the pre-9/11 days. These students offer a distinct and important voice on campus as well as in their communities. A number of foreign students studying for post-graduate degrees at UAB live in my apartment complex and couldn't be nicer neighbors. Let's be honest - we need all the help we can get in projecting "soft power" around the world. These students can be pseudo-ambassadors for the U.S.
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