Attracting Foreign Students to America Offers More Advantages

Prestigious American universities are franchising their brands in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, building campuses and making it possible for students in those regions to receive an American degree while remaining at home. In doing so, however, they undercut an important component of American education and economy: educating international students in the United States. For undergraduates especially, life at an elite American research university--with its unmatched opportunities to learn both inside and outside classrooms and laboratories--cannot easily be replicated overseas. Students benefit most when they come together, full time, in a setting that offers both intellectual and physical community, a place where core academic values such as intellectual freedom, the unfettered search for truth, collaboration, diversity, gender equality, and even good old-fashioned school spirit are protected and encouraged. In this article, the author discusses how the presence of foreign students on campuses can be beneficial for the American society as a whole. He contends that it is not to the United States' competitive advantage to erect higher visa hurdles around university campuses or to franchise out a diluted version of universities to foreign shores. Rather, Americans should be sure that the best talent can come to the United States, for their own benefit, for the students', and for the ultimate good of the entire world.