The U.S. cannot remain at the top of the hi-tech Olympus if it can’t attract the best minds to American universities.
For decades, America had no problem drawing the smartest students from around the world. But that’s changing. Just before Christmas, the New York Times reported that 2004 “brought clear signs that the United States’ overwhelming dominance of international higher education may be ending.”
One reason is that other countries have pushed their education systems to a world-class level that allows them to compete with American universities. The result is a decline in the enrollment of foreign students in undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs in U.S. schools.
But there is also a tighter leash on student visas in post-9-11 America. While there’s nothing wrong with that—the country should do all it can to keep out the next group of Muhammad Attas—Washington should not make it more difficult for legitimate foreign students to enter the U.S. As it is now, it’s much easier for international students looking for visas to work their way through, say, the British than the American consulate.
It’s a tough balance, but policymakers can reach it. It wouldn’t hurt for U.S. schools to step up the recruiting effort, either.
Getting the students into American universities is only half the problem, though. Keeping them here after graduation so that they will contribute to the U.S. economy—a brain gain—is the second part of the equation. Here, too, policymakers have to be creative in addressing an issue—and they must do it without subsidizing foreign students or allowing them any preferences that would discriminate against American-born students.
Washington fancies itself as a problem-solver. Indeed, it has often exaggerated problems just so it could enact a solution. Here’s its chance to make a real difference.