A new report by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) warns that trends in the United States could decrease its global competitiveness for higher education.
Still, recent international enrollment rates at Binghamton University say otherwise.
The report, “Leadership for Challenging Times,” states that the percentage of the US population ages 25 to 34 with an associate or baccalaureate degree ranks 10th globally. It also states that US universities have seen a decline in undergraduate interest in science, and may begin to see a decline in international enrollment.
According to the AASCU, other nations, including China and India, are investing more money into their higher education systems to deter students from studying abroad. The report speculates that a decline in the exportation of international students to US universities will strengthen those countries’ national economies and higher education systems, creating more global competition for the U.S.
Contrary to the study’s theory that international enrollments are on the decline, Open Doors, an annual publication by the Institute of International Education (IIE), reported a 10 percent increase in new international students in the US during the 2007-08 school year.
According to Ellen Badger, the director of International Student and Scholar Services at Binghamton University, BU has a large international population.
“In fall 2008, there were 11,821 undergraduates and of that number, 1,069 were international — 9 percent of undergraduate enrollment,” she said. “There were 3,077 graduate students in fall 2008 and of that number, 1,045, or 34 percent, were international.”
International enrollment at BU has had 12 consecutive years of growth through fall 2008, Badger said.
“US colleges have been fully aware … of the increasing competitiveness for international students among a number of countries throughout the world,” she said. “As a result, international recruiting by US colleges and universities has increased, and various federal programs … sponsored by the US Department of Commerce, and US educational initiatives sponsored by the Department of State have expanded.”
Badger said that representatives from BU’s undergraduate admissions office participate in college fairs and school visits to East Asia in the fall and travel to Central and South America in the spring. BU also recruits international students through partnerships with other universities in programs such as “Dual Diploma” with Turkey.
According to Badger, the presence of international students on campus is part of the school’s process of comprehensive internationalization. Study abroad programs, language and cultural studies and student cultural and international organizations contribute to this process.
“It is essential that Binghamton prepares its students well to make positive contributions, either domestically or internationally, in a world that functions in increasingly multi-cultural and global contexts,” she said.
Professor Matthew Parker of the biological sciences department at BU has not recognized a significant decline in science majors throughout his 25 years teaching here.
“It goes through cycles of popularity, but the number of majors in biology is far greater now than it was when I started teaching,” he said. “I teach [a class in] evolution and it has gone from 30 students to 170 students.”
Parker said that the appeal of a science major lies in its training toward medical school and specific careers.
“There are very specific professions that you need a science background for,” he said. “People that get a liberal arts degree are not trained toward any one particular kind of work.”
According to Parker, society will always need people with scientific backgrounds and if US citizens are not training for science-based careers, then people from other parts of the world will fill those occupations.
“I don’t believe people should go to college to get career training; you should study something because you love it, your career secondary,” he said. “People should study science if it matters to them and I hope it matters to most people.”