*EPF314 11/17/2004
Record Number of U.S. Students Studying Abroad, Report Finds
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Student exchange best investment for peaceful, secure world, official says
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By Phyllis McIntosh
Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington -- Despite concerns raised by the attacks of September 11, 2001, American college students are studying abroad in greater numbers and in a greater diversity of nations than ever before, according to Open Doors 2004, an annual report on international education exchange.
In 2002-2003, the first full academic year after 9/11, a record number of 174,629 U.S. college students received credit for studying in other countries, an 8.5 percent increase from the 2001-2002 academic year, the report found.
The U.S. Department of State����s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) funds the annual Open Doors study, which is published by the Institute of International Education (IIE), a nonprofit international educational and cultural exchange organization based in New York City.�� The findings were released November 15 in conjunction with the nationwide observance of International Education Week, which is sponsored jointly by the Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.
The growing popularity of study abroad is ����a sign that our students continue to recognize the importance of international study for their future careers and are eager to learn more about a world that is increasingly more interdependent,���� said State Department Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison, on the release of the report.����
����Perhaps most importantly,���� Harrison added, ����American students serve as the face of America to the world, especially to other young people, helping to counter stereotypes and misperceptions that may exist about our society and values.����
Although the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France remain the most popular sites for Americans studying abroad, 11 of the leading 20 destinations were outside Western Europe, the report states.�� Australia and New Zealand, Chile, Russia and the Czech Republic proved especially popular.�� And although the numbers of Americans going to the Middle East declined sharply, the number of Americans studying in Turkey, Egypt and Morocco increased dramatically.
The study also found that even though more Americans are studying abroad, they are doing so for shorter periods, with about half of all students selecting summer, winter break, and other study periods of less than one semester. This growth in short-term programs has opened study abroad to community-college students and four-year students whose limited finances or demanding majors would not otherwise allow them to take advantage of international education, the report notes.
According to Open Doors 2004, 572,509 students from other countries attended U.S. colleges and universities during the 2003-2004 academic year, a 2.4 decrease from the previous academic year and the first decline in international student enrollments since 1971. A 5 percent decline in undergraduate students was partly offset by a 2.5 percent increase in graduate-student enrollments, the report found.�� However, a more recent survey by a group of education associations shows that the number of graduate students from outside the United States also was down in fall 2004 at nearly half of the universities responding.
Reasons cited for the decline include greater educational opportunities for foreign students in their home countries, vigorous recruitment of students by other English-speaking nations, rising tuition costs in the United States, and the real and perceived difficulties in obtaining student visas since 9/11.
Harrison said the U.S. government has made considerable progress in streamlining visa application procedures for students, and most student visas now are processed within a day or two of the visa interview.�� The State Department����s education advising offices abroad work closely with U.S. consular offices to guide students through the visa process.
����We are committed to assuring that foreign students who want to come to the United States are able to do so,���� she said, adding that the importance of international education ����goes far beyond the $13 billion a year that visiting students contribute to the U.S. economy.�� It is a critical part of our foreign policy.����
To attract international students, ECA continues to sponsor longstanding international exchange programs, such as the Fulbright Program and the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, said Harrison.�� Through new initiatives such as the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, she said, ECA is building relationships with high school students from predominantly Muslim countries who in turn become interested in pursuing higher education in the United States.
Several exchange students present at the press briefing where the Open Doors 2004 findings were released testified to the value of studying in the United States.�� Rawand Darwesh, one of the first Fulbright students from Iraq to come to the United States in 14 years, voiced his appreciation at being able to study journalism at American University in Washington, which is, he said, ����an opportunity that was not possible under the regime of Saddam Hussein.����
Yury Mandzhiev, a Fulbright student from Russia studying tax law at New York University, and Lily (her only name), a Fulbright student from Indonesia studying international affairs at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, agreed that America offers not only the best quality education in their fields, but also the chance to meet fellow scholars from all over the world.
����Even when the numbers of international students start to go up, we must continue over the long term to reach out to the best and brightest in the world,���� Harrison concluded, ����because we still believe that international educational exchange is the best investment we can make to assure that our world is a peaceful and secure one.����
For comprehensive information on studying in the United States, see the U.S. Department of State's "Education USA" Web site at:
http://educationusa.state.gov/
Information on Open Doors 2004 can be found at IIE's Web site:
http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
