This doesn't sound like Detroit to me

Fri, 05/01/2009 - 9:41am

Earlier this week, I pointed out that American higher education was not like the American auto sector, because it's actually quite competitive in the global marketplace.

I see that the Washington Post's Susan Kinzie has a story that nicely illustrates this point: 

Until fall 2007, the number of Chinese undergraduates in the United States had held steady for years, at about 9,000, according to the Institute of International Education, which promotes study abroad. But that year, it jumped to more than 16,000.

Experts say China's increasing wealth, fewer delays in obtaining visas and technology that makes it easier for Chinese students to learn about U.S. schools have helped fuel the boom. It shows no sign of letting up.

"People just think the education offered in the U.S. is undoubtedly the best in the world," said Betty Xiong, 20, a U-Va. junior from Shanghai....

Historically, students have been more likely to come to the United States for advanced degrees and research opportunities. The dramatic shift is in the rising number of undergraduates.

"In China, because so much of the growth is tied to international trade and multinational corporations with investment in China, the value of U.S. higher education is clearly understood and worth the investment of cash on the other side," said Peggy Blumenthal, chief operating officer of the Institute of International Education. Students started arriving about 1980, after the normalization of relations. There was a dip in applications after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, Blumenthal said, because the Chinese government made it more difficult for students to leave.

 

Daniel W. Drezner | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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Damning evidence that you're right...

by dj_83 on Fri, 05/01/2009 - 10:31am

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/hybrid.asp?typeCode=144

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14321230/print/1/displaymode/1098/

http://www.arwu.org/rank2008/Top500_EN(by%20rank).pdf

Mostly hubris and self-centered Americanism

by Dave Porter on Fri, 05/01/2009 - 12:35pm

I think this is a bit of hubris, self-centered-Americanism, and branding with a small bit of truth. (1) In an age to globalization, where international trade is growing and the ability to sell in markets located in other countries and cultures grows in importance, smart countries are strategically sending students abroad to study in critical markets. These smart countries will also be poised to note new technologies and products in other countries in order to compete with them best. In this sense, the US is not being smart. We send too few students to study abroad, and those that go are not targeted to strategic countries. Just note how many students the US send to China, India or Brazil (few) compared to Europe (many). (2) Tom Ricks, in his FP companion blog (here), recently noted that China has more military officers studying in graduate school at US universities than the US military does (and don’t even ask how many of our military are studying in China). One could interpret that as confirmation of your thesis (all is well with US universities). I don’t. I see it as a strategic blunder on our part. We should have military officers studying in countries strategically important for our future, like the Chinese are doing to us. (3) US higher education has let its costs get out of control. As John Robb wrote on his Global Guerillas blog (here): “Worse, there is reason to believe that costs of higher education (direct costs and lost income) are now nearly equal (in net present value) to the additional lifetime income derived from having a degree. Since nearly all of the value of an education has been extracted by the producer, to the detriment of the customer, this situation has all the earmarks of a bubble. A bubble that will soon burst as median incomes are adjusted downwards to global norms over the next decade.” I do not know if Robb is factually correct, but I worry that higher education in the US is living in a bubble.

Undergraduate or Graduate Education

by awr on Sat, 05/02/2009 - 7:38am

From an Indonesian perception, a foreign degree proves that you can function in an English speaking environment. A US education is a good bit more expensive than an Australian education but something that should be kept in mind is career planning.
Many Indonesian professionals will say that a US graduate education is more important than an undergraduate education. For Engineers the importance of networking is exceptionally important and the group of professional friends that you acquire as an undergraduate in Indonesia is more important than any benefit of a US undergraduate degree.
The US graduate degree adds luster and doesn't detract because you have already formed friendships and networks as a local undergraduate.
Many senior Indonesian who are foreign trained engineers also try to teach at least one course a year at an Indonesian University just to stay in contact with younger professionals.
If you are really good at languages, a Japanese degree is preferred because of the job opportunities here with Japanese companies. Much can be said for European graduate degrees and I have been surprised recently at the number of Italian Ph.D. degrees.
German graduate degrees in the 1960s and 70s used to be tuition free and that made it very attractive to smart but poor Indonesian students. Price is important but present and future networking appears to be even more important.