A few months ago I strolled through some of Boston’s downtown colleges and universities, including North Eastern University, Emerson, Simmons, and Harvard. As the day wore on, I could not help but notice a visible increase of international students. I have been visiting Boston for the last six years as much as six to seven times per year. Out of curiosity I decided to look up a few figures on the influx of international undergraduate students in the U.S. At the conclusion of my readings, a troubling question formed. Will American students continue to be the primary focus, economically, socially and politically in our own country?

The Department of Commerce data describes U.S. higher education as the country’s fifth largest service sector export. International students bring approximately $14.5 billion dollars to the U.S through their pursuit of a U.S. education. According to the Institute of International Education 2007 report, new enrollments of international students rose 10 percent. There was a three percent total during the previous year in 2006-2007. This is shocking because many international students can receive the same course studies in higher education at a fraction of the cost in Europe.

Globalization and the shift of financial support for higher education seems to have generated an academic capitalist system replacing traditional educational values and policies. In the past, state colleges were financed and supported by state government, but now the moneys are not flowing as they once were. Many educational facilities, especially state colleges, are having to market and tailor their services to a different clientele. With a lack of U.S. moneys directed to the education infrastructure, educational institutions are changing their attentions to the demand and supply on a broader global spectrum. According to Academic Capitalism and the New Economy by Sheilan,Slaughter and Gary, “There are changes in policy and practice with new social networks and routes of knowledge creation and distribution, as well as new organizational structures and extended managerial capacity to connect higher education institutions and markets.” The idea of education as a commodity and not as a basis for the pursuit of knowledge has and will continue to change the very foundation of US education .

Open Doors 2007 reports, “Business remains the leading field, with 18% percent of the total, closely followed by Engineering with 15%. The field which experienced the largest increase in enrollments was Intensive English, up 30% from the prior year. The Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) has been strongly supporting efforts to expand English learning and restore this vital sector in the international student exchange category.”

Open Doors 2007 also reports India remains the largest group of international students with a 10% increase to 83,833. For six consecutive years India has sent the most students to the United States. Second is China with numbers up 8% to 67,723; and third is Republic of Korea, increased 6% to 62,392. As the economic face of the world continues to become Asian and Indian, the seats of education will become flooded even if a very small fraction of these countries’ masses become more financially comfortable.

International student enrollments were reported to have increased in nearly every state in 2006- 2007. Colleges and universities in California enrolled the largest number of foreign students with 77,987, up 3.5%, followed by New York with 65,884, up 2.5%, and Texas with 49,081, up 5%. The New York City metropolitan area was the leading destination for international students, with 51,973 enrolled in area schools. The Los Angeles metropolitan area followed with 35,870 international students. It will be very interesting to see if these numbers rise. For the sixth consecutive year, University of Southern California enrolled the largest number of international students, with a record 7,115. Columbia University remains in second place with 5,937 international students .

New York University moved up to third place this year with 5,827 international students. UCLA (#8) and Harvard (#9) are new on the top 10 host institutions. The new top 20 host institutions listed for this year are Arizona State-Tempe (#14) and Michigan State (#16), University of Wisconsin-Madison (#19) and Stanford University (#20). There are reports that claim 156 U.S. campuses each hosted more than 1,000 students. Most of these students are studying intensive English (30%), Business(18%) followed by Engineering (15%). The list of hosts and the student percentages are growing as academic capitalism becomes synonymous with global demands and the shifts in global economics.

With the few academic tools U.S. high schools offer their students, it is difficult for U.S. students to compete. Headlines are always reminding us of our inefficient educational systems. With international students coming from schools that do not support sports and focus more time in the classroom for the three Rs, many of our students struggle for acceptable SAT scores for admission into higher institutions. The next hurdle U.S. students face is begging and borrowing with the high interest rate scams surrounded by a rocky economy. Is there a third hurdle developing in the near future? Will our educational institutions lose sight of our U.S. students because of academic capitalism as a result of our government’s financial support drying up along with the factor of globalism? Education is key to the enrichment and preservation of the society it serves. Education may be the new battlefield in which we need to ensure our society has a place in the future’s global playing field.

My major readings were from The Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange (IIE) which is published annually in November by the Institute of International Education. Other sources include http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/3283.html, http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/R_IntlApps08_I.pdf.

Laura Hughes is a full time mom and ham radio operator