The Globalization of America’s Colleges

The number of international students attending US colleges approached 1 million for the 2014-15 academic year. Such students represent 5 percent of the college population. Top states are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Colleges with more than 11 percent international students include New York University, University of Southern California, Columbia University, Arizona State University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A rising middle class in Asia makes education a priority. Foreign students often pay full price for their degrees. Critics question whether public colleges are fulfilling their mission to educate for state economies; administrators counter that state legislators have slashed budgets for education, and math and science departments need foreign students and professors. Laura McKenna writes about a report from the Institute of International Education: “exposure also has practical value, especially when only a fraction of American college students study abroad; sitting in a classroom with a Brazilian or a Saudi might be the only exchange that Americans students have with people from other countries and the only opportunity to develop skills critical to a globalized workforce.” – Yale Global