The Educational Bridge

One of America’s most powerful diplomatic tool is the caliber of its colleges and universities, at least for the time being – a status that may well be threatened as budget crunches and long-term economic growth seem to tear at our most precious resources. American universities have produced international graduates who have gone on to become presidents of countries… from Taiwan to Mexico, from Saudi princes to Jordanian royalty. Cross-training of future foreign generals with American officers in U.S. military facilities and built other bridges. That graduates of India’s mega-exclusive Institutes of Technology have found their way to American graduate schools, resulting in some of our most valuable technical inventions and sophisticated new high-tech industries, notably in California’s Silicon Valley and or North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. These research efforts have become job engines for Americans as well as nationals from the originating country.

Some worry about taking up space that could be allocated to an American student or sending our expertise overseas so that our competitors can blow us away with our own knowledge. Bits and pieces of this ring true, but the benefits seem far to outweigh the costs. The cultural affinity between the United States and business and governments with American-educated leaders can cement peaceful coexistence, de-escalate tensions and misunderstandings and create business opportunities – from joint ventures to cross-border trade. For some American colleges and universities, the ability to generate new paying students may even be a lifeline as fewer Americans are able to foot the bill in the current economic environment.

China was a tightly-sealed environment that few could break until Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China to meet with Chairman Mao, but it was Deng Xiaoping who really cracked the door open in the early 1980s and beyond. Modern China is delighted to send its students overseas to learn languages, business practices and scientific/engineering expertise. And it precisely this cultural exchange that can mediate between rises and falls in Sino-American relations on an official level. It is the arena where American influence can trigger hope and understanding to defuse otherwise globally threatening issues. In short, it is the best and least expensive insurance policy for future relations between the two nations.

The November 5^th New York Times looks at how quickly Chinese enrollment in American universities has grown over the past few years: “In 2008-9, more than 26,000 were studying in the United States, up from about 8,000 eight years earlier, according to the Institute of International Education… Students are ending up not just at nationally known universities, but also at regional colleges, state schools and even community colleges that recruit overseas. Most of these students pay full freight (international students are not eligible for government financial aid) — a benefit for campuses where the economic downturn has gutted endowments or state financing… Since the 1990s, China has doubled its number of higher education institutions. More than 60 percent of high school graduates now attend a university, up from 20 percent in the 1980s. But this surge has left millions of diploma-wielding young people unable to find white-collar work in a country still heavily reliant on low-paying manufacturing.”

It’s not always an easy transition for Chinese students, since their English skills have to be exceptionally high to keep up in an American college, and the culture shock can be pretty scary as well. “Teachers College of Columbia University has started a program for high school seniors (in China, much of the last year is spent reviewing for a college entrance exam, though curriculum varies). This year, the program’s first, 28 students spent six months at the University of International Relations in Beijing; 19 were found qualified to finish off the year at Columbia. The program preps students to apply as freshmen, with a focus on English instruction, cultural immersion and counseling, including study for the Test of English as a Foreign Language and SAT, and a tour of campuses in the Northeast. (Total cost: about $45,000, including room and board.)

“Another new program, U.S.-Sino Pathway, aims to transition high school students into one of six participating colleges. Northeastern University devised the curriculum, a year of for-credit courses taken at Kaplan Inc. branches in China and at a summer bridge session at Northeastern’s Boston campus or the University of Vermont. Kaplan handles administration, English-language instruction in China and recruitment of students. (Total cost: about $26,000 to $28,000, including room and board in the United States.)” New York Times. In the end, fear of the outside may trigger economic retaliation and accelerate predatory business practices and trade barriers. And while the notion of an isolated and self-reliant America may be appealing to many, that economic reality has long past for all but the subsistence farmer in an isolated rural community. The future is all about global inter-connectivity.

I’m Peter Dekom, and it important to note where bridges between us and the rest of the world exist and how they benefit us all.