William B. DeLauder
President Emeritus
Senior Counselor to the President
NASULGC, A
Comments on
“Restoring
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on International
Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
And
House Committee on Education and Labor
Subcommittee on Higher Education,
Lifelong Learning, Competitiveness
Mr. Chairman and
distinguished members of the subcommittees, thank you for inviting me to
present my views on the “Restoring America’s Leadership through Scholarships
for Undergraduates from Developing Countries: Uniting Students in America (USA)
Proposal” and on the role that scholarships for undergraduate study in America
for needy students from developing countries might play in promoting the
interests of both the United States and developing countries.
I commend the Chairman and
others involved for bringing forth this
I believe that there is a
broad consensus around the country that student mobility contributes greatly to
fostering goodwill and better understandings between nations. Some have called
this a form of educational diplomacy. To
be effective it must occur both ways – i.e., more American students studying
abroad and more international students studying in this country.
As stated in the Report of
the NASULGC Task Force on International Education, “The goodwill and strong
personal ties to this nation built through generations of students coming to
our colleges and universities from around the world are important underpinnings
of
On several occasions,
President Bush has expressed his commitment to student exchange programs. On
According to the Open Doors
2007 Report of the Institute of International Education (IIE), 223,534 American
college students studied abroad in 2005-06.[2]
This represents less than 2 percent of the total enrollment in our colleges and
universities. There are a variety of reasons why many college students don’t
study abroad, but lack of finances is one of the major challenges.[3]
That is why the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act (H.R. 1469),
that awaits action by the full Senate, is so important. The implementation of the
Simon Act, which follows the recommendations of the Commission on the Abraham
Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, will both increase the number of
American college students studying abroad and increase the diversity of
students studying abroad. Thus other countries will see and experience the
diversity of the American people. Most of
The USA Program addresses the
need to increase the number of international undergraduate students studying in
the
The Simon Bill and the USA
Program complement each other. The Simon Bill opens up study abroad
opportunities for American students who may not otherwise be able to afford to
study abroad. The USA Program will open up doors for needy students from
developing countries who may not otherwise have an opportunity to obtain both
an international experience and a college degree. The USA Program also serves a
development purpose because many developing countries lack the capacity to
accommodate all highly qualified students who seek a college degree. For
example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, many universities are overenrolled,
understaffed, and under-funded. In an attempt to meet some of the growing
demand for higher education, education quality has been greatly diminished.
Our colleges and universities
are both committed to increasing the number of
The Open Doors Report 2007
indicates that 582,984 international students enrolled in
To be effective, students who
participate in the USA Program must return to their home country in order to
spread goodwill and to pursue their careers with a better understanding of the
There are some technical
issues that will need to be addressed in the USA Program as proposed. I will
point out two:
(1)
At most 4-year
institutions, the single payment of $30,000 per student will not be sufficient
to cover all of the expenses proposed, i.e. room and board, travel, books,
pocket money, etc. This will mean that the institution will need to cover the
balance of the cost. This will be a problem for some institutions, including
historically Black institutions and other small institutions.
(2)
It is not clear
whether the proposed program includes attendance at either a 2-year or 4-year
institution. On this issue, there are inconsistencies within the proposal that
should be addressed.
I would like to point out
that development activities also support a better understanding between the
partner countries and also address a need within the developing country. There
is a great need among African countries, in particular, to have more persons
trained at the graduate level. Many African universities have severe faculty
shortages and in many cases have a need for more faculty educated at the
doctoral level. You may wish to consider including some fellowships at the
graduate level along with the undergraduate fellowships.
In conclusion, student
mobility has proven to be an excellent way in which to foster goodwill and
understandings between countries. The USA Program therefore should contribute
to improving the image of the
The USA Program is an
important program and I wish for you success in moving this program forward.
Thank you very much for
giving me this opportunity to appear before these distinguished subcommittees.
[1] Report of the NASULGC Task Force on International Education, October 2004.
[2] Open Doors Report 2007, published by the Institute of
International Education (IIE).
[3] Global Competence & National Needs: One Million
Americans Studying Abroad, the final report of the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad
Fellowship Program, November 2005.
[4] Open Doors Report 2007, published by the Institute of
International Education (IIE).