Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States (2005) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4 Strategies for Improving Policy Decisions
4 Strategies for Improving Policy Decisions
Pages 114-126
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 114... ...
In addition, international students and scholars can help to form international research collaborations and to foster international understanding. The costs of the flow are indirect.
|
From page 115... ...
This special section reviews experiences of foreign born scientists and engineers working in the United States. Mervis writes, "For all its importance, the relationship between the domestic and foreign born scientific workforce remains an understudied topic."
|
From page 116... ...
Washington, DC: National Academy Press. This study focused on the Science Resource Statistics division of the National Science Foundation and urged sufficient funding to "continue and expand significantly its data collection and analysis."
|
From page 117... ...
throughout the 1990s were estimates based on the 1990 census; by the end of the 1990s, the foreign born share of scientists and engineers was substantially underestimated.5 A particular weakness in data concerns the postdoctoral population, in which international researchers make up over half the academic workforce and from which US S&E researchers recruit globally for the laboratory workers that they need. The NSF Graduate Student and Postdoctorates Survey does not collect demographic information, and the Survey of Doctoral Recipients does not include scholars who earned their PhDs outside the United States.
|
From page 118... ...
A thorough analysis of 25 surveys on the labor market for students and early-career researchers carried out in 21 countries revealed that diverse collection methods often preclude comparison of data.7 By and large, surveys have been developed to serve national needs and fail to capture such characteristics as international experience and mobility.8 Clearly, more rigorous and normalized data systems for tracking international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are required. The United States should partner with other nations to create a truly global system.
|
From page 119... ...
BOX 4-3 Project Atlasa One recent project, The Atlas of Student Mobility, illustrates how data on international students can be effectively collated and presented. The atlas synthe sizes information from 21 main destination countries and 75 countries of origin by combining publicly available data for the year 2000 from an array of sources.
|
From page 120... ...
Central themes were employment characteristics of doctorate holders, postdoctoral experience, and international experience and mobility.a Interest proved to be extensive, and a meeting of the "Experts Group on Careers of Doctorate Holders" convened in Montreal (UIS, January 3-February 1, 2005) to determine the type of data currently available and the type of data needed, and to develop an international instrument to help track CDHb; a third meeting is planned for May 2005 to discuss the issue further.
|
From page 121... ...
For example, the desire of international students to study in the United States depends on such factors as how the United States education system compares with others; the amount of support available in grants, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships; the probability that studying in the US will lead to permanent residence and possibly citizenship or employment with US firms; and a host of amorphous factors, such as the perceived safety of the country and one's attitude toward the United States. We do not know the degree to which the flow of international students is correlated with those factors, because there has been relatively little analysis of student decisions.
|
From page 122... ...
Although the charge to this committee does not include an examination of why domestic students enter or avoid S&E, any assessment of policies regarding international students requires knowledge of the decision making of US citizens and permanent residents. The effect of any loss of international talent will be very different if the supply of domestic talent is highly responsive to incentives -- monetary or instructional -- from what it will be if the supply is barely responsive to incentives.
|
From page 123... ...
Over the years, various institutions and agencies have issued forecasts of shortages or surpluses of scientists and engineers. The accuracy of those forecasts has been weak for three reasons: labor-market researchers lack timely and comprehensive data; many forecasts are issued by groups with a vested interest in the outcome, that is, those who are predisposed to the belief that there should be more or fewer participants;16 and labor markets can be rapidly affected by various exogenous variables, such as economic expansion or recession, federal budget priorities, war, and immigration policies that are hard to forecast.17 In the present context, for instance, a slowdown in the growth of federally sponsored R&D could shrink the nation's demand for scientists and engineers, depressing the job market and reducing both international- and domestic-student enrollments.
|
From page 124... ...
Figure 4-1 illustrates the inputs and outputs of the US higher-education system for international students. Input filters that may reduce their participation include admission decisions that favor domestic students,19 visa fees, and security screens.
|
From page 125... ...
In a favorable scenario, highly skilled international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars enter S&E positions. Those who stay in the United States become permanent residents and citizens; those who eventually return home enter valuable collaborations with US colleagues and become informal ambassadors who communicate the democratic values of scientific research and of the United States.
|
From page 126... ...
It is in this context that the United States needs to craft policies to maintain its current quality and effectiveness in S&E, including encouraging the interest of domestic S&E students, at the same time that it minimizes the barriers to mobility for international students. Given the lack of control over exogenous events, policies should be crafted to ensure that S&E institutions and the labor force develop enhanced flexibility to respond quickly to changing conditions.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.