Growing National Needs Highlight Importance of a Policy on International Education

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2006 – As the United States grapples with a global competition for scarce talent and confronts an urgent need for its citizens to be better educated about an increasingly interconnected world, two leading international education organizations have renewed their call for the establishment of an international education policy for the United States.

Today it is widely recognized at the highest levels of the United States government that international education programs serve key national interests related to competitiveness, public diplomacy, and national security. A new call for action issued by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange – “An International Education Policy for U.S. Leadership, Competitiveness, and Security” – states that “it is time for the federal government to provide the leadership that the public demands by articulating a comprehensive international education policy that will set a strong direction for the nation, one that will guide government officials, the higher education and K-12 communities, the states, and the private sector in harnessing international education to serve vital national needs in a global age.”

The new report cites encouraging progress on a variety of fronts, including visa reform, the introduction of new foreign-language and competitiveness initiatives, and improved funding levels for exchange programs. At the same time, it stresses that without a national policy that elevates international education as a priority and provides strong leadership, misguided policy actions and lack of coordination will continue to hinder international exchanges between the United States and the rest of the world at a time when those programs are most needed.

The NAFSA-Alliance proposal makes specific recommendations in several areas:

• Promoting international, foreign-language, and area studies;
• Creating a comprehensive strategy to restore America’s status as a magnet for international students and scholars;
• Creating a comprehensive strategy to establish study abroad as an integral component of undergraduate education; and
• Strengthening citizen- and community-based exchange programs.