This headline in a recent New York Times article caught my attention. Washington state ranks 11th in international enrollment, according the 2012 Open Doors report, with 20,198 foreign students, an increase of 13.4% over the previous year. Vietnam ranks 3rd with 8.2% of total enrollment at WA colleges and universities. (In case you’re counting, that’s over 10% of all Vietnamese students in the US in 2011/12.)
The total economic impact is a cool half a billion dollars ($533.8 million). But that’s not enough in these fiscally challenged times. Some WA state legislators want to increase that amount by adding a 20% tuition surcharge for international students that they claim would generate an additional $60 million over the next two years.
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish?
Links to the Study Washington website.
So let me get this straight. This proposed surcharge would generate $30 million a year when the economic impact is already over $500 million. As we all know, the competition for international students is fierce, which means international students have other less expensive choices in the top ten host states, not to mention 40 other states. (One exception is the high school completion program, which is unique to WA.) A University of WA spokesman stated the obvious when he said “We think it would price international students out of our market because they have lots of choices about where to go.” Here are some comments from other WA higher ed colleagues:
- While the State would receive additional funds from the proposed tuition surcharge, individual schools would receive less tuition revenue due to the lower enrollment. And in these already tough budget times, that is not a popular or desirable outcome.
- I’ve heard that the college presidents as well of all of us involved are of course opposed to this idea as well as any idea that puts any more financial burden on students. We also don’t want to kill our place in the market, which surely this would do.
- Colossally bad idea for so many reasons.
University of Washington: Blowing with the Wind
Like other public institutions of higher education in the US, the cost of tuition has been shifted from the state (i.e., tax dollars) to students. For example, in 1990 WA state funding was 17k per student – the state paid 82% and the student 18%. In 2013, funding per student will be about 16.8k – the state will pay 29% and the student 71%.
| For Students Entering the UW: | Summer Qtr. (12 months) |
Autumn Qtr. (9 months) |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time Tuition & Fees | $39,209 | $29,938 |
| Health Insurance (required) | $2,472 | $2,472 |
| Room & Board on Campus | $13,292 | $9,969 |
| Books & Supplies | $1,380 | $1,035 |
| Transportation (local) | $552 | $414 |
| Clothing, Entertainment, Personal Items | $3,020 | $2,265 |
| Total | $59,925 | $46,093 |
UW’s total cost already places in solidly in the ranks of many of the nation’s private colleges and universities. A 20% surcharge would only exacerbate this problem. If this proposal becomes a reality, it will be an object lesson in shooting oneself in the foot.
MAA
The College of St. Scholastica Comes to Vietnam
05/05/2013Omnes semitae eius pacificae, which means All Her Paths Are Peace. (From the CSS College Crest)
Who and Why
Dr. Goodwin speaking with students at Dinh Thien Ly School in HCMC.
After a meeting at Ton Duc Thang University in HCMC with Dr. Le Vinh Danh, President (middle), Mme Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Senior Advisor to University President and President of Institute for International Studies and Exchange (3rd from right) and staff.
The purpose of their trip was “to gain a better understanding of the education landscape in Vietnam and the opportunities available not only to recruit students but also relative to study abroad opportunities for our own students and faculty. Our hope is to come away with a better understanding of Vietnam, its institutions, its national and domestic concerns and its student populations.”
As Dr. Goodwin wrote in an article that recently appeared in a college publication, this was more than a business trip; it was personal. Forty three years ago I was a reluctant warrior stationed in Quang Tri just south of the DMZ, interrogating captured and wounded North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong at a brigade field hospital. During my year deployment, I met ‘the enemy,’ men swept up, like me, in the unfolding struggle. I spent three days with a high school mathematics teacher from Hanoi, a husband and father, with whom I might have been friends in other circumstances. I saw grievously wounded men, one in my arms, die.
Then a young soldier; now a seasoned educator. This return was a chance to join two chapters of my life together, to connect me to myself. I will be processing impressions and feelings for a long time, but one thing is already absolutely clear: This journey only deepened my conviction about the importance of the St. Scholastica mission. Catholic Benedictine education is about the transformation of the human person; for us, education is a moral as well as an intellectual project. Clear and critical thinking is important; so are imagination, compassion and courage. Whole-person education really matters.
Dr. Goodwin speaking to students at the end of an information exchange in Capstone Vietnam’s HCMC office.
TV show taping. From left to right: Ha Quyen, host; Larry Goodwin; Tom Homan and Kurt Linberg.
The Schedule
My staff and I had the privilege of spending the entire week with our CSS colleagues. For them it was the ultimate experiential learning opportunity, the bookends of which consisted of a HCMC airport pick-up on Saturday evening and a Hanoi departure Sunday a week later.
During that time, they had a country briefing, met with an American high school teacher and his class at a well-known Vietnamese school, spoke with US Commercial Service colleagues in the Consulate General, visited the University of Economics – HCMC, Ton Duc Thang University, the Vietnam International Education Development (VIED) division of the Ministry of Education and Training, two Hanoi universities and two highly regarded high schools, along with meetings at the US Embassy, AmCham-Hanoi, and with a US expat who runs a successful software engineering firm.
In addition, they participated in a TV show taping and an information exchange with students in Capstone’s HCMC office, as well as an information session for interested students and parents in our Hanoi office to wrap up the week. Dr. Goodwin made a side trip to Quang Tri province via Hue that weekend while Dr. Linberg and Mr. Homan traveled to Ha Long Bay.
That eventful week was a crash course in Vietnamese society and culture that provided our colleagues with the opportunity to meet with a variety of people in the education and business sectors, all of which will help them decide what role Vietnam should play in the College’s internationalization strategy and what the next steps for CSS should be in Vietnam.
MAA
Categories: Commentary, Events
Tags: academic globalization, academic partnerships, college of st. scholastica, high school students, international student recruitment, scholarships, US-Vietnam educational exchange, vietnam development, Vietnamese students
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