APPROACHES TO GLOBALIZED EDUCATION:

POLICIES TOWARDS
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
IN THE USA AND EU

By HRISTINA PETROVA, hristina359@yahoo.fr

9th Int’l Fulbright Conference held in Bansko, Bulgaria, 06-08/08/2010
 International Students
2

 According to OECD(2002), students represent a form of

skilled migration; students’ mobility is a precursor to further
migrations/ Int’l student mobility is the main form of cross-
border higher education (IOM 2008)
 The number of Int’l students increased by 50 % 1998-2004 to
2.7 million (IOM 2008)
 The US share of int’l students = 20 % in 2006 (25 % in 2000);
Germany(9 %) and France(7 %) among the biggest recipients;
En-speaking countries take 47 % of all (IOM 2008)
 Major export industry in Australia and New Zealand; solution
to both skills and demographic structure
 USA: International Students’ Visas
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 Nonimmigrant visas – Academic Study – F;

Cultural Exchange –J; Vocational study- M;
 Since 2005 – the first 20,000 Advanced students
(MA +)from US uni’s can be granted H-1B visas
 SKIL Act (Rep.)– 2006; 2010 – advanced students
can stay(no intent to depart); flexible caps for H-1B
 DREAM Act (R;D): Legalizing those children of
illegal immigrants who have spent 5 years in USA,
graduated from US schools (discussions at present)
 USA: International Students’ Visas II
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 F, J and M visas – 374,000 in 1989 =5 %, over 500,000 in

2005 =8 % of all nonimmigrant visas
 Applicants’ partners and children can join them
 F visas – applicants can stay up to 1 year after expiry as
interns to US companies – no need to adjust status
 Foreign residency requirement for J visas : 2 years in their
home countries before they can return to USA and apply for
another visa if (1) there is skills shortage in their field in their
country; (2) their stay was financed; (3) medical training
 Origin F, J, M visas 2005: 41 % Europe; 40 % Asia; Business
and Engineering -each 20 % (Haddal 2006)
 Trends and Emerging Issues
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 Foreign students – in 2006 56 % of PhDs in electrical

engineering and computer science/S&E Post docs
(NSF 2008, 2010)
 Students’ flows from the Middle East diverted after
2001 to other En-speaking countries (MPI 2006)
 Stay rates for PhD graduates from China and India are
high (90% intent to stay vs. 66 % on average for the
rest); However, return rates for Cn/In professionals
b/se of opportunities home/visas wait times (Wadhwa
2009)
 Trends and Emerging Issues II
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 Financial concerns for domestic students; lack of Recruitment

Strategies (CGS to Obama adm. 2009)
 ‘Open doors’ : 670,000 foreign st in 2009 – biggest nr ever but
the report didn’t reveal (Head; Fischer 2009):
 11 % rise in the n of foreign undergraduate students BUT 2 %
rise only in the n of graduate students; 60 % growth
undergraduate Chinese vs. 14 % graduate
 Foreign undergraduate 2% of all undergr. but foreign graduate
-10 % of all graduate st. ; 16 % growth of first-time foreign
students (contribution of the Chinese)
 Decrease in enrolments - India, South Korea, Japan
 EU Mobility-Migration
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 EU Students very mobile: 23% studied abroad > 1; visited on average 5 c’s in
the last 2 y. 35% prefer to work abroad, 45 % didn’t know (ESN Survey 2007:
8,000 respondents)
 The Nr of lang’s - preference of working abroad. Most of them 3,4 lang’s
(mother tongue incl.) but mostly Be, Fn, (bilingual c’s) + Lt, Ro (New
Member States to the EU) (ESN Survey 2007)
 Economic growth/creating jobs was important as a value- students from Pl, It,
Nl, Be, Tr (ESN survey)
 Overeducation – 33 % of all EU; (low NL, high Estonia) - emigration
 Only Bg, Es, Si and the UK decrease in the proportion of graduates in S &T
(due to migration ?) 10 % of all EU tertiary graduates in science, math,
computing(Eurostat 09); De (59,000), UK, Se, Be, Fr, Lu are net recipients of
S & T graduates (in 2000). BUT expenditure on edu in De < 10 % vs. > 14 %
in Denmark, Ireland (Eurostat 2009: data as of 2006)
ESN – Erasmus Student Network
Overeducation – source: CEDEFOP 2009
 EU: The Blue Card (BC)
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Proposal
 Jacob Weizsacker coined the term in 2006, referring to 3
components: 1. Wide Blue Card points-based scheme
following the Canadian/Australian points-based schemes;
 2. Blue Diplomas – Master’s graduates from any EU
university would have these attached automatically +
graduates from the first 100 non-EU universities;
 3. External min. wage for the then new MS Bg, Ro and
Turkey – eur 30,000 p.a.; 24,000 for young people (in
DE), to be lowered over time and not necessarily applied
everywhere in the EU
 EU: EC & EP Directive on Third Country
Nationals for Highly Qualified Employment
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 When the EU Commission drafted the directive in

2007, two dispositions were proposed:
 (1.) No salary threshold for foreign graduates from EU
universities (aged under 30);
 (2.) 2/3 of threshold for those aged under 30 graduated
outside the EU;
 The EU Parliament cancelled both of them in 2008, b/se
of ‘discrimination on the basis of age’. The Council
reaffirmed the EP decision in 2009, when it adopted the
final version of the Directive (effective 2011)
 Education is Beautiful
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 In the three versions of the directive, higher professional

qualifications are defined as:
 EU Commission: 3 year diploma or 3 years professional

experience
 EU Parliament: 3-5 year diploma or 5 years professional

experience, 2 of which higher position

 Council: 3 year diploma or 5 years professional

experience
 Nevertheless, derogations for students were cancelled

 contradiction
 The Case of Bulgarian Students
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 In 2009 BG students in USA 10 % less than in 2008 – from

3205 to 2889 -1,511-BA, 1,017 MA/PhD. Students from other
new EU MS decreased but those from the old EU members
and Turkey increased – esp. those from Germany, Italy,
Denmark and the Netherlands (10 %;It – 20 % ). Overall, 4 %
increase of incoming European students (88,000). 
 Displacement in Europe as the new MS benefit from
mobility and prefer to study in Europe, while the outflows of
students from the old MS may be due to lack of good business
& management, computer science/engineering programs.
 Bulgarian Students Abroad
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 According to education consultancies , 80,000 BG students

abroad – 10 K in Germany, increase in the UK (40 % for 1
year), Denmark and the Netherlands are also among the
most desired countries. (articles 2009)
 Survey in Manheim, De (2009): 60 % of BG students don’t
want to return home – no job opportunities, corruption.
Specialties: business, management, law.
 Students return from Germany and Denmark b/se are unable
to find jobs. They don’t go to the US anymore as they are
unable to pay high fees (not b/se they are unwilling to study
there).
Among foreign students in De, Bulgarian students 2 nd in nr after the
Chinese.
 Europe Recruits Bulgarian Students
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 Strong presence of UK at edu fairs in BG, with several

universities alone from London; Dutch and Danish uni’s. In
addition, the French institutes organize annually fairs across
the country and French uni’s are well represented (attractive
b/se tuition fees are low)
 In 2010 the Netherlands started a direct campaign – students

from Sofia mathematics high school to be enrolled in the

2nd year of BA ‘Sensor Technology’
at Hanze Institute of Technology (Groningen ). Norway has
recently started promoting its universities in BG through its
embassy(esp. hired people for that purpose).
For more information on Norway’s initiatives, see www.norvegia.bg
 The Situation at Home
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 In 2010 applications to BG uni’s decreased 25 % (but 32

% to the Technical Uni Sofia) although from 2004/05 to
2009/10 20 % increase: from 230,000 to 280,000 students
(data: NSI). In addition, programs and universities are
mushrooming – colleges become universities, the opening
of new universities is being currently discussed.
 The ratio uni’s/popul. in BG is very high – in 1999 Austria

with comparable overall population and n of students

enrolled had 20 uni’s/academies vs. 41 uni’s & 47 colleges
in Bulgaria (nrs: Sega Bg 2001);
 51 uni’s in Bg in 2010
 The Situation at Home II
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 Universities increased the application periods – 2,3 per year. BUT they also
increased fees instead of offering scholarships to students. A new law will
soon enter into force: students with lower entry scores in ‘’paid
education’’ (Bg is experiencing massive internal migration – more than 1/3
of BG live in the capital)
 In June/July 2010 – students (Arts; Medicine) protested against raised fees .
Min. of Education/Sofia University: these were ‘technical’ mistakes and
tuition fees were lowered three times (Medicine).
 No codes of ethics/ care/practice exist – students’ papers can appear at any
time in professors’ textbooks/papers; students-professors obligations in terms
of supervision ‘unknown’ ; no uniform requirements on writing BA/MA thesis
(e.g. general req. – 60p., some dept’s -120p., etc)
  Electronic repositories at uni’s – esp. for Professors and Doctoral students;
AND NOT for Ba/Master’s students as it is the case in other countries
 Conclusions & Rec’s (BG Case)
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 No adequate measures were taken in BG- emigration will

increase. As BG students are traditionally very competitive
in math and computer sciences, active recruitment from
abroad will benefit students and the foreign uni’s both in
Europe and beyond. It is unlikely that BG students return
home, given the political barriers and the low living
standard.
 Exchanges (whether in Europe or US) are not likely to
solve the problems – generally mobility increases the
possibility of further migration. In the case of BG, for those
who return culture shock may even exacerbate problems.
BG students are very gifted in math and computer science, they win
medals in int’l competitions on a regular basis, see mon.bg – news
(Google chrome translate)
 Conclusions & Rec’s II (BG
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Case)
 For those unable to leave - implementation of University
Codes and relevant ministerial body that would follow
students’ complaints and possibly resolve cases; more
scholarships for students; more services and el. resources
at universities for STUDENTS and not only for professors

 The best measure would be the creation of ‘emigration’

rather than immigration agency. As it’s clear that BG Gvt
and uni’s will oppose the idea in absolutely any way, this
should be done either from abroad and/or electronically
with the joint efforts of the BG diaspora.
 Implications of Policies
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 Highly educated people are highly mobile and can change their
preferences according to the ‘offer’
 Any restriction in one of the major receiving countries has
implications on the import in the neighbouring countries –
USA/Canada; Australia/New Zealand; EU/Switzerland, Norway; UK,
Ireland and Denmark in the case of the Blue Card (the three opted out)
 Any new policy - implications for competitors - it has to go a step
further rather than copy + paste, e.g. NZ ‘Silver Fern’ policy is
innovative
 Quantity-Quality (financial gains only vs. long-term strategy in which
cultural and other factors are taken into account)
 EU: selection/retention – no link yet  loss for the EU