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Latitudes: For global education, the presidential-election rematch brings a sense of déjà vu

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Worries about what a potential Trump victory could mean for foreign students, plus an effort to revi

Worries about what a potential Trump victory could mean for foreign students, plus an effort to revive the China Initiative dies. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. What a Trump administration 2.0 could mean for foreign students About this time eight years ago, Benjamin Waxman, chief executive of Intead, a firm that advises colleges on global marketing, added a last-minute question about the upcoming U.S. presidential election to a regular survey the company did of prospective international students. The findings of the March 2016 survey were, Waxman later told me, “[jaw-dropping]( While international students said the election of Hillary Clinton, who would go on to be the Democratic nominee, would have little impact on their study choices, 60 percent said they would have second thoughts about coming to the United States if Donald J. Trump, then viewed more as a cable-news phenom than a serious candidate, were to become president. Trump, of course, won the election. And while the decline in international students was not nearly as catastrophic as the survey suggested — new foreign enrollments fell 11 percent in the years leading up to the pandemic, in Trump’s last year in office — his presidency left an imprint on international education. One of his first acts was to sign an [executive order]( closing the U.S. border to students, researchers, and other visitors from a half-dozen predominantly Muslim countries. During his four-year term, Trump reportedly derided Chinese students as [spies]( his administration put global research ties under the [microscope]( and international students became a pawn in a political fight over [reopening colleges]( during the pandemic. With Trump again the Republican presidential nominee and leading in recent polls, apprehensions among international educators are high. I spoke with experts about what a Trump administration 2.0 could mean for international enrollments. You can read my piece [here]( — [registering]( for a free Chronicle account allows nonsubscribers to read two free articles a month — but here are a few takeaways: Elections don’t affect international-student mobility, except when they do. There have been 19 presidential elections since the Institute of International Education began collecting data on international enrollments in 1948, and an analyst would be hard-pressed to discern any election-year trends. But a [study]( by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Southern Mississippi found that colleges in counties that voted for Trump in 2016 “experienced a greater and statistically significant decline” in new international enrollments the following year than those that went for Clinton. The “‘Trump effect’ on new international-student enrollment may not be hypothetical but empirical in nature,” the authors concluded. Different populations of international students could be disproportionately affected by potential policy changes. During his term in office, Trump made stricter rules for Chinese students and researchers part of his standoff with China, even considering a plan to [revoke the visas]( of all Chinese students. He could revisit similar policy proposals if reelected. Some experts feared the number of international undergraduates could decline, as the parents of younger students may keep them away from the United States, while others worried that the enrollment growth from sub-Saharan Africa could slow because of racist rhetoric. Some potential policies, however, could affect international students broadly. There are concerns that Trump could make good on [past threats]( to restrict or even eliminate Optional Practical Training, or OPT, the postgraduate work program for international students. In a recent [survey]( of 1,200 current, former, and prospective international students, four in 10 said they would not study, or would seriously reconsider studying, in the United States if OPT was no longer available. Trump would be better prepared this time around. International-education advocates would be, too. As vice provost for global affairs at the University of Washington, Jeffrey Riedinger played a part in a lawsuit challenging the travel ban. It took a year and a half and three different executive orders before a version of the travel ban was eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, but administration officials learned from their mistakes, said Riedinger, who is now retired. “By the last challenge, we realized we were giving them the playbook of how to get a ban that would survive legal scrutiny.” Trump and his officials would return to office more experienced, with a better understanding of administrative policymaking. At the same time, international-education groups, which had stayed out of the political fray, have become savvy and more mobilized than in the past. Last fall, a group of education organizations, advocacy groups, and think tanks announced a [new coalition]( to “speak with one voice” for international students. “We’ve realized that what we in higher education need to do is not stay away from the issues but find ways to be thoughtfully engaged,” said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration, a nonpartisan group of college leaders that is one of the founding members of the new international-education coalition It’s not just the election outcome but the campaign rhetoric. President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who Trump faces in a rematch, is generally seen as supportive of international education, although it has been less of a priority in his administration than many in the field had hoped for. But Alan Ruby, a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, said the tenor of the election debate — with its isolationist overtones and competition to get tough, or tougher, on China — could itself have an impact on international students. “The message will be viral,” he said, “and it will echo beyond 2024, no matter who wins.” Related: Nature took stock of what the presidential election could mean for [cross-border science](. ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Attempt to revive the China Initiative killed A provision that would have reinstated the China Initiative, the federal inquiry into academic and economic espionage, has been [stripped]( from a spending bill that President Biden signed over the weekend. Republican lawmakers had [added language]( reviving the controversial investigation to the House version of a $460-billion measure that funds the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies. Under Biden, the Justice Department had [ended]( the China Initiative in 2022, saying it “fueled a narrative of intolerance and bias.” House members said the Biden decision was short-sighted and ignored the “extraordinary long-term threat China poses to the United States” as a geopolitical rival intent on stealing scientific secrets. The provision would have reestablished an office focused on “countering espionage and influence efforts” by the Chinese government aimed at colleges, research institutes, and businesses. The [investigation of academic and research ties with China]( started in 2018 under President Trump. Despite its high profile, the China Initiative resulted in few convictions. However, critics said the scrutiny chilled academic collaboration with China and that the focus on Chinese and Chinese American scholars amounted to racial profiling. In a [statement]( the Asian American Scholars Forum, an advocacy group for Asian American scientists, said it remained committed to ensuring that no version of the China Initiative would be reinstated. “There is no need to go backward,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, the organization’s executive director. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [The Research Driven University - The Chronicle Store]( [The Research Driven University]( Research universities are the $90-billion heart of America’s R&D operation. [Order this report today]( to explore the scope of the American academic-research enterprise and how institutions can contribute to tomorrow’s revolutionary innovations. The latest on U.S.-China exchange The U.S. Department of State does not plan to downgrade a travel advisory that has made it more difficult for American students to go to China. In a briefing with reporters last week, a senior official at the State Department said the government will maintain its warning that Americans should “reconsider” travel to China, citing China’s “arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans and wrongful detention.” Many colleges tie their study-abroad policies to the State Department guidance, preventing students from going to countries with level 3 warnings, the second-highest travel advisory. Just 350 Americans studied in China during the last academic year, according to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. While student-exchange programs between the two countries lost ground because of geopolitical tensions and Covid-related travel restrictions, the Chinese government has thrown its weight behind plans to [increase the number of young Americans studying in China](. The State Department official said the U.S. government “remains deeply committed to people-to-people and student exchanges.” (Under the rules of the briefing, reporters could not name the officials.) A former international-relations dean at Peking University suggested that some Chinese policies may also deter international students from returning. He proposed that the government [clarify its anti-espionage law]( to ease the political concerns of prospective students. And the president of a Beijing-based think tank said China should take additional steps to [rebuild U.S.-China exchanges]( including streamlining the visa process for American students, tying study to opportunities for internships or experiential learning, and undertaking a global marketing campaign to promote China as a welcoming destination. Meanwhile, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman again [criticized]( the United States for allegedly blocking a Chinese student holding a visa from entering the country, this time in [San Francisco](. “The U.S. out of political purpose has been frequently harassing, interrogating, and deporting Chinese students without just cause,” the spokeswoman, Mao Ning, [said](. “Recent incidents time and again show that the acts by the U.S. far exceed the scope of normal law enforcement with strong ideological bias.” In a written statement, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said that customs officials are “tasked with protecting our nation’s borders” and that “all international travelers attempting to enter the United States, including all U.S. citizens, are subject to examination.” The spokesman did not directly respond to the Chinese government charges or to Chronicle questions about data on border-enforcement activities affecting international students. During the State Department briefing, a second official said that the United States is “not seeing a shift on our side” in the treatment of Chinese students. Around the globe The U.S. government will extend emergency relief for [Venezuelan students]( on F-1 visas experiencing severe economic hardship because of a political and economic crisis at home, allowing them to work more hours and take a reduced courseload. A longstanding pact that governs [scientific cooperation]( between the United States and China will get a second six-month extension as the two sides work to amend the agreement. Meanwhile, the Chinese government said it plans to increase spending on [research and development]( by 10 percent over 2023 levels. American and Qatari officials agreed to greater [educational cooperation]( including reviving the Fulbright visiting-scholar program for Qatari scholars and encouraging more Qatari students to study at American colleges, both in the United States and Qatar. Texas A&M University recently announced it was [closing its campus]( in the Persian Gulf country. Arizona State University signed an agreement to help start a new college in [Saudi Arabia](. Students in Quebec planned to go [on strike]( to protest the government’s tuition hikes for international and out-of-province students at English-speaking universities. International students studying languages in Canada will not be [exempt]( from a cap on student visas, the country’s immigration minister said. Michelle Donelan, Britain’s science minister, has retracted [charges of extremism]( she levied against members of a scientific advisory committee who she had accused of expressing support for Hamas. Donelan must also pay an undisclosed fine. France and Britain have agreed to cooperate more closely on [sensitive research](. The Czech Republic is prioritizing [scientific diplomacy]( as part of its global outreach. It could cost more than $1.26 billion to restore Ukraine’s public scientific infrastructure, according to the United Nations’ [estimates](. The government of South Sudan said it would try to absorb professors who fled the fighting in neighboring [Sudan]( into universities there and provide them housing. Singapore is offering all citizens over the age of 40 grants of $4,000 in local currency, or about $3,000 U.S., for a “[substantial skills reboot]( as artificial intelligence and other technologies change the workplace. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … Melting-pot cities can sometimes produce their own dialects, as new residents bring their first languages, slang, and local vernacular with them. But phonetics researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, in Germany, found that new accents can also emerge in one of the coldest places on earth, in Antarctica. The researchers studied about two dozen scientists, isolated together in a research station over the long Antarctic winter. Every few weeks, they asked the scientists to make recordings of themselves reciting the same set of 29 words. Over six months, they noticed subtle changes in pronunciation of certain vowels and words, the beginnings of the emergence of a new accent. The differences were relatively minor, but the researchers [told]( the BBC that their work could provide insights into how accents diverge, such as British and American English. It takes far longer for new accents to take hold. In fact, generational change is key for accents to stabilize, as children learn to speak — something, I suppose, for the scientists to think about during those long Antarctic nights. Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so drop me a line at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on [X]( or [LinkedIn](. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. They can [sign up here.]( CAREER RESOURCES [Career Resources]( [Read the March collection]( for insights on navigating the anticipation of job offers. Explore our topics on how hiring decisions transpire, managing anxiety, and what to do if you receive an offer! JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Search jobs on The Chronicle job board]( [Find Your Next Role Today]( Whether you are actively or passively searching for your next career opportunity, The Chronicle is here to support you throughout your job search. Get started now by [exploring 30,000+ openings]( or [signing up for job alerts](. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2024 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037

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