The Stairway to Excellence - An Examination of American Education - Xue Yong's Notes on American Politics

Author: Xue Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The stories of American universities in the context of globalization are no longer novel. For instance, a reunion of Tsinghua University graduates from the Class of 1989 in the U.S. shows that most of them are in the U.S., while only a few remain in China. This phenomenon is not limited to Tsinghua. Peking University, University of Science and Technology of China, Fudan University, and other top Chinese universities all have classes where reunions in the U.S. are more convenient than in China. This reflects an undeniable fact: higher education is globalizing, and U.S. universities are at the forefront of this trend, with China being a significant part of the following flock.
Let’s look at a few simple facts: The U.S. attracts the most international students; international students add $13 billion to the U.S. GDP annually; in the 2002–2003 academic year, nearly 600,000 international students were studying in the U.S. China is the world’s largest exporter of international students, accounting for 10% of the global total, far ahead of India (4%). It is said that in some departments of Peking University, one-third of the professors hold U.S. doctorates.
After 9/11, the U.S. implemented new visa policies, creating a climate of fear and leading to a sharp decline in the number of students (especially Chinese students) studying in the U.S. In the 2003–2004 academic year, the number of international students in the U.S. decreased by 2.4%, applications to graduate programs fell by 28%, and actual enrollment dropped by 6%. This was the first decline in over 30 years since 1971–1972. However, this situation has awakened awareness among U.S. educators, businesses, and policymakers. Visa systems are currently undergoing significant reforms. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, a leading U.S. higher education magazine, the federal government is coordinating with states and universities to develop a national policy to attract international students. This includes not only reforming visa systems and policies but also considering relaxing restrictions on off-campus work for international students to make it easier for them to survive in the U.S.
It is foreseeable that the influence of U.S. universities on China will grow even stronger in the future. More Chinese students will have opportunities to study in the U.S. When discussing higher education in China, it is impossible to ignore the role of U.S. higher education. In the process of globalization, U.S. higher education is part of Chinese higher education because many Chinese students earn degrees from U.S. universities, and many U.S. doctors obtain teaching positions in Chinese universities. At the same time, Chinese higher education is also part of U.S. higher education because many U.S. degrees include early-stage training from Chinese education, and many graduates from Chinese universities teach in the U.S.
Especially in the coming decades, studying abroad will become less a privilege for the elite and more widespread, and the interaction between U.S. and Chinese higher education will grow increasingly significant. Understanding U.S. universities in the context of globalization has become a must for the Chinese higher education community and students. There is no doubt that in the coming decades, U.S. universities will dominate the world of higher education in the globalized era. This dominance is based on two interconnected factors: the excellence of U.S. universities and the flexibility of their higher education system.
The excellence of U.S. universities lies not only in the fundamental facts I have repeatedly emphasized: U.S. universities occupy most of the world’s top positions, produce the majority of academic research, provide high-quality education, and possess unparalleled financial strength, and so on. Their excellence also lies in their irreplaceability—no other universities in the world can compete with them. Outside the U.S., the most powerful universities are in Europe. European universities were once models for U.S. universities. But let’s look at the current state of European universities. Taking Humboldt University of Berlin as an example: From 1900 to 1909, the university produced 8 Nobel laureates; from 1910 to 1919, 6; from 1920 to 1929, 4; from 1930 to 1939, 6; from 1940 to 1949, 1; and from 1950 to 1956, 4. Monson, Planck, Einstein, and Heisenberg were all once brilliant alumni of this institution. However, after 1956, no Nobel laureates emerged from this university. Today, in the 2004 world university rankings by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the university is ranked 95th, tied with the University of Utah.
Of course, such a dramatic decline is related to the persecution of Jewish scholars during Hitler’s era and the university’s situation under the democratic control of East Germany during the Cold War. However, even when looking at German universities today, few can be ranked among the world’s top-tier institutions. Across Europe, only Oxford and Cambridge in the U.K. can be compared to the elite universities of the U.S. But even these two are facing deficits and crises.
In contrast, let’s take the University of Chicago as an example: Since the establishment of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1969, 9 of the 55 laureates have taught at the University of Chicago, and 14 have received training there or taught there. And the U.S. has many such heavyweight universities. As the saying goes, "People go where the opportunities are, and water flows downhill." In such a drastically uneven competition, U.S. universities naturally dominate.
The globalization of higher education has two levels. First, there is large-scale talent mobility: students and professors migrate across borders, settling where the conditions are best. Second, courses and campuses transcend national borders: some universities leverage their brands to establish campuses worldwide, turning higher education into a global chain.