Students and security

The Kansas City Star

Foreign students flock to this country's science and engineering programs.

Their attendance means billions of dollars a year for schools and communities.

Most important, international students carry home appreciation for democracy, free-market economies and the American people.

It's much harder to hate or mistrust a nation when you've shared classrooms, coffee and ideas with its citizens.

At a time when their economic and cultural capital is badly needed, however, fewer international students are choosing to study here.

According to the Institute of International Education, the number of foreign students at American colleges and universities dropped 2.4 percent last year_the first decline since 1971.

The drop was especially severe in graduate programs. The Council of Graduate Schools reported in early September that enrollment of international students was down 18 percent from last year.

The biggest problem is the hassles students experience entering and re-entering the United States.

A recent survey of 1,700 foreign students at the University of California-Berkeley, for instance, showed 60 percent had experienced delays at U.S. consulates, embassies and ports of entry. Waiting periods range from a few days to several months.

Tightened security after the attacks of Sept. 11 is the cause of the added obstacles. Concerns are understandable; the hijacker who crashed a plane into the Pentagon entered the United States on a student visa. A better tracking system is needed to ensure student visas aren't misused.

But overcorrecting creates new problems. Government officials should work with the higher education community to ease restrictions. One good idea is to extend security clearances to foreign students for the length of their study or teaching appointment. Current clearances are valid for only one year.

A university experience has long beckoned the world's brightest minds to America. This is not the time to appear unwelcoming.