TMS Public and Governmental Affairs Resource Center

FROM THE FEDERATION OF MATERIALS SOCIETIES: Now that the House Science Committee has completed action on competitiveness and energy legislation under its jurisdiction, Committee members are turning attention to broader issues of globalization. A hearing early in the summer examined the current state of technical jobs in the United States. Just before the August recess, the Committee focused on universities' responses to offshoring. "As an increasing number of American universities establish campuses in foreign countries, many questions and concerns are arising about the impacts this will have on American students, job opportunities, and competitiveness," according to Research and Science Education Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA). "In some respects American universities have been global for many years. They have attracted large numbers of foreign students, particularly in (science, technology, engineering and math) fields at the graduate level," he continued. "But offshoring is giving high quality foreign students outstanding job opportunities in their home countries. This may make it less likely that foreign students will stay in the U.S. after graduation, and may make it less desirable to come to the U.S. to study in the first place." Committee Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX) observed that "of universities are now looking overseas for opportunities to expand. Many have partnered with foreign universities to offer joint programs and degrees while others have opened new branches…Some universities offer a limited curriculum overseas and require students to complete their training in the U.S. while others offer complete degree programs abroad. This wide range of models makes it difficult to confidently predict how the globalization of higher education may affect U.S. institutions and the U.S. economy overall."

Witnesses at the hearing included presidents, provosts and deans from Cornell, Georgia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon Universities, all of whom agreed that the benefits of teaching and research abroad will spur overall macro-economic growth. Dr. David Skorton of Cornell also testified that "international scientific and professional meetings provide opportunities for scholarly exchange and networking (that) help advance knowledge and provide learning opportunities for American students and faculty members as well as for their colleagues from other nations."

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