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| Sunday, 14 November 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The United States : A great place to study By Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead
The growth of the international student population in the United States over the years has been a source of pride and benefit to our institutions of higher education and to all of us who work in the field of diplomacy and international relations. Large numbers of Sri Lankan students have traditionally studied abroad, and increasingly, their preferred destination is the United States. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), an independent non-profit exchange organisation based in New York, the number of international students in the United States has grown from about 34,000 in the 1954-55 academic year to nearly 600,000 in 2002-2003. In 2003-2004, there were 1,877 Sri Lankan students studying in the United States at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The U.S. is home to many of the world's finest educational institutions, and our colleges and universities remain eager to accept qualified students from abroad. International students bring cultural and intellectual diversity to our campuses and communities and promote greater understanding between U.S. citizens and people in other societies, an important U.S. policy goal. Notable Sri Lankans who have studied in the United States include Bradman Weerakoon, former Secretary to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe; Dinesh Gunawardene, Urban Development Minister; Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to Prime Minister Rajapakse, and Harim Peiris, Presidential Spokesman and Director General of the RRR Ministry. Other Sri Lankans who have taken advantage of educational opportunities in the United States include Galle District MP Hemakumara Nanayakkara, former Deputy Ministers Navin Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa, and former Minister Milinda Moragoda. There has been a long tradition of Sri Lankans travelling to the United States to take advantage of the educational opportunities offered there. Last year, for example, approximately seven hundred student visas were issued to Sri Lankans, clearly showing the strong interest that Lankan students have in American education. Education USA advising centres around the world report continued high levels of inquiries about study in the U.S. In fact, worldwide, it is estimated that our advising centres work every year with millions of young people who have an interest in further education in the United States. I invite you to consult the EducationUSA advising centre in Colombo, located at the U.S.-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission, at 7 Flower Terrace, Colombo 7, or on the web at (www.fulbrightsrilanka.com, www.fulbrightsrilanka.com.) Additionally, you can visit the State Department's Education USA website, (educationUSA.state.gov), which provides a wealth of valuable information to people wishing to study in the U.S. We welcome this sustained interest among international students in coming to the U.S. to study. Although we have implemented new measures to make our borders and the traveling public more secure, we have not changed the basic criteria for visa eligibility to visit or study in the United States. Contrary to the perception that visa refusal rates have risen dramatically, or the even worse misconception that it is impossible to obtain a visa to enter the United States, our visa issuance rates are almost the same as they were prior to the events of September 11, 2001. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in describing the continuing openness of the United States to students and travellers from abroad, declared that our motto is "Secure Borders, Open Doors". Following a brief dip in issuance rates following the events of 9/11, I'm happy to say that Sri Lankans' interest in traveling to the U.S. has returned. Our visa issuance continues to be robust, strong evidence of the continued close relationship between Sri Lanka and the U.S. Recent improvements Recent improvements in the process are making long waits for decisions about visa applications the exception, not the rule. Further decreases in the time required are likely as the U.S. introduces more automated systems and works to improve visa processing in other ways. The new SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) program electronically links the college and university admission process directly to our consular offices around the world, ensuring that this key information about student admission flows smoothly and quickly. Electronic finger-scanning will make it easier to verify that legitimate students and travelers qualify for visas, thus facilitating each traveler's entry into the U.S. Thanks to a special program developed specifically for international students, U.S. Embassies and Consulates, including Colombo, now make special arrangements to ensure that all applicants for student visas receive expedited processing for an interview so they can arrive in time in the U.S. to attend any international student orientation programs at their institution and, of course, the first day of class. For the qualified Sri Lankan student, the United States places an impressive array of services and security at your disposal. You already have access to the full range of educational resources available in the U.S., and you may rest assured knowing that America takes security and openness seriously, with little to no inconvenience to you. These improvements result from a major investment in staffing, technology, facilities and new procedures. The State Department has hired and trained a significant number of new consular officers. We have built additional space for visa interviews around the world and installed new equipment to provide faster, more comprehensive information. The central theme of my message is this: we want students from other countries to take advantage of the exceptional educational opportunities in the United States. Among these are universities and colleges of all descriptions and types, from rural institutions to urban campuses, from small two-and-four-year colleges, and women's colleges, to large research universities. While U.S. colleges and universities are diverse, they share many of the same characteristics - close cooperation between students and professors, individual attention paid to the student, and perhaps most important of all - flexibility. The flexibility that the American education system possesses means that students are not channeled into narrow fields of study that have no relief from your specialty. Work benefits Students are encouraged, and in many cases required, to take classes in a variety of subjects, affording an opportunity to see how interdisciplinary work benefits the two sides of the exchange. These and other characteristics, including the earned reputation as the best higher educational system in the world, are some of the features that distinguish U.S. education. International students who enroll in a U.S. educational institution will also discover the rich diversity of life in the United States, as reflected in the student body and faculty. If you are thinking about your own educational future, I strongly recommend that you investigate higher education in the United States. With over 3,600 fully accredited institutions of higher education, America offers numerous options from which to choose. When you do, I think you will find that the United States is not only a safe place to visit, but also a great place to study. |
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