Foreign languages were far from the top of the list, with 59 percent of respondents saying they picked up such skills. Meanwhile, 85 percent said they picked up adaptability and “communication and interpersonal skills.”
“A likely reason … is the growth in programs that do not include language requirements,”
The study examines long-term national economic impacts rather than focusing on immediate tuition losses and other short-term effects. International students currently account for about half of all STEM graduate enrollments and represent a critical pipeline to the high-skill workforce. The report projects that a one-third reduction in U.S.-trained foreign STEM graduates entering the workforce would cause:
- a 6–11 percent reduction in the overall STEM workforce;
- annual gross domestic product losses of $240–481 billion within a decade;
- erosion of the United States' comparative advantage in innovation; and
- weakened regional technology clusters and entrepreneurial activity.
The report notes that even a smaller 10 percent reduction in the number of U.S.-educated high-skill international STEM workers in the U.S. workforce would cost $72–145 billion annually.
As the United States debates implementing policies to restrict and deter international enrollment at higher education institutions, the Chinese government is taking the opposite tack. Bloomberg reports on the introduction of China's new K visa policy to attract young science and technology talent. The policy is in line with the country's national strategic priorities, which mention "more proactive, open, and effective" international recruitment.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) has warned relevant U.S. Cabinet secretaries that such developments threaten U.S. economic competitiveness.
