by Pete Wright
The move north, I guess, is something of a novelty. According to this story, FDU from my old stomping ground in Madison, NJ is opeing a campus in Vancouver, BC to enroll Asian students. It’s funny, having been working on recruiting for a US-based institution in Vancouver, BC for the last several years, we just call them students.
I kid. I kid because they’re right. And not to be snotty, but what administrators at FDU have realized over the last four years of regulatory clearance is that it’s really, really hard to get into the states anymore from some countries — countries whose residents call Canada a nice new home away from home. The implications of the current administrations stranglehold immigration policies post-[gasp] 9/11 happen to be bearing the fruits of economic rust.
Technorati Tags: Education, International Education, University of Phoenix
Apparently, it’s not something that’s gone unnoticed in congress, either. On June 1, the Senate approved legislation including a shiny new policy on H-1B visa holders, actually allowing them to work in the US after they get their degrees here, among other things.
It’s a more complicated story than just talking about science and engineering talent the higher education system has been bleeding over the last four years. The FDU arrangement is punctuation on it, and it’s progressive thinking from a traditional educator, even if they are just down the street from my alma mater. No hard feelings there.
Even more laudable is the position of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada to even consider such an arrangement. Typiclly, the Canadian provincial education system is more parochial than this, operating from a distinct position of mistrust and fear. More than anything else, this is a sign of great advancement from a group that’s been operating behind the times for the last ten years.
