A RESOLUTION

OPPOSING A CAP ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT
TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BILL 1212 (HB 1212)

Approved April 24, 2003, by the Graduate Student Assembly

WHEREAS, Texas House Bill 1212 (HB 1212) proposes to limit the number of foreign students who may enroll in graduate or professional degree programs at Texas public institutions of higher education to only ten percent.

WHEREAS, The University of Texas at Austin enrolled 4,730 foreign students from over 126 countries in Fall 2002 with 3,319 enrolled in graduate and professional programs as of Fall 2002. [1]

WHEREAS, statistics indicate foreign students constitute 26.34% of graduate student body at the University of Texas at Austin. [2]

WHEREAS, foreign students are making significant contributions to the research strength and educational quality of the University as TA's, AI's, and GRA's, particularly in science and engineering fields.

WHEREAS, foreign students also contribute significant economic benefits. Last year, foreign students and their dependents spent $12-billion in the United States economy. [3]

WHEREAS, foreign students and scholars provide an essential source of good will and respect for America, which are crucial to United States national security and foreign policy. [4]

WHEREAS, the high percentages of enrollment of foreign students occur mostly in the science and engineering programs, where there are insufficient numbers of qualified American applicants.

WHEREAS, The University of Texas at Austin's benchmark institutions enroll comparable percentages of foreign students: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor[5] (28.2%), University of California - Berkeley[6] (20.9%), University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign[7] (35.9%), and University of Wisconsin-Madison[8] (21.6%)

WHEREAS, while other American higher education institutions keep admitting competent foreign students far above the ten percent limit, Texas public universities will suffer a dramatic degradation in research strength and educational quality if a ten percent quota were placed on foreign graduate student enrollment.

WHEREAS, in programs of regional studies, such as Latin American Studies, African Studies, and Asian Studies, a high enrollment percentage of foreign graduate students is of fundamental necessity to the programs.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the University of Texas at Austin Graduate Student Assembly opposes House Bill 1212, which intends to limit the number of foreign students who may enroll in graduate or professional degree programs at Texas public institutions of higher education to only ten percent.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Texas at Austin Graduate Student Assembly recognizes the contributions of foreign students to the University and welcome competent foreign students to apply for admission and to attend.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Texas at Austin Graduate Student Assembly recognizes the need for admitting more American students into graduate programs, but advocates approaching it by flexible and reasonable means.

Authored By: Erik Malmberg (Educational Administration)

Sponsored By: Joyce Banks (Co-Chair), Erik Malmberg (Educational Administration)

[1] UT Austin - Table S04 (2002-03 Statistical Handbook). (2003). Retrieved on April 24, 2003, from http://www.utexas.edu/academic/oir/statistical_handbook/02-03/students/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] The Chronicle: 4/11/2003: When We Hinder Foreign Students and Scholars, We Endanger Our National Security. (2003). Retrieved on April 24, 2003, from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i31/31b00701.htm.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Enrollment by Race/Citizenship Tables. (2003). Retrieved on April 24, 2003, from http://www.umich.edu/~oapainfo/TABLES/Enr_Race.html#G.
[6] More Student Facts and Statistics. (2003). Retrieved on April 24, 2003, from http://osr4.berkeley.edu/Public/STUDENT.DATA/f02.eth.html.
[7] UIUC On-Campus Student Enrollment by Curriculum, Sex, Race, and Residency. (2002). Retrieved on April 24, 2003, from http://www.dmi.uiuc.edu/stuenr/ethsex02.htm.
[8] UW-Madison Data Digest for 2001-02. (2003). Retrieved on April 24, 2003, from http://www.bpa.wisc.edu/datadigest/DataDigest2001-2002.pdf.