By Stephen C. Dunnett
Vice Provost for International Education
State University of New York at Buffalo

That a record 453,787 foreign students from 180 countries attended colleges and universities in the US in academic year 1995-96 is perhaps the most vivid indication that there are important advantages to American higher education. No other country receives even half as many foreign students, yet international students represent only 3% of the total enrollment at US colleges and universities. In all, some fifteen million students attend America's institutions of higher education, including more than one-third of Americans in the 18-24 year old age group.

These statistics illustrate four major features of the American higher education system which make it attractive to both domestic and foreign students: size, diversity, flexibility and accessibility.
Today there are more than 3,600 institutions of higher education in the United States. Some of the large state university systems, such as those in New York, California and Texas, comprise dozens of campuses and hundreds of thousands of enrolled students. Indeed, higher education has become one of the biggest "industries" in the US, employing some three million people.

The range and diversity of institutions and programs of study in the US is even more impressive. The system encompasses both prestigious private universities like Harvard and Stanford, which are among the best in the world, and local publicly-funded community colleges; both huge state university campuses enrolling 40,000-50,000 students and tiny private institutes with fewer than 100 students.

American higher education is diverse in other ways, too. Not only do most colleges and universities enroll foreign students, but foreign faculty and visiting scholars play an important role on many campuses, particularly the large universities. In most comprehensive institutions, there are as many female students as male, and the numbers of students and faculty from ethnic minorities, particularly Asian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have been steadily increasing. As a result, the campus communities of many American universities reflect in microcosm the diversity of larger society.

Higher education in the US is also unique in offering an enormous variety of subjects and course options, ranging from Aerospace Engineering to Women's Studies and from Art to Zoology. Because it is dependent on tuition for funding, higher education in the US is student-centered and consumer-oriented; institutions teach what students want to know and what society as a whole thinks is useful. For example, the large public universities such as the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, Ohio State University, and the University of Texas at Austin offer hundreds of different degree programs and have academic catalogs listing thousands of courses.

The variety of programs and courses contributes to the flexibility of the American system. Undergraduates usually begin their program taking "general education," "liberal arts," or "core curriculum" courses in order that they might become more "well-rounded" students and only later select their major in many cases, not until their second year. Because they do not specialize from the very beginning, undergraduate students have more options than their counterparts in other countries. Not infrequently, American undergraduates change their mind and decide to undertake a different major, but this does not oblige them to start over, for at least part of their course work will can still be applied to the new degree.

Most academic programs include "elective courses" which students can sometimes take outside their main field of study. This gives them added choice in planning their education, and enables them to broaden their perspective by learning about other subjects. Thus, much is left up to student, who is expected to choose from a bewildering variety of institutions, degree programs and courses, and often must depend on his/her academic advisors for help in planning a program of study.

The size, diversity and flexibility of the American higher education system all contribute to its accessibility. Americans take for granted that everyone, regardless of their origin, should have a right to a higher education, and opportunities do exist for a large percentage of college-age young people to pursue post-secondary studies. It should be remembered that in the US the category "higher education" can encompass vocational, technical, professional and other specialized training.

Fundamental to American culture is the high value it places on education. At whatever level, education is considered a form of self-improvement, which can lead to new career opportunities, economic advances and personal betterment, regardless of one's age. An increasing number of older, "non-traditional" students are attending college and university in the US, many having gone back for additional training or to prepare for a new career. Moreover, as many as fifteen million Americans, including large number of retired people, enroll in non-credit college courses (in other words, ones not leading to a degree) every year.

In many ways, US colleges and universities facilitate access for foreign students as well, by providing special facilities and services that make their adjustment to university life easier. Many campuses have English as a Second Language programs to improve students language proficiency, and international students advisors to help with cultural and academic orientation, visa issues and advisement. No other system of higher education is as welcoming of foreign students or makes such an effort to accommodate them.

Hence, students are expected to participate actively in class and even to challenge the professor at times. In graduate school, particularly, this "collegial" approach to professor-student relations means students are not treated as underlings but as colleagues. Students are likewise expected to take the initiative in planning their program, choosing courses, taking care of requisite paperwork, and in class asking questions, participating in discussion, consulting the professor in short, to assume responsibility for their own education.