Groups Disagree With Limits On Foreign Students' Access

Some government officials advocate limiting international students' access to certain "advanced technology" programs at U.S. colleges and universities because one of the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the country on a student visa.

But representatives from three education advocacy groups sent a letter to the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Thursday communicating their reservations about any policy changes.

A committee of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is charged with determining the merits and feasibility of the restrictions proposed in the October 2001 directive.

The letter from the American Council on Education, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the Association of American Universities stated that the nation should be primarily concerned with preventing potential terrorists' entry into the country, not restricting their actions once inside.

"We believe that the most fruitful approach will be to concentrate on preventing initial entry into the U.S. of individuals who pose a potential security threat," the letter stated.

Officials from the organizations said the openness of the nation's higher education system makes it impossible to restrict foreign students' access to information that is readily available to U.S. students.

NAFSA: Association of International Educators, an international education advocacy program, also stated in a press release last November that it has reservations about the directive.

"On the one hand, it is necessary to limit access to certain very sensitive fields which, in the wrong hands, could be used to cause great harm," the release stated. "On the other, it is necessary to maintain the openness of the scientific enterprise upon which the preeminence of our academic institutions rest."

Officials and students at UNC say the impact of the potential policy changes would be hard to determine.

Leon Klebanov, a junior business major at UNC, said his decision to leave Russia to attend the University might have been different had he been denied access to certain classes.

"I would have looked at other schools in Europe or something to see if they had the classes I needed," he said.

Klebanov added that even if there were restrictions, he still would have considered attending school in the United States because of the high quality of education.

Bob Locke, director of the UNC International Center, said implementing such policy changes nationally might be difficult. "The hard part will be finding a balance between the traditional values of universities and the needs of heightened security," he said.

Locke said the number of foreign students applying to UNC has increased since the Sept. 11 attacks and the release of Bush's directive.

"Our numbers are way up in terms of foreign students applying," he said. "The fears that people had initially don't seem to be happening."

Locke added that he does not think the regulation of courses is the key to curbing terrorism because international students' movements are already tracked.

"This is the most regulated group by far," he said.

"The vast majority of foreigners enter the country as visitors. This system doesn't do anything to stop those kinds of people."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.