Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!xanth!nic.MR.NET!srcsip!pompeii!shankar
From: shankar@pompeii.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Son of Knuth)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: "Shortage" of American Grad Students
Message-ID: <22193@srcsip.UUCP>
Date: 18 May 89 18:18:54 GMT
References: <29168@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Sender: news@src.honeywell.COM
Reply-To: shankar@pompeii.UUCP (Son of Knuth)
Organization: Honeywell Systems & Research Center, Camden, MN
Lines: 41

In article <29168@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> tedrick@ernie.Berkeley.EDU (Tom Tedrick) writes:

>First, there is no shortage of applicants for admission to
>grad school, in fact there is a surplus. Since public
>universities are directly financed by the state to a large
>degree, the costs to the university of educating the student
>must pay for his education. In such circumstances, it would
>be surprising if there weren't a surplus of applicants.

And taken to its logical conclusion, there would be never a 
shortage of anything subsidized by the government.  Never mind
that there have been and are shortages of educated people of
all forms.

>happens; foreign students pay higher fees than American students,
>but not the full costs of their education. Since American 
>universities are of higher quality on average than the norm,
>worldwide, foreign students have a strong incentive to come
>here to study. 

Foreign students pay the same fees as any out of state resident
at state schools, and the same as all students at private schools.
Also, the strong incentive is not for the "superior American 
universities", but the more affluent American lifestyle that
follows graduation in America and getting a job here.  Universities
around the world are as good as American universities (except
perhaps for the facilities), and often better in more mathematical
areas.

> [stuff about eliminating funding of education, and having vouchers]
>needs. By allowing market competition to come into play, public
>costs of supporting education will be minimized. 

Competition *does exist at the college level, particularly in grad
school.  There are few who go to grad school at their home state
school, in engineering and computer science.  And there are numerous
good private schools.
---
Subash Shankar             Honeywell Systems & Research Center
voice: (612) 782 7558      US Snail: 3660 Technology Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55418
shankar@src.honeywell.com  srcsip!shankar