If you are involved in an educational system either as an educator or the parent of a high school student, then you might be familiar with the important role of AP courses in the life of high school students across the United States. AP courses also play important roles for high school students in other countries because AP courses are offered at all International schools opened by the United States. For instance, according to the 7th AP Report to the Nation, “universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP Exam scores in the admission process and/or award credit and placement for qualifying scores” (College Board, 2011, p. b). In other words, students enrolled in AP courses in any of those countries can earn college credit the same way they would do in the United States. So this is not a local phenomenon at all. Naturally, any parent or educator might wonder what the history of AP courses is, and what their benefits and roles are for high school students.

I have worked as an AP Coordinator and Guidance Counselor for a public school for more than three years. Unsurprisingly, many middle and high school parents have asked me numerous questions regarding the AP program. The following interview, which took place between one of the parents who had a daughter at the school and myself, should help the reader develop a good understanding of AP programs and their benefits for both parents and students.

Q: What is the Advanced Placement program?

A: The AP Program was created by the US College Board in 1955 with the motto “Connecting Students to College Success.” The AP program aims to prepare students for an academically demanding college experience. “Advanced Placement is a curricular option for academically superior tenth, eleventh, and twelfth-grade students. Naturally, courses offered in the program are more demanding in terms of time and intellectual skills than corresponding courses in the regular high school curriculum” (Postsecondary Educational Planning Commission, 1988, p. 4). Initially, AP courses began as a program for elite private school students to take college-level course while still in high school. This way, outstanding students could begin college with already earned credits needed for freshman year, which potentially would help them graduate college earlier.

Q: What is the role of the College Board regarding AP courses?

A: AP courses are developed and maintained by a non-profit organization, the US College Board, founded in 1900. This organization provides training for AP teachers, provides curriculum resources for both teachers and students of AP courses, and supports universities as they define their policies regarding AP grades, and develops and coordinates the administration of annual AP examinations. According to the US College Board, the AP program offers more than 30 different courses as of 2010. In 2009, nearly 1.7 million students worldwide took 2.9 million AP exams.

Q: Are AP takers increasing or decreasing?

A: According to the recent data released in the 7th AP Report to the Nation, the number of seniors taking at least one AP course and scoring 3 or more on AP exams has increased significantly (College Board, 2011, see Table I). The increases are due to growing awareness of the program, obvious benefits of taking AP courses, and the significant role of AP courses in the college admission process (Reichard & Keirn, 1999). Moreover, the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) offers states substantial federal funding, $24 million annually, to expand AP programs in underserved populations (Manzo, 2005).

Q: Are AP classes smaller than regular classes?

A: Since only academically outstanding students are accepted into AP classes, they are to be smaller, usually less than 15, as opposed to regular classrooms with 25 to 35 students. For instance, smaller schools like charter schools, might provide better opportunities for AP students in terms of class size because their student population is usually smaller than local public schools. Therefore, as is the case in my school, it is not a surprise to see AP classes with as low as 2 or 3 students per course. On the other hand, smaller schools may not offer as many AP courses as other public schools due to its student size.

Q: What about teacher quality? Do better teachers teach AP classes?

A: Yes, it is likely that AP teachers have either better training than other regular course teachers or more years of teaching experience, with higher degrees in subject areas. Moreover, AP teachers receive annual trainings in the subject they teach which is organized by the College Board. For example, I attended one of those trainings when I was assigned to teach AP Calculus in 2009. In trainings, you learn how to teach the course and they provide you with lots of resources to teach your course in depth. Conclusively, I believe that AP teachers may be better prepared in their content area as opposed to non-AP teachers.

Q: Can my daughter graduate early from college if she takes AP courses?

A: Yes, taking AP courses in high school will enable your daughter to realize her goal of graduating early from college because students can pursue college level studies while still in high school. That means AP students can transfer their high school credits to college and can replace them with their required college classes thus eliminating some freshman courses and graduating early. As a result, AP courses have become very popular among parents. They want their children to take as many AP courses as they can take. But taking an AP course is not enough to earn a corresponding college credit.

Q: What else should my daughter do in order for her to earn college credit?

A: For that purpose, students are required to take the AP exams administered annually in May prepared by the Educational Testing Service located in Princeton, New Jersey. This is where AP teachers, parents, and students’ decide if students should take the AP exams of the courses they are taking. They usually look at students first semester performances in those classes. If students do not perform well in those classes, they are either recommended to continue taking the AP courses but not to take the exams or drop the course before first semester ends and start taking regular classes of the same course. AP exams consist of a multiple-choice section and a free response section. College professors and AP teachers score the open-ended questions once a year in June. The results of the multiple-choice and free response sections are combined to determine a composite score and then converted to a 5-point scale: 5 being extremely well qualified; 4, well qualified; 3, qualified; 2, possibly qualified; and 1, no recommendation.

Q: Do all colleges give credits for AP courses?

A: As common practice, more than thirty five hundred colleges give college credit to test scores 3 and above. Although this is still a common practice in almost all colleges, some universities and colleges have recently started to limit credits by requiring either a 4 or 5 exam score. For example, the University of Pennsylvania is very strict in awarding the AP Calculus credit and MIT is requiring its students to re-take a college introductory chemistry course at their institution regardless of their AP Chemistry scores while they are all still accepting other AP courses (Manzo, 2005).

Q: Do having AP courses on my daughter’s transcript increase her chance in college admission?

A: The use of AP courses in the admission process began after the 1980s. At first, only highly selective colleges and universities considered AP courses to make fine distinctions among the increasing number of applicants (Reichard & Keirn, 1999). Today, AP and honors courses receive special consideration by almost all selective colleges and universities in the admissions decision. The way AP scores are used may vary from one institution to another. For example, the University of California recalculates an applicant’s high-school grade-point average (HSGPA) by giving additional “bonus points” for approved AP courses while others do not recalculate but accept the school’s weighted HSGPA. Regardless of how colleges evaluate students’ AP courses, yes, having AP courses on a transcript puts a student in a more advantageous position as compared to non-AP students in admission decisions. Once, I remember a parent who was evaluating all the high schools in her district in terms of their AP offerings to enroll her son. When she was asked why she was doing so, she said it was because colleges look at the number of APs on an applicant’s transcript to make an admission decision. As a high school counselor, I know that this is a common practice among upper middle-class parents to ensure their children get a college admission. Thus, this puts great pressure on schools to expand their AP offerings.

Q: Then, can I say that I will pay less tuition and save time?

A: Yes, indeed, taking AP courses in high school will save the student and parent, both time and money. As of today, skipping an introductory course in college could translate to an average of $3,000 per course. For example, one of my students took 9 AP courses while she was in high school. It is equivalent to almost a year of time and $27,000 money. Why would a reasonable parent and/or student miss this great opportunity?

Q: But I am afraid that my daughter may not graduate from a college because many high school students are not ready for college challenges both in terms of academics and in life?

A: Yes, you are right to have such concerns because Lewis (2010) reports that just 56 percent of those who enroll in a four-year college earn a bachelor’s degree. The number one reason why the rate is low is because students are mostly unprepared for the college experience. On the other hand, research has revealed that students who pass AP exams are more likely to graduate college on time (College Board, 2011). For example, in a study sponsored by the College Board, it was found that taking AP courses in high school and passing the exams appear to help students perform better in college classes and graduate on time. They analyzed four incoming classes at the University of Texas from 1998 to 2001 by looking at their ten individual AP subjects. These researchers reported that, “AP Credit students consistently outperformed non-AP students of similar academic ability in all college outcome measures” (Keng & Dodd, 2008, p. 1). Thus, taking AP courses and passing its exams usually put students one step ahead of their non-AP counterparts.

Moreover, according to Dillon’s (1986) study, completion of AP courses convey to colleges that students who have taken AP classes have developed scientific inquiry, reasoning, problem solving, and analysis methods. In other words, they are more ready for college challenges. As a result, it is not surprising to see that academically prepared high school students are not only more successful in academic work in college, but they are often more self-confident, have increased aspirations and “fit-in” more easily into college. This is true because AP students are exposed to the academic rigor, expectations, and autonomy, which are usually linked with the content and rationale of college curriculum. For instance, Syracuse University found that students with AP credits showed as high as a 96% first-year retention rate while the national average was 79% (Miller, 1994). Therefore, taking and completing AP courses help students have a smoother transition from high school to college in terms of both curriculum and lifestyle.

Q: My last concern is about my daughter’s senior year. I know from my oldest son who didn’t study much and skipped his classes a lot. Therefore, he barely passed his classes and graduated. Thus, he did not get an admission to a 4-year college. Can my daughter really take AP exams during her senior year?

A: All high school counselors know that “senioritis” is a disease and that it is contagious and there’s no vaccination or cure for it. Delicath (1998) found trends in AP courses as they deal with high school seniors. Delicath stated that AP classes help solve the problem of “senioritis,” defined as senior-year boredom among capable high school students who complete most of their graduation requirements by the end of their junior year. The good news is that the seniors who enroll in AP courses often remain more focused and attached to learning than their non-AP counterparts. Thus, seniors overcome their stresses and last year boredom.

In conclusion, in light of all its benefits, I would strongly suggest all high school administrators and counselors to be more knowledgeable about AP and try to create a very strong AP program at their schools so they can send more students to four-year colleges. Also, having a strong AP program at schools prevents students from dropping out due to financial reasons, first generation fear, and so on. Therefore, it should be the goal and duty of all high school teachers and counselors to inform and prepare their capable students to benefits from this great opportunity.

Alpaslan Sahin, PhD from Texas A&M University, College Station TX, is a school administrator. His research area is Mathematics Education.

References

• College Board. (2011). The 7th annual AP report to the nation (100084202 10b-2333).
• Delicath, T. A. (1998). The influence of advanced college credit on college students’ integration and goal attainment: A longitudinal study. Dissertation. (UMI No. 9911930).
• Dillon, D. H. (1986). The advanced placement factor. Journal of College Admissions, 113, 14-17.
• Keng, L., & Dodd, B. (2009). A comparison of college performances of AP and non-AP student groups in 10 subject areas (College Board Research Report No. 2008-7). New York: The College Board.
• Lewis, K. R. (2010). High college dropout rate threatens U.S. growth. The Fiscal Times. Retrieved March 19, 2011, from
• http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2010/10/28/High-College-Dropout-Rate-Threatens-US-Growth.aspx
• Manzo, K. K. (2005). Mass appeal. Teacher Magazine, 16(5), 11-12.
• Miller, L. (1994). Effects of racial and socioeconomic factors on advanced placement programs. Dissertation. (UMI No. 9606827)
• Mores, R (2009). Methodology: America’s best high schools. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2009/12/09/methodology-americas-best-high-schools
• Newsweek (2008). FAQ: best high schools. Retrieved February 8, 2011, from
• http://www.newsweek.com/2008/05/17/faq-best-high-schools.html
• Postsecondary Education Planning Commission (1988). Funding of acceleration mechanisms. Report 1. Tallahassee, FL: Author. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 293 452).
• Reichard, G. W., & Keirn, T. (1999). The advanced placement exam in history: Growth, controversies, and new perspectives. The History Teacher (Long Beach, Calif.),
• 32(2), 169-73.

Yet, how can the Web be used for something more than surfing, chatting, making money, or wasting time? Can it provide an environment for learning? Can it be used with other educational technologies? What pedagogical possibilities do these technologies bring to schools, teachers, and students? In this article, I discuss this aspect of Internet.

One of the more explosive growth areas of the Web is distance learning. Web-based distance courses can run the range from text-based, e-mail, correspondence courses to full-blown interactive multimedia presentations. The vast majority of courses more closely resemble the text-based model, while many offerings use video, audio, and even some interactivity. Of particular interest is the newer interactive multimedia technologies found on the Web, such as Java, VRML, Shockwave, and others.

Several sites offer distance-learning offerings. The World Lecture Hall (www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/) offers hundreds of courses from universities all over the world, many with multimedia components. Java and VRML applets used in education are featured at www.gamelan.com. The Internet University (www.caso.com and www.internet-university.com) offers more than 500 courses. Other exemplary sites include San Francisco State University’s “Introduction to Multimedia” course, which features excellent design, interactive multimedia, graphics, streaming audio, and chat features (www.cel.sfsu.edu/MSP/msp.html). Also there are many homepages that offer free online courses, like www.learn.com and www.free-ed.net.

Educational Uses of the Internet

The following is a list of different educational uses of Internet. This is not exclusive, but rather a starting point.

Communication: Educators and students use the Internet to communicate when they exchange e-mail, contribute to electronic discussions groups, participate in Internet Relay Chat (“chat rooms”), and use video conferencing. These tools allow Internet users to send and receive messages from one or more people at the same time. The message may include words, pictures, illustrations, sounds, or movies (Education and the Internet 1996).

Collaborative Learning: Collaborative learning involves communication as well as individuals working in a cooperative team (Erkens & Kanselaar 1995). Team members share a common task and/or project. Collaborative projects may be student-based, for example, student-to-student and classroom-to-classroom projects that rely on teamwork established by teachers from different classrooms. Teacher-to-teacher and teacher-to-expert projects provide additional assistance and create a collaborative environment (Story 1996).

Resource Sharing and Information Gathering: Resource sharing consists of publishing information on the Internet for others to view and use. For educators, this includes lesson plans, learner activities, research papers, articles, newsletters, announcements, and school policies. The Web can serve as a gateway to the Internet’s vast resources. Educators and students use the Internet to solve problems, gain knowledge, and research almost any topic (Edwards, Havriluk, and Roblyer 1997).

Presentation Medium: Educators can use electronic presentation aids rather than overhead transparencies. For electronic presentations, users need a personal computer, presentation software (e.g., Adobe Persuasion, ClarisWorks Slideshow, Microsoft PowerPoint), and a projector. Software, hardware, and/or HTML scripting allows electronic presentation aids to be viewed via the Internet.

Interacting with Web Applications: With the Web’s multimedia capabilities, Web pages are being developed in such a way that users can input data and receive an output or a product. Search engines and dictionaries are examples of such interaction. Internet users can obtain e-mail addresses, interact with “live” animation, take virtual museum tours, locate an individual’s phone numbers, play games, and create their own Web pages. Feedback and assessment can be used to monitor student progress, control the learning pace, and evaluate teaching strategies. Using HTML Forms is a simple but powerful way to collect student feedback and control it to improve teaching. Forms collect data from students using Web-based course materials. Student feedback provides instructors an informed evaluation of their teaching. By using this evaluation method, instructors can get immediate feedback on course material, teaching style, and student progress. After this, they can make the necessary adjustments.

Interactive Multimedia Technologies

Every day Netscape, Microsoft, or another company announces an exciting new piece of technology that will deliver audio, animation, 3-D graphics, or allow one to wander through virtual spaces on the Web for free. Some of these are Live Audio, Shockwave, Java, Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), Active X, and QuickTime Video.

What is new about such technologies? Physics teachers using Java created an applet for projectile motion that allows users to set the launch angle and coefficient of linear air resistance.

It then animates the body’s trajectory and calculates some of its properties numerically. (http://www3.adnc.com/~topquark/fun/applets.html.) What’s new and fascinating about such applets is that they offer hard-to-do simulations of physical events, are free, can be demonstrated on several computer operating systems, are highly interactive, and can be accessed at any time by anyone in the world with an Internet connection.

What would an interactive multimedia course module delivered over the Web look like? Physics teachers could videotape real-world phenomena depicting certain laws of physics, for example, the Ferris wheel and the “whip” for circular motion. They could supplement the video with audio lecture material, allow students to manipulate variables in a Java program, use VRML to create 3-D walk-through virtual models of how the laws of projectile motion apply, animate the behavior of balls on a track, conduct a synchronous two-way conversation with one student or the entire class via chat lines, correspond with individual students asynchronously via e-mail, and then quiz and grade students using online interactive exams.

Are there other reasons for using multimedia in teaching? The power of multimedia to impact learning positively can be seen in physics. Laws of physics that run counter to students’ commonsense notions of how the world works provide a stimulating catalyst for further investigation. In “The Initial Knowledge State of College Physics Students” (Journal of Physics 1986), I. A. Halloun and D. Hestenes demonstrated that freshman physics students’ intuitive notions of the behavior of a ball leaving a track are often contrary to the laws of circular motion, a major topic in freshman physics.

Other research indicates that these misconceptions may be overcome through video and animation. In one experiment conducted at the University of Massachusetts, the path of a ball on a circled track was videotaped. A segment of the track then was removed, and another video segment captured the ball’s path as it was about to leave the track. When queried at this point as to where the ball would go next, many students get stuck: their instinctive senses tell them it will go off in an upward path or a downward, not the straight-ahead path that it actually takes. A third video segment showed the actual straight-lined path of the ball leaving the track. An animation done in Director and then put on the Web with Shockwave showed that a circle is really composed of an infinite number of straight lines, and that when the ball hits one of them it goes off in a straight line. This straight-line path is, in fact, counterintuitive to many students. Using these multimedia supplements to regular course materials could improve test grades significantly. Web-based course materials are being used extensively to provide supplementary as well as standalone instruction in educational settings. One of the Web’s most powerful elements is its ability to engage learners in an interactive format. Although many technologies allow teachers to develop interactive Web course materials and receive student feedback, many continue to use the Web only for distributing static documents. This severely limits its potential to improve the teaching-learning process. Most education Web sites provide such basic course information as syllabus, schedule, announcements, and reading lists. Others include synchronous or asynchronous communication, online testing, discussion groups, conferences, bulletin boards, and streaming audio and video. These materials are available for courses that meet in classrooms regularly and use Web materials as supplementary tools, as well as for courses delivered entirely over the Web and without any traditional classroom meetings.

Web Interactivity

Web interactivity helps engage students in the active application of knowledge, principles, and values. It also provides them with feedback that allows their understanding to grow and evolve. Chickering and Ehrmann (1998) suggest that while using technology to teach, educators should avoid didactic materials and search for technology-assisted solutions that are interactive, problem-oriented, and motivate students. Students can either read or print a static Web page; with an interactive Web page, they can interact with content, other students, and instructors, as well as participate in discussion groups, quiz questions, simulation program, conferencing, live chat, or fill out a feedback form. This Web-based informal assessment represents a cognitive behavior-modification technique designed to help students develop goal-setting behavior, planning, and self-monitoring. It also allows them to master concepts (Good and Brophy 1995). For example, students can regulate and monitor their own learning in a sequential and constructive fashion as they respond to the questions and receive ongoing feedback. In traditional, as well as Web-based courses, there is a gap between what is taught and what is learned. Reid (1997) mentions that methods of assessing the teaching and learning experience in online education are in high demand but short supply. No existing measurement adequately evaluates how well a teacher performs in a virtual classroom. Angelo and Cross (1993) observed that by cooperating in assessment, students reinforce their grasp of course content and strengthen their own self-assessment skills. Furthermore, student motivation is increased when they realize that teachers are interested in their success as learners. Teachers can empower themselves by using technologies to facilitate a proven educational process of receiving and acting on feedback from learners. This will lead to pedagogical improvements in interactive Web environments for assisting teaching and promoting learning.

Top Educational Resources on the Web

Education World (www.education-world.com): A free resource for primary and secondary school educators. It includes lesson plans, articles by education experts, and information on using technology in the classroom. Developed by people with backgrounds in education, the site contains more than 8,000 pages, a weekly e-zine, and a searchable database of over 115,000 education links. Strength: a well-organized interface to the world of primary and secondary education; original material and good annotations. Weakness: needs more quality evaluation of the links so that educators are guided toward the most valuable resources. GSN (http://www.gsn.org): Global School Net Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the instructional application of telecommunications at the primary and secondary school levels. It includes a registry of the best curriculum projects, tutorials, articles about Internet use in the classroom, news and discussion, and events and contests. It also includes a link to the collaborative project with Microsoft to create a comprehensive site for education resources on the Internet. Strength: appealing interface; good selections from many sources. Weakness: inconsistent design does not do justice to the depth and breadth of offerings. Blue Web’n (http: //www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn): This is a library of Internet-based instructional information for primary and secondary school levels. You can search this database quickly by audience type, application type, content area, and other search terms. It contains activities, lessons, references, tools, and projects listed for a variety of educational audiences, and is part of the Pacific Bell initiative (Education First) and umbrella program to benefit education (Knowledge Network). Strength: quick way to search for lessons and resources; good method for reviews of resources; Weakness: a bit over-generous with the ratings stars, caveat surfer. AskERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) (http://ericir.syr.edu): ERIC is a clearinghouse on information and technology. Its collection of education-related resources is funded by the American government. AskERIC includes a question-and-answer service, a virtual library, and a research and development team. Collections are well-organized and frequently updated. Strength: broad coverage of many educational topics; extensive support for educators. Weakness: graphic slab design of Web; coverage is not deep in all areas; some resources are outdated. EDUCAUSE (http://www.educause.edu/): This association manages and uses information technology in higher education. The site includes a discussion of current issues, conference information, professional development, publications, information services, and collaborative alliances with other organizations. It focuses on the future of higher education in the information age. Strength: this site is well organized and has breadth and depth; Weakness: not all content is available online.

References

Angelo, T., and K. Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. 2d ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993. Chickering, A., and S. Ehrmann. “Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever.” Retrieved November 3, 1998 from www.tltgroup.org/resources/darticles.html Edwards, J., M. A. Havriluk, and M. D. Roblyer, M. D. (1997). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997. Erkins, G., and G. Kanselaar. “A Cooperative System for Collaborative Problem Solving.” 1995. http://www-cscl95.indiana.edu/cscl95/kanselaar.html Good, T. L. and J. Brophy. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 1995 Knuth, R. A., and D. J. Cunningham. “Tools for Constructivism.” In T. Duffy, J. Lowych, and D. Jonassen (Eds.), Designing Environments for Constructivist Learning. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1993, 163-87. Reid, J., Jr. “Measurements in Online Study: Items Useful in Quantifying Pedagogical, Social and Technical Issues.” 1997. Retrieved November 3, 1998 from www.caso.com/articles/reid05.html Story, D. “World Wide Web 101.” 1996. www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/M2311.cfm

According to statistics, there were as many as 123,759 overseas students in publicly financed British higher education institutions in the academic year 1977/78 (BCSOS, 1977-78, pp.6-7). Following the introduction of full-cost fees, the number fell to 88,037 in 1979 and then to 56,121 in 1984 (OST, 1987, p.17).

Since the mid-1980s the number of overseas students has been rising gradually (see table below). According to the latest available detailed statistics, the total number of overseas students in publicly financed British higher education stood at 92,100 in 1991, an increase of 9 percent on the figure for 1990 (DFE, 1993, Tables 1 and 6). It must be noted that these figures do not cover private sector colleges, whose overseas students are almost as numerous as those in publicly-financed institutions. According to a 1985 study, the full-time equivalent number of overseas students was 86,500. The fact that the number of first-year higher education student numbers in 1991 rose by 16 per cent indicates that the growth in total numbers may have continued over the following years (DFE, 1993, Tables 2 and 3).

The majority of undergraduate students are privately financed, mainly by their parents. The post-graduate students are mostly financed by public bodies, such as overseas governments, as well as by international institutions, such as the British Council. The number of British government- funded overseas students and trainees in the UK was 17,400 in 1985. As well as regular higher education, a considerable number come to Britain for language courses, mainly private, and for other courses of which details are not available.

The status of English as the international language, combined with other comparative advantages of Britain (relatively to other student recruiting countries), such as its being technologically advanced and its extensive counselling programmes for overseas students, have helped it to draw sizeable numbers of talented post- graduates as well as undergraduates into its educational system. It seems that Britain is increasingly moving towards the idea of importing the ‘best and brightest brains’ as an energy source for its educational and other institutions (Chandler, 1989, p.7). This policy resulted in the doubling between 1980 and 1986 of the number of awards under the Overseas Research Students Awards Program (ORSAS). The holders of an ORSAS award, which covers the difference between home cost’ and ‘full-cost’ fees for a particular course of study, constitute approximately 20 percent of the post-graduate research students in British universities (Chandler, 1989, ph). The administration of foreign student policy in Britain, within the broad framework set up by the government, rests with the higher educational institutions and with the British Council as the ‘marketing arm’ of British higher education and culture abroad (Chandler, 1989, p.7).

Growing emphasis has been placed on the short-term economic benefits foreign students confer as ‘tourists’ bringing in foreign currency. British sources estimated the income earned from foreign students through the fees they pay and through their own and their families’ expenditures for food, clothing, accommodation etc., at more than 1 billion a year – one-sixth of total tourist expenditures (OST, 1987, p.78). The profit comes from the difference between the full-cost fees that foreign students pay and the marginal costs they represent. The figure is likely to rise as a result of the increase in fee levels and the increase in the expenditure.

In British educational institutions, overseas students have come to be viewed as an important source of income, and as ‘cheap postgraduate labour’ (Williams et al, 1987, p.9). Apart from the educational and foreign policy benefits that overseas students provide (see below), it is interesting to note that overseas students, particularly in technical and scientific fields, constitute a double financial benefit for the British institutions: firstly, because of the high level of fees they pay (around 8- 10,000), and secondly, by providing cheap post-graduate labour for research carried out by the universities. Otherwise, universities would have to employ or recruit from abroad research assistants, at salaries of around 15-20,000 annually. It is increasingly spelt out that a university or a polytechnic is the poorer if it does not have at least 5 percent of its students from overseas (OST, 1987, p.5).

The Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 allowed polytechnics and colleges to attain university status on the condition that their educational provision met specified standards. Following this, some 40 polytechnics and colleges have been granted university status recently (DPE, 1993, point 34). In addition to other educational considerations, it is likely that one of the underlying reasons for Parliament’s allowing this to happen is to attract more overseas students to institutions which they had once regarded as inferior to universities.

In addition to direct benefits, the eventual cost-benefits of overseas students in trade and diplomatic relations have become increasingly important. This was frankly stated by Sir Anthony Parsons as follows: ‘If you are thoroughly familiar with someone else’s language and literature, if you know and love the country, the arts, the people, you will be instinctively disposed to buy goods from them rather than from a less well-known source, to support them actively when you consider them to be right, and to avoid criticizing them too fiercely when you regard them as wrong’ (Parsons, 1984). With the realization that Britain is no longer a major economic and military power, emphasis has been put on a reassessment of national assets and a greater awareness of the influence which British cultural patrimony can exercise (Malcolm, 1987, p.38). The policy debate, both nationally and in educational institutions, has focused primarily on the financial as well as on the educational benefits of the presence of overseas students.

Among the educational benefits which overseas students bring are (OST, 1990):

a) contributing to cultural enrichment;

b) testing general intellectual assumptions;

c) contributing knowledge and experience to specific courses;

d) improving pedagogical provision and contributing to staff development;

e) raising academic standards among home students;

f) helping to maintain course viability;

g) helping to maintain research capability.

In particular, there are courses in many institutions which would not be viable due to low demand from home students. Sometimes whole departments depend on overseas students for this reason. Thus, overseas students can allow an institution to offer a range of courses, a variety of academic provision, to the benefit of home students whose choice might otherwise be limited. The proportion of post-graduate overseas students in publicly-funded higher education institutions in Britain was 33 percent in 1981 and 36 percent in both 1990 and 1991 (DFB, 1993, Table 1).

Secondly, the strength of British universities in research often determines the success of their links with commerce and industry, which in turn largely depends on their international reputation in the field. The severe shortage of British research postgraduates poses a threat to many research projects, particularly in laboratory subjects. Consequently, overseas research students, who are usually of very high quality, are a valued asset, as they often maintain an institution’s research capability, its academic reputation and financial security.

The level of human resources will undoubtedly become an issue of increasing importance for the UK as well as other student recruiting countries, as highly trained scientific and technical personnel continue to affect worldwide economic and scientific growth. Human resource needs will have to be met across national boundaries. Developed countries, also, require increasing numbers of highly trained and specialized researchers and technologists, who can originate new products and services.

In the discussion of overseas students policy, various idealistic and pragmatic arguments have been put forward. These arguments for the import of foreign students are closely interconnected in a way that reflects the reality. Phrases like ‘cultural diversity’, ‘internationalism’, ‘cultural diplomacy’, technology transfer’, ‘cultural transfer’, ‘money-making’, etc., are some of the symbolic explanations of that reality. One observer has commented: ‘The relations between North and South are not primarily those of obligation or charity, but of mutuality of interest and of interdependence. Britain has her own interest in ensuring that development takes place in a peaceful and orderly manner. As a nation living by trade and the selling of services, and as the holder of considerable investment overseas, Britain… has a stake in political stability abroad and the fostering of international understanding’ (Williams, 1982, p.16).

The mutuality of need, rather than any other single factor, and rather than concepts of either obligation or opportunity, determines the continued importance of foreign students and of constructive and realistic foreign student policies (Chandler, 1989, pp. ix-x).

This ‘mutuality’ is a fairly one-sided benefit fully exploited by the receiving countries. Despite the fact that each individual student, more or less, pursues his or her aim and achieves the qualifications necessary, this success is, nevertheless, bound to remain on a micro level. The governments of the sending countries, in general, lack policies to channel and co-ordinate these endeavours into a single, sound, overall mechanism at a macro level in their own countries. The sending countries must, therefore, formulate appropriate policies and implement them. How that’s to be done is a separate question beyond the scope of the present discussion.