China v. U.S.A. rivalry could impact higher education

The President of the National University of Singapore warned that the tensions between China and the U.S.A. could impact higher education in Asia. The rivalry between the two super-powers could disrupt research and other collaboration as smaller countries in Asia navigate a path that allows for continuing relations with the two competitors.

While warning of broader problems throughout Asia, the NUS President continues to focus on making sure that his institution is in the best possible position. Concerns for stability and preeminence as an elite institution harken back to the controversy of NUS parting ways with Yale University. The decision was criticized by some as arbitrary and ill-timed but consideration was evidently underway further back than most realized. NUS reported that expansion of curriculum beyond just those enrolled in the Yale-partnered program was the objective. This expansion is underway as well as other innovations such as offering a grade-free year (similar to MIT's first-year strategy). The grade-free year allows students to explore more diverse subjects without the threat of failure while at the same time encouraging students to double-major.

U.S. institutions that have counted on significant enrollment of Chinese students face significant challenges left from the pandemic. As travel restrictions are lifted, recruiters will find changing expectations from prospective Chinese students and families. Shifting federal policies are part of the problem but more important is the loss of confidence in the U.S. as a desirable destination. Recent policy changes invalidating online programs for Chinese students left many of them scrambling for in-person options, which could result in a boost in students from China studying in many other countries.

William C. Kirby's Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China raises important questions about the potential for China to overtake the primacy of U.S.A. higher education. If the U.S.A. wants to maintain world-wide preeminence it must understand that: institutions can improve and/or decline rapidly (so watch out!), sustained ambition is essential, and elite education and national power and world leadership are engaged in a powerful dialectic.

One measure of China's viability in the international higher education world is its ability to attract scholars who are willing to serve as repatriated Chinese or expatriate intellectuals. China is failing this test thus far. The Young Thousand Talents initiative was designed to  draw scholars particularly in STEM fields to China, resulting in the return of many Chinese who studied abroad and did not return to China but stayed in the U.S.A. or other countries to pursue their careers. Chinese authorities claim that YTT is working but others suggest that improvement of the research infrastructure needs to occur first.

In addition to China's inability to attract scholars, U.S. institutions that previously struck agreements to offer branch programs in China are now experiencing more headwinds. The challenges of operating in China is causing institutions such as Duke University to carefully consider whether or not they will conintue.