Iran struggles with too many college graduates

Iran has a unique challenge as it responds to "blind growth" of its universities that has resulted in mass unemployment. Estimates are that one million college graduates are presently unemployed, which undermines the common view of degrees providing enhanced career opportunity. Secondarily, having a large number of more highly educated and employed citizens can result in political unrest that would be a threat to governmental officials. Although Iran is not aligned with other regional governments, its citizens can be quite cosmopolitan and could seek immigration to Gulf and other Islamic countries, which would result in a brain-drain to Iran.

International educators meet in 2023

The 2023 meeting of NAFSA (National Association of Foreign Student Advisors) drew a big crowd in Washington, D.C. - 8,500 in all! The meeting attendance potentially marked coming back from the devastation of the pandemic. Reports of those who attended varied from hopeful to cautious.

Concerns included the reduction of funding for international programs, recruitment in particular, and continuing geopolitical tensions that influence students' willingness to travel or live in a host country. Issues such as these are addressed by individual campuses, with great variation in strategy and success, and leaders of NAFSA want the U.S. to agree to a national strategy around which all institutions can then rally.

The international attendees have been dominated by representatives from China in recent years. 2023 saw a continued decline in Chinese delegates being replaced by multiple countries; those leading the shift include India, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Hefty increases of attending Chinese universities could turn into a disincentive to stay in-country for higher education. Chinese students and scholars are still dominant in U.S. institutions even though there is growing ambivalence in the face of Republican and Democrat concerns about Chinese competition for economic and political prominence.

International education is also a two-way street, with U.S. students' choices in study abroad an important factor. Although numbers are increasing, U.S. study abroad has not rebounded from pre-pandemic levels. A variety of reasons contribute to U.S. students not studying in China in large numbers. While diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China are strained, there are hopes that U.S. students will increasingly take the chance on China as an enriching international education experience.