Arizona has spent years winning the race for investment. We cannot afford to lose the race for talent.
A recent Arizona Republic story reported that international student enrollment is falling across the state's public universities, including a projected decline of roughly 3,000 international students at ASU this fall. The University of Arizona expects enrollment to fall more than 5 percent. Northern Arizona University, which has a smaller international footprint to begin with, is bracing for a decline of nearly 45 percent.
Put a dollar figure on it and you get $80.8 million, the estimated hit to Arizona's economy this school year alone in lost tuition, rent, groceries and everything else international students spend money on here.
But the even
bigger cost may come years from now, when Arizona employers are looking for the engineers, researchers and technical talent who chose to build their careers somewhere else.
Arizona didn't build its economy by accident. We went out and won semiconductor plants, aerospace suppliers, bioscience labs and advanced manufacturing because we made the case that this is where companies can find the people they need to grow. International students are part of our pitch. They train in the labs and classrooms that feed our research universities, and many go on to build careers, start companies and fill the technical jobs Arizona employers are struggling to hire for right now.
String two years of enrollment declines together, and this stops looking like a university problem and starts looking like a workforce problem.
Nationally, the number of international first-year applicants using the Common App fell 10 percent this year. And one recent analysis projects the U.S. could see 111,000 fewer international students overall this year.
Students who might once have chosen the United States are instead enrolling in Germany, South Korea, Japan and other countries. In a global competition for talent, every student we lose is an opportunity another country gains.
Visa appointment delays haven't helped. Neither has the lack of clarity. When a talented 22-year-old with an engineering acceptance letter has to choose between a predictable process abroad and months of uncertainty about whether they can get to an American campus, more of them will choose somewhere else.
None of this means the federal government should ease up on legitimate national security screening. It shouldn't. Vetting visa applicants and protecting the integrity of the system aren't optional, and nobody serious is arguing otherwise.
But security and efficiency aren't in tension. A process can be rigorous and still be efficient, predictable and transparent enough that a student who has already been accepted to an American university isn't left guessing whether they’ll make it to campus by the time classes start.
Right now, too many are getting stuck in that process. Some decide the process isn't worth the risk and enroll somewhere else.
That's the fixable part of this problem, and it's where policymakers should be focused.
Some of the concern about international students goes beyond security and extends to the ideas they may bring with them. That concern gets America backward. Our system is built on freedom, open debate and confidence in our own values. International students do not need to arrive already convinced of America’s virtues. We should be confident enough to let them experience this country for themselves.
ASU still expects to welcome 11,500 international students this fall from 174 countries. That’s not nothing. Those students contribute to research, build relationships here and strengthen the connections between Arizona and economies around the world. Some will return home with lasting ties to our state. Others will stay and bring their skills to the industries Arizona has spent years working to attract.
Either way, we only get the benefit if they show up in the first place.
Arizona spent years building an economy that competes globally for capital and companies. We should be just as intentional about competing for the people who make that economy run.
That starts with a system rigorous enough to identify genuine security risks and efficient enough to recognize the talent that can help Arizona thrive.
Danny Seiden is the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona can't afford to lose the global talent race | Opinion
