Trump turns off Asian students

In Southeast Asian countries, around 40 percent of students interested in studying overseas said they would likely cross the U.S. off their list if Donald Trump became president, revealed a recent study.

And Canada is one of alternative leading destinations for these students, the study found.

In a survey involving more than 40,000 students from 118 countries, 60 percent reported that they would be less likely to choose the U.S. as a study destination if Trump, the Republican candidate, were elected as president in November.

Conversely, only 4 percent of respondents said they would probably not study in the U.S. if Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, won the election.

The survey was carried out by FPP Edu Media, a Brazil-based study fair organizer, and Intead, a student recruitment specialist firm based in the U.S.

CEO of Intead, Ben Waxman, told The PIE News that the figures should not be taken face value, but maintained that an impact would still be felt.

“I have no illusions that 60 percent would really not come if Donald Trump were elected president; it won’t be that dramatic,” he said.

“But even if a sliver of that – if 10 percent say, ‘You know what, that’s not where I want to be’, that’s huge.”

The study calculated that a Trump presidency could cost the U.S. up to US$4.75 billion in economic contributions from international students, based on the IIE Open Door calculation that estimates each international student’s contribution to the country’s economy comes up to an average of US$31,000.

Southeast Asian students were not as strong in their disdain of Trump compared to other regions, such as Central and South America.

While most countries in the region had up to 40 percent of students saying they would be put off from studying in the U.S. if Trump won, Thai students were more tolerant, as only 25 percent said they would study elsewhere.

Malaysia turned out to have the most students in the region that did not support Clinton, with 8 percent saying they would be discouraged from studying in the U.S. if she was elected president.

When it comes to the competitive world of international student recruitment, Waxman said if Trump won, the U.S.’s loss would be huge gain to its competitors.

“If Donald Trump is elected, the U.K., Canada, Australia all win big time, because if they’re studying abroad, the Southeast Asian students will go to Australia, and the Mexicans and the U.K. students will go to Canada or the U.K.,” he said.

Trump has staked out uncompromising positions on Asia policy that could potentially strain U.S. relations with the region if he wins the White House.

He says China is ripping off America in trade and should be slapped with a fat import tax. And he claims U.S. military allies Japan and South Korea are freeloading and need to pull their weight. The pan-Pacific trade pact negotiated by the Obama administration is a “total disaster.”

That’s already prompted some sharp commentary from usually friendly countries in Asia, and expressions of contempt from Republican foreign policy hands who have vowed to oppose Trump.

UniversityAffairs.ca has been urging Ottawa to take quick action on international students to boost Canada’s economic competitiveness

Kareem El-Assal an education and immigration research associate at the National Immigration Centre of the Conference Board of Canada said if we don’t move quickly, Canada risks seeing many of these young, bright minds take their talents elsewhere.

In an op-ed he wrote ambitious, skilled and often multilingual, international students are a great source of talent.

They fill jobs and create new ones through innovation and entrepreneurship — Silicon Valley is a prominent, international example. Research by the Conference Board of Canada shows immigrants help expand and diversify Canada’s global trade. International students could do the same, helping Canada trade in markets such as Asia, where economic growth is greater than in the U.S. and EU — Canada’s largest trading partners.

However, ensuring Canada fully benefits from the skills, global connections and experience of its international students requires quick action on the following issues, wrote Kareem El-Assal on UniversityAffairs.ca

Canada’s international student population — 356,600 — has doubled over the past decade. However, Canada’s study visa processing times have increased and lag behind competitor nations. In a recent global survey, recruitment agents viewed Canada as one of the most attractive international student destinations, yet also cited it as the country with the most study visa difficulties. This could be harming Canada’s efforts to attract more international students.

Canada is taking action to ensure study visas are processed in a timely manner. More visa application centres have opened abroad and Canada is implementing modernization initiatives such as electronic processing of visas. Canada will need to continue such efforts to avoid losing out on prospective international students who may choose to study elsewhere.

Conference Board research reveals that international students are often unable to receive adequate settlement services, such as language training. Part of the reason is that financially constrained governments cannot provide settlements services to all international students who require them. This ties into another challenge that international students frequently experience: difficulties establishing social networks.

One potential solution is to earmark more government settlement funds for highly skilled international students, such as medical students, who would offer tremendous long-term benefits to Canada if they were to attain permanent residence (PR). Taking a targeted approach would help control costs and improve Canada’s efforts to settle, integrate, and retain international students who possess critical skills.

A 2015 survey found that 51 percent of Canada’s international students intend to apply for PR upon completion of their studies. However, international students typically find it difficult to attain PR. In 2015, the median Express Entry score for an international student was 408 points — short of the 450 points needed to apply for PR.

Research shows that international students who transition to PR tend to fare well in the economy and that age and education are the best predictors of immigrant earnings over the long run — the younger and more educated an immigrant is, the more they are likely to earn.

Based on the evidence, it makes economic sense for Canada to provide PR to more international students who are young, well educated, and ambitious. Taking concerted policy action, for example by giving international students 50 additional Express Entry points for being a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary institution, would help ensure more international students attain PR.

In light of Canada’s pressing demographic challenges and growing international student population — many of whom want to make a life in Canada — time is of the essence. Without quick action, Canada risks seeing many of these young, bright minds take their talents elsewhere — which would be a great lost opportunity. Acting now will help ensure that today’s international students become the skilled workers, innovators, entrepreneurs and exporters of Canada’s 21st-century economy.