Sample Research Proposal On Who Profits From International Education?

International Tuition

Introduction
Going to college in an international university or a foreign country is so lucrative that every scholar would fall for the first call towards this. The benefits might be varied: ranging from expanded socialization and exposure, getting quality training in different fields, exposure to admirable employment openings among other personal benefits. However, international tuition comes with some challenges that may discourage this very important aspect of education. It is universally accepted that the expenses of a foreign student is possibly higher than those of the local students (Gwenda 195). This might because of the travel expenses and logistics of citizenship that the local counterparts do not have to go through.
The concern of this paper is not on the obvious costs that come with foreign education but on the tuition fees. There are universities that charge way too much fee on the foreign students that is reasonable. Most universities have even experienced strikes from foreign students who felt they were being overcharged for tuition. It is not proper to take advantage of students just by the mere reason that they are foreigners: both the local students and the foreign ones are taught similar things and the pricing should be closer to each other if not the same. This vile of making education a business venture for the universities is widespread in many countries such as Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, the United States and Canada amongst other countries. Domestic students’ fees are much lower than the international students’ fees in these countries. It is saddening that instead of using education to bring education in regions and on the globe as a whole, some countries now see international education as an integral source of income and an economic pillar for them. The questions to ask therefore are:

Is it advantageous for a student to study outside his/her country?
What really is the use of education in the economy?
Is it fair to charge international students up to three times the tuition fees
This proposal seeks to study the reasons for the high charges imposed on international students in the academic institutions without their countries. The other point of interest would be the feeling and reaction of the international students about the costs they have to pay to go to school.

Literature Review

There is an article written by Denise Hansen, a Canadian, entitled International students pay high tuition but there are a few loan options to look into. The article submits the plea of foreign students who advocate for reduction of tuition fee to an affordable level so that they can easily learn. The cost of acquiring tertiary education in Canada, however, is still a steep cost as the international students still pay up to four times the fee paid by local students. It is saddening that even before students join any tertiary institution in Canada, he/she must provide a proof of financial source. This is not right because there are other sources of help that the students could explore once he joins the institution. Even with the financial help, there are limitations as the foreigners have very limited authentic financial aid that they could explore in times of need. Different countries may have to research on the financial aids available for the international students in their respect countries. Scholarship arrangements and bursaries would help to reduce the cost of studying abroad for students. Seeking to help students with their fee even from the country from which they come would increase enrolment in the same institutions. Some of the sources of help include: emergency bursaries, scholarships, grants, awards, funds in part and emergency loans.
The second article is written by Michelle Twomey of St. Thomas University Journalism club. In his submission, Thomas agrees that foreign students are charged much more for tuition in most of the universities. Sadly, the students, who are attracted to the university because of the serenity of the city, the small class sizes and an expectedly good experience in a foreign land, later meet with high expenses they cannot afford. The foreign students in St. Thomas University pay three times more money to study there. According to the students, this aspect discourages many people from enrolling to study abroad as some students also opt to return back home to finish their studies. Most of the foreign students are from higher middle class and may not be afford the increased fee easily except by scholarship or employment. Basically, the rates charged in Canada are quite higher than any other country for international tuition.
“International students: Separate but profitable”, this seems to be Paul Stephens’ slogan as much as it the heading for his article. In his submission, Paul narrates the process that foreign students that students go through and the expenses thereof before joining the university. Universities in the UK have made efforts to increase the enrolment of international students because of the diversities brought about by the students. However, there are complains that the universities charge a lot of fees on the students. The universities have focused on the gain from international students such that the local students are no longer a priority of enrolment. The money brought by foreign students in the United States, for example, is about $22 billion annually. This makes international tuition one of the highest paying ‘exports’ in the U.S. Even leaders in high positions of power recommend international education for sustainable economic growth. It therefore means that universities may not be afraid to charge as much fees as they can think because the government seems to support it.
In the submission of OECD, the main obstacle that even rights activists face is the support of the fee by the people in government. It is rare to win against the government with their policies and legislative support. The fee paid by the foreign students can be increased by the universities at any time and season without consultation or prior notification. In Purdue, students woke up to the increase of their fee to double the amount: from $1000 to $2000. Though there were protests against the act by the continuing foreign students, nothing changed: instead, more foreign students applied to join the university. Today, more entities seem eager to make the most of the foreign students: even the industrialization sector would like the students to remain in the countries after study for work.

The Argument

There are debatable questions about the discrepancies of college fees being charged on the international students: the fairness in this provision is at stake and there is a sound of uproar against the ill treatment. Education should be universal and void of racial, tribal or historical bounds: high price charging on a group of people pegged ‘foreign’ should be highly discouraged. So far, there has not been a properly stated rationale as to why the international should e charged higher than their counterparts. Educations have no limitations in it, but the differential costs poses as a dividing factor between the local and international students.
According to me, this makes s education in the foreign countries a dividing factor rather than the unifying factor that it ought to be. There ought to be policies in different that govern enrolment, migration of citizens and the rights of international students in the institutions of higher learning. It appears that the voices of protesting foreign students are too low or would never be heard: legislation would be helpful in this case. Though it is reasonable that foreigners would pay more for the same thing against the local population, charging three times the price is exploitative. There is a policy that the courses with low demand elasticity should be charged higher than the courses with elastic demand levels.
Apart from the high fees foreigners ought to have equal access to financial aids given to those in need for tuition. Even in the midst of high tuition charges for foreigners, the quality of the education services should be high and maintained as so. Other factors that could be considered in setting the tuition costs include mode of study and majoring of the schools and courses (Gwenda 196). Those enrolled in majors might be charged higher than those in minor courses.

Works Cited

Hansen, Denise. “International students pay high tuition but there are a few loan options to look into”. Canadian Immigrant 20 September, 2011. Print.
OECD. Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2014. Print.
Stephens, Paul. “International Students: Separate but Profitable”. The Washington Monthly 27 August, 2013. Print.
Twomey, Michele. “International Students Pay More Fees”. The New Brunswick Beacon 21 September, 2011. Print.
Thomas, Gwenda. Students' money matters 2006: the indispensable guide to student finance. Richmond: Trotman, 2006. Print.