03/08/2007: Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Harty Remarks at the University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka


As Prepared for Delivery

Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
Maura Harty

Welcoming International Students to the United States
Remarks at the University of Colombo
Colombo, Sri Lanka

March 8, 2007
5:00 – 6:15 p.m.
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It is a great pleasure for me to be here today, to talk to you about the value of studying in the United States, and to invite you to consider furthering your education in my country.  In support of my invitation, I would like to discuss the efforts of the Department of State to maintain the warm welcome we have traditionally offered to international visitors, especially students and exchange visitors.
 
I am delighted by this opportunity to visit Sri Lanka and the University of Colombo.  I arrived in Sri Lanka this morning.  Before coming here, I met with my colleagues at the Embassy to thank them for their efforts to help American and Sri Lankan citizens in the aftermath of the terrible tsunami of December 2004, and with American consular officers working throughout South Asia.  Yesterday, I was in Turkey to meet with government and business leaders as well as student advisers.

But I have been looking forward all week to this opportunity to talk with you.  To those of you who are considering study abroad, I believe that you can make no better choice than to study in the United States.  The excellence and diversity of our educational, scientific and research institutions is, I think, unrivaled.  We honor the contributions that foreign students make to our academic institutions and our nation as a whole during their time in the United States.  In fact, we’d like to see even more of it.

As students at the oldest and most prestigious university in Sri Lanka, with over 9,000 classmates, you are fortunate to be in the midst of a dynamic, diverse intellectual environment here at the University of Colombo.  Many of our Sri Lankan colleagues at the Embassy are proud graduates of the University of Colombo.  You’re also part of a tradition of strong educational links with the United States.  I was pleased to learn that nearly 2,000 Sri Lankan students are studying in the United States this semester, some of them from this very campus.

I know that your families and your country place a high value on education.  Sri Lanka’s literacy rate of 93 percent is to be envied.  Your leaders have the ambitious – but attainable – goal of raising that to 100 percent by 2010.  The United States strongly supports that goal.  Through USAID, we have invested $368,000 to train 150 teachers in computer-based English learning at eight centers around Sri Lanka, and under the Access micro-scholarship program, 156 Sri Lankan teenagers receive two years of English instruction at Gateway Language Centers.  In addition, my government is working to rehabilitate nine vocational education centers; to upgrade computer-based English literacy; and to bring the internet to rural areas.

We do these things because we know that our nations share a common belief in the multiplier effect of education.  Sri Lanka graduates a remarkable number of young people ready and qualified for higher education.  I understand 119,000 Sri Lankan students passed their recent A-level exams.  That figure shows that the education system here produces results.  And as a result, you and other successful Sri Lankan students have options and many places to pursue your education.  I hope one option you will consider – and act upon – is studying in my country.

There are lots of reasons for you to consider this option.  One is the enormous choice available to you.  There are some 4,000 institutions of higher learning in the United States.  The sheer variety – in size, location, type of institution and academic programs offered – is immense.  Whatever your interests, whatever you’re looking for in a study abroad experience, there is a program and a place for you in America.

The quality of American higher education is unparalleled.  American colleges and universities have world-renowned programs.  You can have access to faculty who are at the top of their field, and some of the brightest minds and researchers from all over the world.  Many have state-of-the-art academic, research and athletic facilities, and libraries with internationally recognized collections.  Accreditation ensures that these institutions continue to maintain these standards and quality.

Along with choice and quality comes flexibility.  You can, for example, start at a two-year community college and then transfer to a four-year institution.  You can get English language training, and then continue with an academic program.  You can change programs or even schools if your academic career leads you to a path you didn’t foresee at the outset.  Many institutions have arrangements that allow students to take classes at and use the resources of other colleges and universities.

In the United States, you are encouraged to tailor your program and studies to your desires, interests and goals.  Students are expected to explore, question, and participate actively in shaping their learning process.  These are the skills today’s graduates need to succeed in tomorrow’s dynamic, competitive job market.

But perhaps the greatest reason is the incomparable experience of life on a college campus in America.  Our colleges and universities have a vibrant student life, with a wide range of activities – clubs, internships, social, cultural, and athletic events – to match your interests.  You will find a community, make friends, and develop professional and personal contacts that will stay with you the rest of your life.

The best way to get to know and understand America and Americans is to spend time with us, to work and play and study and live with us.  To experience America for yourself and with your own senses, rather than through media reports, word of mouth, or someone at a podium telling you what America is like.  The best advertisement for America is America.  And one of the best ways I know to experience America is by studying there.

In addition to promoting education and exchange programs, the organization in the Department of State that I lead – the Bureau of Consular Affairs – has another major responsibility regarding international education.  Our bureau is responsible for the adjudication and issuance of student visas.  I hope my message to you today is clear.  The United States welcomes international students.

The context for all of our work regarding all types of visas is, quite simply, September 11, 2001.  Without question, the United States changed irrevocably on that day, when citizens from my country and more than 90 others – including Sri Lanka – lost their lives in a brutal act of terrorism.  Sadly, the people of Sri Lanka know only too well the scourge of terrorism.  I think that all persons of good will can appreciate that we needed to move swiftly to address our security concerns, and do the right thing to reassure American citizens and international visitors alike that the United States was safe and secure. 

You might have heard that, since September 11, the changes to visa policy that the U.S. Government has implemented have also made it more difficult to travel to the U.S.  You may have heard some say that these changes have made it harder to get a visa, or that we somehow discourage students from coming to America.  I deeply regret that some people have that impression.  I am here to say, emphatically, that it is false.

Although security must always be our first priority, we work every day to see that access to our country remains possible for legitimate travelers whose presence we encourage and value.  Our actions are guided by a deep and abiding commitment to maintaining the openness of the United States; a commitment founded in the history of our nation.  This fundamental commitment to maintaining the essential openness of the United States underpins our approach to border security and immigration. 

There’s a powerful reason why we in the State Department are such strong supporters of international education.  You may not have heard it put this way, but international education is a national security issue.  Close to 600,000 international students in the United States right now are contributing $13 billion to the academic institutions they attend, and the surrounding communities in which they live. 

But of course it’s about much more than money.  It’s about fostering understanding among members of the next generation from both of our nations.  When Sri Lankan students studying in the United States return home and become social, civic or political leaders here, we hope they will think fondly of my country.  Where you study can influence your job, your investments, your vote, where you send your own kids to study.  And you also can have a profound effect on American thinking; each of you who studies abroad is an ambassador for your nation.  This is how international understanding is born.

Worldwide, more than 200 alumni of U.S. exchange programs have become heads of state or government, or influential leaders in their home countries.  The presidents of Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines, to name a few, studied in the United States.  So did former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.  We want more Sri Lankans to join that prestigious honor roll.

Students in Sri Lanka are great student visa applicants.  The reasons are simple.  As you know only too well, the Sri Lankan education system is rigorous.  Success in such an environment requires students to be serious about their studies.  If you have made it through that system, the chances are excellent that you will thrive at a U.S. institution.
 
Our welcome mat is out and I sincerely hope you will consider studying in the United States.  I invite you to consult the website, www.educationusa.state.gov, which has a wealth of information on educational opportunities in the United States for students at all levels.  The Fulbright Association and the U.S. Embassy in Colombo are also excellent resources for you to learn more about the educational and cultural opportunities available to you in the United States.  Embassy personnel are readily available and try to attend student fairs and other events whenever possible. 

My hope is that, if you are considering a college or university outside Sri Lanka, you consider the United States.  My pledge is that our door will be open.  When you decide to study in the U.S., we will support you by giving you prompt, courteous and efficient customer service.

I hope I have succeeded in giving you a glimpse of what study abroad in America can hold for you.  I hope as well that you will be inspired to come see it for yourself.

You are already off to an excellent start of your academic careers.  The knowledge, skills and experiences you gain here will carry you wherever your goals and dreams want you to go.  It is up to each of you to determine that direction.  I hope it will take you at some point to my country.  But wherever it leads, I wish you well on the journey.

Thank you again for this opportunity.  Now, if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.