<p>Becoming a big source of OOS undergrads too. More competition.</p>
<p>Chinese</a> students arrive at UW-Madison with dreams and fears for their future</p>
<p>Also many other links being established. Maybe they'll take over some UW funding from the sorry state of WI.</p>
<p>Interesting article. The article states “Chinese students and parents rely heavily on the U.S. News & World Report rankings to determine where to apply to college.” OMG that is so true to point of obsession thinking. My S (senior who will be going to UW Madison) has a Chinese classmate who very strong academically and WANTS to go to UW Madison but her parents will not let her even apply. Basically, not good enough in their minds. My D (sophomore in HS) has a best friend born in China. The girl who has straight A’s says “If the get a B, then I will consider Madison.” I don’t think these Chinese parents have a true understanding of curriculum, faculty, etc. They can’t recognize that schools like UW Madison offer top-flight faculty, rigorous courses, and strong placement into graduate/professional schools.</p>
<p>BadgerDad - to be fair, they do not live in America, so there would be no way for them to know about the things that you state some of us do. And chances are that if they try to find jobs in their home country, a school with a name ranked high on the World Report such as Harvard and Stanford will resonate with employers</p>
<p>My examples are from Chinese parents living here in the US with kids who are US citizens. As I mentioned, these examples (and I have heard more) are fellow classmates of my son right here in good old Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Remember, as well, that there is tremendous fraud among Chinese applicants to US schools – I doubt that Wisconsin has the resources to ferret this out and so likely many of the overseas Chinese acceptances will be hopeless once they arrive (no English skills, totally lost). This is even more likely at a State university like Wisconsin, which is a GPA processing mill, far more so than a private university which knows it wants to avoide being gamed by the Chinese and will spend the resources to avoid it.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, the article was referring to fraud of the companies that help students, not the students themselves. I’m at Madison right now, my roommate is from China and I also know a lot of students from China. Contrary to what placido240 thinks, these people are not “completely lost”. English is taught in China as a foreign language. Students must past an English proficiency test. There are also lots of resources here for international students to become accustomed to the culture.</p>
<p>The first article mentions how UW-Stevens Point dropped one Chinese application company after several students had subpar performance. Experience will help Chinese applicants and the US schools- word will get out about companies that a US school won’t deal with.</p>
<p>And where does placido240, who has never posted much here if at all, get that deep knowledge of UW Admissions??? The articles actually indicate they are well aware of the fraud factor and do check for fraud.</p>
<p>Overall, this is good to see, but it’s far from a win-win. For instance, the positive impact that these students will have on diversity only comes about if they actually want to integrate themselves. Without a willingness to do so, the diversity factor becomes a moot point. </p>
<p>Case in point, my roommate when I first came to Madison was a Chinese student who was very poor at speaking English. He was a biochemistry major who was about as anti-social as possible, and it goes without saying that once he graduates he’ll simply return to China with UW, and Wisconsin, gaining basically nothing from his attendance except his out of state tuition, which could have went to an out of state American applicant far more interested in both being a part of UW-Madison and staying in the U.S.</p>
<p>I think the outlook is more long-term. He might go on to be a major leader or business person in China and that can be very advantageous to the UW in the future. Can’t just look at the fast buck here. I also think the OOS cap should be raised. There is no current reason to keep it at 25%. State funding has not kept up with that level of commitment. It should be a two-way street and now it is not. State still wants to control everything but not pay for it. That’s BS.</p>
<p>There is a reason to keep 75% of the students instate- we are educating our future, not the east coast or other parts of the country or world. barrons, you don’t live here- as I understand it you were only here as a student. Read the UW alumni magazine that just came out- the “Wisconsin Idea” includes being a resource for the entire state, not just the students. UW funding includes a lot of services people all over the state benefit from. It is more than just the campus. Don’t try to limit the number of state residents in favor of OOS students. UW in China is supposed to benefit the state, not just the university.</p>
<p>Then PAY for it. Pay for what you get. Don’t freeload off the OOS students. The Wisconsin Idea is the worst articulated hodgepode of BS I have ever read. Being a “resource for the state” is something every state school does without trying to make it something special. There is no disease I know of that is only endemic to Wisconsin so any cures UW comes up with helps people across many borders. Same for ag research and every other thing the UW can do. Now what does happen is local industries will FUND research and profs in areas of special interest and that is fine and also what many state U’s do. So UW does have a dairy research center funded by both state private interests, the state and the feds. And all their work is public and can apply to dairy industries in California, Vermont, or New Zealand as well.
So Wisconsin, time to put up or shut up and just lower the quality as money starts to really decline and with that quality. You cannot have it both ways. If there are good jobs to be had the educated will return. Wisconsin companies are free to recruit at Michigan and Minnesota and Illinois and Northwestern and compete for the best graduates. It might cost them more but that’s the deal they are making. Lower taxes for fewer college graduates in the state. I am getting pretty sick of the Wisconsin population’s attitude of wanting everything and paying for nothing. Good luck with that. It won’t work. The thing they forget or just don’t know is that top people–unlike many of them-- have the ability to go elsewhere and will. And the next generation of profs will listen to what Prof Suri said recently and tell UW to take a hike.
I don’t want that to happen but is certainly could if people like you continue to want it all for nothing.</p>
<p>Wow- you you really have no love for the state. I’m shocked. Too bad, the university should, and will, forever be linked to the state and its people. I don’t know how other states do it but University Extension is beyond the campus borders and there are Agriculture Extension buildings across the state- good for local gardening/landscaping questions. barrons- you may be an almnus who supports UW but you have to realize the university and state come as a package deal. If you dislike us, your problem, not ours. Out here in the Midwest our public flagships are a major part of our states. We don’t have the private schools that predate public education. Perhaps you should learn what your local state school does (or can if you don’t utilize its public services) for you.</p>
<p>whoa. i think what barrons is trying to say goes to the heart of the matter. nearly all state u’s have the equivalent of the WI idea, but UW may have been the first. it is a vital part of the uw and wi. no argument from me there. </p>
<p>what is heart breaking, and i think wis75 you agree, is to see the state cut cut cut the u to the point where it becomes a poor version of itself. it is incredible and a point of great pride that the state of wi has funded the uw so well in the past. amazing that a modest state would create and support such a world class institution. recent interviews with past chancellor donna shalala said as much, when she said the uw was incredible, but relied on a very fragile funding base, without which things would go down fast.</p>
<p>i am an alumni. i do not live in the state of wi anymore, but feel deeply about its success. it pains me to see what is happening in leadership, funding, and what appears to be a less than strong interest by the state’s residents in the uw. maybe the football team only. maybe (i hope) i’m wrong and the residents of wi will recognize that world famous research universities don’t come along every day or every fifty years. there are a lot of states that are more than happy to continue poaching uw faculty thank you very much. </p>
<p>it sucks and i for one want what’s best for the uw. i think we all agree on that.</p>
<p>Yes, pretty much every state has a university extension sites and ag extensions offices. So what? The idea that it’s a big deal because they have one in every county is hardly an example of the “Wisconsin idea”.<br>
I know the university is a big part of the state and they should start treating it like one or it will find a way around that to the extent it can. It already has essentially privatized the UW Hospitals and research could be next as the WID and UW Research Parks and WARF grow the private research side and employs better people that no longer want to work for the state but enjoy Madison and doing their work unencumbered by stupid state rules and handicaps such as might be placed on stem cell research and who knows what else in the future.
And no, I don’t have to support anything else about the state which has gone from a fairly progressive nice place to some sort of rightwing backwater. </p>
<p>Most of UW’s money is smartly held outside the control of the state and the UW System in privately controlled foundations and non-profits. They probably knew you could not trust the state to do well by the UW eventually. That was already proven when the state raided the UW dorm reserve funds and stole millions that was supposed to go to maintain and refurbish the older dorms. Money that came not from the taxpayers but the students through their room and board fees. So don’t tell me how great the state it is. </p>
<p>So the question you did not answer is how low does the state support need to go before the state gives up micro-managing the UW? Right now it is rapidly heading to around 10% from 20% 10 years ago. Do the math.</p>
<p>Interesting arguments, guys. Enjoyed all your posts! Agreed, without extra $$, the university (or everything for that matter) will go down the toilet.</p>
<p>Agree with Barrons, these students who were educated at UW will most likely to have affinity to the university and the state. I know of a guy who used to be at UW as student now a big honcho in China. He contributes to the relationships between China and Wisconsin.</p>
<p>The question I have is this - Is UW-Madison becoming an actual stand-out presence of any sort in China? Or is this news article just another example of the naive, innocent midwesterners being surprised by the “foreigners?” It says that this movement of Chinese students coming here for undergrad is a national trend. Is UW-Madison above or below that trend, and if they are above, does that mean anything long-term in terms of Madison’s growth (both as a university and as a city)?</p>
<p>Yesterday’s Seattle Times regarding their UW. Friends in academia all talk about their U’s making trips to China for students, research partnerships etc…</p>
<p>[Local</a> News | Foreign enrollment skyrockets for UW | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016769522_international15m.html]Local”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016769522_international15m.html)</p>
<p>OK, they updated the “Wisconsin Idea” to something more sensible. I can buy this.</p>
<p>“The Wisconsin Idea is now understood to mean that the university benefits not just those in the state, but around the world.”</p>
<p>From the new ed. of On Wisconsin alum magazine. </p>
<p>UW-Madison as opposed to UW Seattle and other west coast schools/cities will never supplant the west coast cities such as Seattle, Portland, SF and LA that have much longer and deeper historical ties to China. But they can get a good piece of a VERY LARGE pie as it is held in high regard in China due to the high ranking in the China based ARWU rankings which has UW Madison in the Top 20 in the world and #2 in the Midwest after Chicago. In Asia they take these rankings very seriously as they emphasize science and engineering. I am quite pleased they got back into the game under Biddy Martin. </p>
<p>[Academic</a> Ranking of World Universities - 2011| Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2011 | World University Ranking - 2011](<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2011.html]Academic”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2011.html)</p>
<p>Biddy Martin had also made a trip to China for recruiting top Chinese Olympic Champion athletes to study at UW for a semester or two. That had also raised the UW’s profile in China. So, in addition to Wisconsin ginseng, we are also known to have a great school located in the middle of frozen land of cows and cheese…</p>