International-Education Programs Face Challenges in President's Budget

From http://chronicle.com/article/International-Education/138467

International-Education Programs Face Challenges in President's Budget
By Ian Wilhelm
April 10, 2013

Under President Obama's budget for the 2014 fiscal year, announced on Wednesday, international-education programs would face a gloomy outlook.

The U.S. State Department has requested $309.8-million, a $16.6-million drop from 2013, for academic programs. The Fulbright Program, its flagship academic-exchange effort, would receive $232.5-million, an increase of less than $1-million. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which provides funds for overseas study to undergraduates who receive Pell Grants, would be cut by $2.2-million, to $10.8-million.

The Obama administration is asking for an increase in Title VI funds, which support university centers that conduct research on various regions of the world and foster the study of Bengali, Farsi, and other foreign languages that are rarely taught. The program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Education, would receive $73.5-million in 2014, a $6.9-million increase.

However, the administration did not seek to restore funds that were cut from Title VI in 2011, when it was reduced by some 40 percent.

Read the full article at http://chronicle.com/article/International-Education/138467