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  • 1.  As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S. Universities Feel the Sting

    Posted 01-03-2018 08:45
      |   view attached
    The attached NY Times article relates to an issue critical to the long-term health of the statistics profession in the U.S. In fact, all U.S. research.

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    Ralph O'Brien
    Professor of Biostatistics (officially retired; still keenly active)
    Case Western Reserve University
    http://rfuncs.weebly.com/about-ralph-obrien.html
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    Attachment(s)

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    As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S.pdf   176 KB 1 version


  • 2.  RE: As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S. Universities Feel the Sting

    Posted 01-04-2018 09:28
    ​Thanks for sharing! A double whammy in light of the new tax law:

    https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/28/charity-gets-a-jolt-from-tax-law-but-due-to-drop-next-year.html
    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S. Universities Feel the Sting

    Posted 01-05-2018 07:32

    Hi Kelly,

     

    Yes, non-profit organizations are going to face a headwind for 2018 onwards. Given the changes to itemized deductions, the overwhelming majority of individual taxpayers will be taking the standard deduction on their tax returns rather than itemizing and getting a deduction for their donations. Essentially many donors to non-profit organizations will no longer receive an incentive to give that currently exists (a tax subsidy).

     

    However, the below article from the NY Times discusses a possible solution to this problem: "bunching" donations and giving to a donor-advised fund in a single year, and then having the donor-advised fund give to non-profits on a steady basis. This will require donors to have some level of financial sophistication, but it's a viable way forward.

     

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/your-money/tax-plan-donations-charities.html?WT.mc_id=SmartBriefs-Newsletter&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=smartbriefsnl

     

    In short, if a non-profit organization has a savvy development team, and their donor base can be educated, then not all hope is lost.   

     

    Best regards,

     

    Greg

     

     

     

    Please note that I check email once a day and strive to return all messages by the end of the next business day. If urgent, please call or text me at 857.636.1694.

     

    -- 
    Gregory Csikos,     CPA, CFE, GStat
    www.csikoscpa.com | greg@csikoscpa.com

    139A Charles Street, Suite 249

    Boston, MA 02114

    P: 857.636.1694
    F: 857.201.3202


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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S. Universities Feel the Sting

    Posted 01-08-2018 09:07
    ​As with all things, when you think a problem is simple and linear and solvable with a simplistic solution, it is not.  There is always the law of unintended consequences when making expedient and threshold decisions and, unfortunately, we will find out what those consequences are after it is too late.

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    [David] [Raunig]
    [Director, Oncology Imaging]
    [Bristol-Myers Squibb]
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S. Universities Feel the Sting

    Posted 01-09-2018 18:09
    As often is the case with the Manhattan Rag (aka the New York Times), publishes stories which almost always have a one-sided negative bias toward the Trump administration. If your concern for the effects on universities of fewer foreign students is financial, consider this: many foreign (or any) students have assistantships or the like (especially grad students) which pays some or all tuition. Also, tuition never covers the cost of universities, especially large research universities, the remainder (frequently 40% or higher) is paid by federal and state taxpayers (you and me). Thus from a financial perspective, fewer foreign students means a reduction in revenue but an even greater reduction in cost, and a consequent reduction in the amount taxpayers have to subsidize these students. Of course, this argument applies to all students; the difference is that foreign students concentrate in STEM fields (some departments are 80%+ foreign students), and many return to their home after graduation. Thus for these students, the taxpayer is subsidizing the education of a work force for some other country and we are making it harder for our own citizens to get a STEM education or STEM jobs by creating competition. We also reduce the wages of our own citizens and create business competition abroad. (BTW, the scarcity of STEM workers is mostly a myth as many studies have shown).

    One may make other arguments in favor of educating foreign students, but the financial argument is a non-starter.

    So instead of crying crocodile tears for universities, the Rag ought to be asking (for example) why major universities are spending so much money on capital plant and on professors when it is clear to everyone that, in the future, online education will replace many of today's functions of universities, using far fewer teachers and far less physical plant. That is a story worth pursuing, but of course, it doesn't have a negative slant against President Trump ....

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    Terry Meyer
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    Original Message


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