<p>Yesterday I received a newsletter from the “union” representing academic employees on campus. They had an article about the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which would allegedly require open-market access for foreign providers of service under the jurisdiction of the WTO. The writer says that this would superceed US Federal, state, and local laws. Supposedly the Bush Administration is pushing for the inclusion of all higher education sevrices in the agreement.</p>
<p>The writer says that if education services are included WTO would have authority over faculty goverance; that it might not be possible to restrict public funds to public institutions; that states might be required to fund foreign universities expanding to the US; that scholarship and admissions based on residence might not be allowed; and, that existing accreditation standards night be challenged as restrictive to foreign providers. Although the US proposal retains current US rules on licensing, funding, and scholarships, WTO could allegedly overturn them.</p>
<p>Now all of these seems somewhat overheated. Does anyone out there know what this is about?</p>