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1. 
   Prairie said: On July 24, 2011 at 5:54 PM

   Well executed research is needed to determine the realities of benefits/drawbacks to funding out-of-state students in ND’s higher ed system.

   Article quote:
   Out-of-state students who have stayed after graduation have helped reverse a decadeslong population decline, with North Dakota now on the verge of breaking its 1930 record of 681,000 people.

   Where is the research that validates this comment? Yes the article says that 39% nonresidents stay at least a year after graduation, but how was that number determined? What happens two years out of graduation? To what degree to these graduates contribute to ND’s economy? To what degree do they take advantage of ND social service programs, unemployment, etc.? To what degree do they take positions here, only to leave in two years? Do what degree have they competed with local hires – thereby sending graduates native to the region to other places, people who might have stayed in ND for longer time periods than nonresident hires?

   Article quote:
   The influx of out-of-state students to the school (NDSU) has benefited Fargo’s economy. North Dakota research indicates that about 39 percent of nonresidents remain in the state at least one year after graduation. The city’s population has risen to 105,000, 16 percent higher than in 2000, and an array of defense, medical, computer science and other firms have sprouted along the Red River corridor stretching north to Grand Forks and UND.

   Where are the statistics that back up the impression the Herald wants to present. That is, talk specifics here. Fargo’s rise in population – where are the stats that say it’s due to nonresident college students sticking around? What does nonresident college students – again, let’s talk specific numbers here – have to do with the research corridor. Reporting ‘generalities’ is NOT the same as reporting specific numbers.

   Article quote:
   City leaders say that its image finally is recovering from the Oscar-winning 1996 film ‘Fargo,’ which described it as ‘the middle of nowhere.’

   Oh, good grief! If city leaders want to ‘boo-hoo’ the impact of the movie Fargo, surely they SHOULD bemoan the need they feel to compete for such clueless people.

   Article quote:

   So, let’s see. A state policy that has helped “reverse a decades-long population decline,” “fill both classrooms and budget holes,” launch “an array of defense, medical, computer science and other firms” and improve a famously poor state image is somehow “not efficiently targeted”?

   OK, let’s see. AGAIN, where are the FACTS – as in valid statistical studies – that back up the above statement? I want facts, not rhetoric. Real facts. A comprehensive examination from ALL angles.

   Please?

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