Miami University’s Strategic Priorities Task Force has identified that one of its main goals is to increase the number international and out of state students attending Miami in the next five years. The rate of international students has already increased by 19 percent since 2011.

The Miami Student editorial board understands and agrees that an increase in out-of-state and international students is necessary for two reasons. First, we concur that more diversity is needed on our campus, regarding both domestic and international students. The benefits of exposing all students to as many kinds of cultural experiences as possible during their Miami experience are extremely valuable in today’s world.

We also understand that the university functions as a business, and as such, sees international and out-of-state students as attractive assets to the university in terms of tuition. With less state government funding and a constant need for revenue, recruitment of students from outside Ohio can keep Miami competitive as a public school, and allow the university to better provide opportunities for student learning.

While realistically, we know that the university has to bring in more students, and has done very well so far with its recruitment efforts to increase diversity, we would like to add a word of caution. In light of being likened to a business-type model, run on revenue, Miami should not entirely adhere to the business ideology. We love that our university has thus far placed its greatest priority with creating a place of great education, and we would be saddened to see the importance of fostering learning become anything less than the main goal. We understand that revenue is needed to create and perpetuate such a standard of excellence in education, but we hope that this need for revenue will never overtake the foundations of scholarship at Miami.

This issue is not and will not be a problem for Miami in the foreseeable future; we are nowhere near accepting too many diverse students.

The university’s recruitment efforts thus far, particularly in regard to international and out of state students, are great. Adding more of these students to our population creates opportunities for them as well as for in state students, and benefits the university financially as well. We hope the university continues these efforts with the same ideals of scholarship that are and have been so crucial to the meaning of Miami University.