The National Security Education Program (NSEP), authorized by the David L. BorenNational Security Education Act (NSEA), (1) provides aid for international education and foreign languagestudies by American undergraduate and graduate students, plus grants to institutions of highereducation (IHEs). The statement of purpose for the NSEA emphasizes the needs of federalgovernment agencies, as well as the Nation's postsecondary education institutions, for an increasedsupply of individuals knowledgeable about the languages and cultures of foreign nations, especiallythose which are of national security concern and have not traditionally been the focus of Americaninterest and study. Specifically, the NSEA declares the purposes of this program to be: providingthe "necessary resources, accountability, and flexibility" to meet the national security needs of theUnited States; increasing the "quantity, diversity, and quality" of teaching and learning of foreignlanguage and area studies critical to the Nation's interest; expanding the pool of applicants foremployment in U.S. government agencies with national security responsibilities; expanding theforeign language and area studies knowledge base upon which U.S. citizens and governmentemployees can rely; and permitting the federal government to "advocate the cause of internationaleducation" (50 USC 1901). Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been increased congressionalinterest in the NSEP and other federal programs of aid for "critical" foreign language and areastudies. Several bills passed in the 107th and 108th Congressional sessions that would have alteredthe NSEP's funding and administration. In addition, the intelligence reform bill ( P.L. 108-458 )signed by the President on December 17, 2004, amends Title X of the National Security Act to createa new Intelligence Community Scholarship Program (ICSP) that is quite similar to the NSEP(Â§1042). This report provides background information on the NSEP and an analysis of related issuesincluding the ICSP. It will be updated in response to major legislative developments. The National Security Education Program (NSEP) (2) is intended to complement, and not duplicate, other federalprograms of aid for foreign language and area studies education, such as those authorized under TitleVI of the Higher Education Act, the Fulbright-Hays Act, and other legislation. (3) Distinctive elements of theNSEP, compared to most other federal programs of aid to international education or exchange,include its service requirement for aid recipients, administration by the Department of Defense(DOD), rather than the Departments of Education (ED) or State, and its support for internationaltravel by American undergraduate students. The recent establishment of the NSEP pilot program,the National Flagship Language Initiative, distinguishes it even further from Title VI programs. Three types of assistance are authorized and currently provided by the NSEA: 1. David L. Boren Scholarships for undergraduate(including community college) students to study abroad in a "critical" foreigncountry; 2. grants to institutions of higher education toestablish or operate programs in "critical" foreign language and area studies areas, often combinedwith study of other disciplines related to national security; and 3. David L. Boren Fellowships to graduate studentsfor education abroad or in the U.S. in "critical" foreign language, disciplines, and areastudies. The NSEA establishes a goal of awarding one-third of each year's grants for each of thesethree forms of aid, although specific allocations of available funds are determined by the NationalSecurity Education Board (NSEB), which also establishes specific criteria for awards in eachcategory. (The NSEB is discussed further below, under "Program Administration.") Individual Grants. Only United States citizensare eligible for the scholarships and fellowships, which are to be awarded on the basis of merit,taking into consideration the geographic distribution and the "cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity"of grant recipients. The NSEA provides that the language skills of aid recipients are to be assessedbefore and after the period of instruction for which they receive assistance. A recent amendment tothe NSEA (contained in P.L. 107-306 ) also allows recipients of NSEP scholarships and fellowshipsto attend the DOD's Defense Language Institute. While financial need is not taken into account in the selection of scholarship or fellowshiprecipients, it is considered in determining the level of individual grants. Undergraduate students mayreceive up to two scholarships, one during their first two years of study, and a second during theirremaining years. Graduate students may receive grants for up to six semesters, but may receive nomore in total than $20,000 for study abroad, $12,000 for domestic study, or $28,000 for a combineddomestic-abroad study program. The current dollar ranges for individual grants are outlined in Table 1 . The number of students receiving undergraduate scholarships increased from 143 in 2001to 194 in 2002 and has since remained at 194. Similarly, the number of graduate fellowshiprecipients increased from 70 in 2001 to 90 in 2002 and has since remained at 90. Both scholarshipand fellowship recipients have traveled to a wide variety of Asian, African, East European, and LatinAmerican nations. NESP has supported study in more than 100 countries. The most frequentdestinations have been Russia, China, Japan, Egypt, and Brazil for undergraduate scholarshiprecipients, and those nations plus Vietnam and Thailand for graduate fellowship recipients. NESPdoes not fund study in Western Europe, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The individual award recipients under the NSEP have studied numerous languages. Whilethe most common languages have been Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Russian, Japanese, Portuguese,plus Spanish at an advanced level, smaller numbers of aid recipients are studying languages such asZulu, Xhosa, Tibetan, Mongolian, Latvian, Persian, Uzbek, and several other East European,African, and Asian languages which are very infrequently taught in United States IHEs. Table 1. Funding Ranges for Individual Grants Under theNational Security Education Program Source: http://www.worldstudy.gov/overview2.html . Institutional Grants. Through 2002, mostinstitutional grants had been focused on supporting the establishment of instructional andexchange programs involving less commonly taught languages and nations or regions at awide variety of IHEs in the United States; increasing the number of disadvantaged and/orminority students participating in international education and exchange programs; andintegrating foreign language and international studies with professional education in a varietyof fields. Beginning in 2003, NSEP no longer sponsored an annual competition for programsgenerally oriented to establish and/or improve programs in international education. Instead,grants to IHEs will occur under the National Flagship Language Initiative. This shift in the strategy and focus for NSEP institutional grants began on a pilotbasis with a share of the grant funds in 2002. (4) Adopted and authorized by the 107th Congress as part ofthe Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 ( P.L. 107-306 ), the National FlagshipLanguage Initiative provides multi-year grants to IHEs to develop curricular and instructionalmodels for advanced study of the foreign languages considered most critical for nationalsecurity. (5) Thegoal of the program is "demonstrating program design and administrative structures on ournation's campuses that are capable of dramatically increasing the number of U.S. studentsadvancing to professional levels of language competency." (6) Special considerationis to be given to federal employees in the admission of students to such programs. NewFlagship grant competitions were not conducted for FY2003 or announced for FY2004. The National Flagship Language Initiative responds not only to federal governmentneeds but also perceived weaknesses in the former program of institutional grants. According to a statement on the NSEP's website, past institutional grants have beenshort-term and often insufficiently coordinated with individual awards. They have often beenfocused on improving the general capacity of American IHEs to provide foreign languageand area studies (FLAS) instruction, which duplicates the role of other federal programs,especially Title VI of the HEA. (7) The NSEP is administered by the Department of Defense's National DefenseUniversity, under the guidance of a 12-member National Security Education Board (NSEB). The NSEB consists of the Secretaries of Defense (who chairs the Board), Education,Commerce, and State, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Chairperson of the NationalEndowment for the Humanities, plus six persons appointed by the President who haveexpertise in the areas of international, language, area, and nonproliferation studies education. The Board's functions include developing criteria and qualifications for making awards;providing for wide dissemination of information about program activities; reviewingprogram administration; and making recommendations on countries, disciplines, and areaswhere there are knowledge deficiencies which make them "critical" for support under theprogram. In making the latter determination, the Board is to take into account federalgovernment needs as well as the supply of individuals knowledgeable in various languagesand areas of the world. To carry out this responsibility, the Board conducts an annual surveyand analysis of federal agency requirements regarding foreign language proficiency, as wellas national security-related regions/nations and fields of study. (8) As with many of the federal government's programs supporting internationaleducation and exchange, and as specifically authorized by the NSEA, the NSEP is largelyadministered through non-governmental organizations that process applications and overseethe award competition.