International Students

The latest figures on international enrollment are bleak. Fifteen percent fewer foreign students attended U.S. higher education institutions in 2020-21 than the year before, according to the annual Open Doors report, compiled by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Those declines likely dealt a bruising blow to the colleges that rely on these students to add cultural diversity to their campuses and bring in a key source of tuition revenue. 

The same day the data was released, seven prominent higher ed associations called on the U.S. government to partner with the sector to develop a national plan to help restore international enrollment to numbers seen before the coronavirus pandemic. 

"The higher education community is deeply committed to, and places a high priority on, increasing the overall access, diversity, and success of the students it serves," they said in a statement. "International students play an important role in these efforts by enriching the learning environment for all students and bringing a global perspective that adds to the diversity of the campus and community." 

Here, we look at the numbers in greater detail to understand the trends playing out in international enrollment.

The enrollment drop recorded in 2020-21 is the largest single-year decrease since IIE began tracking data in the late 1940s. 

But it's unclear how many international students physically came to the U.S. for college last academic year, as IIE tracked both students studying within the country's borders and those enrolled online in a U.S. institution while they were physically located abroad — a change from past calculations. 

"It's a bit ambiguous right now," said Jenny Lee, a higher education professor at the University of Arizona. "We're comparing apples to oranges, so I wonder if the decline is substantially worse than what is being reported."

New international student enrollment fell steeply in 2020-21, dropping by 45.6%. However, there are signs that point to a potential rebound. 

An IIE survey of more than 860 schools found that their total new international enrollment increased 68% in the fall of 2021. Still, the effects of the 2020-21 decline will be felt for years, as future cohorts will likely be smaller in size. 

"Nationally, I do expect that people will be pushing hard to capture more of those students, but there are only so many students that you sort of take and handle," said Ryan Allen, an education professor at Chapman University in Orange, California. "It's tough to sort of make up lost numbers one year to the next."

Although many institutions are reeling from the decline, experts said the effects weren't going to be felt evenly across higher ed. "Elite, top-ranking institutions in the U.S. and large flagships are going to be fine," Allen said. "They were always going to be fine."

Meanwhile, less-selective schools such as regional comprehensive universities and some liberal arts schools will be harder hit.

Foreign students from China, which accounts for one-third of international enrollment in the U.S., declined sharply, by 14.8%. But these declines may not be entirely attributable to the pandemic's travel restrictions.

"The racial climate, especially against those from China, is a big concern to look out for," Lee said. 

Reports of anti-Asian hate have been on the rise. Stop AAPI Hate, which has been tracking incidents since the pandemic started, found this year's reports of incidents are on track to surpass last year's numbers. It reported that 4,533 anti-Asian hate incidents — which include slurs and physical attacks — have occurred through June this year, compared to 4,548 through all of last year. 

There are also concerns about the China Initiative, which started under the Trump administration purportedly to stop economic and scientific espionage. And 42.2% of surveyed scientists of Chinese descent said they felt racially profiled by the federal government, compared to just 8.6% of scientists not of Chinese descent, according to a recent poll.

College programs saw international enrollment declines across the board, but intensive English saw the largest drop, falling 60.8% from the year before.  

"We know that a student can pursue English learning in many parts of the world that are more affordable and easier to travel," Lee said, adding that those places could include Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

The number of international students at U.S. colleges fell 15% in the 2020-21 academic year, plummeting to around 914,000, according to the annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

The declines were driven by decreases in the number of new international students, which fell by 45.6%. The data includes international students studying at U.S. colleges while in the country and from abroad while online, as well as those participating in Optional Practical Training, or OPT, which allows student visa holders to work temporarily in their field of study. 

However, an IIE survey of more than 860 schools found those numbers may be rebounding. They reported that total international enrollment rose 4% this fall while new international enrollment increased 68%. 

The drop marks the single largest decline since IIE began tracking such data more than seven decades ago. Enrollments from China, India and South Korea — which together account for more than half of international students at U.S. colleges — all declined by more than 13%. 

These drops likely dealt a major blow to the many U.S. colleges that depend on international students for tuition revenue and the global perspective they bring to the classroom. 

Undergraduate enrollment fell overall by 14.2%, while graduate enrollment dropped by 12.1%. Students enrolled in nondegree programs declined the most on a percentage basis, by a whopping 63.7%. Meanwhile, students in OPT dipped 8.8%. 

Despite the dismal numbers, IIE officials had an optimistic outlook. 

"U.S. colleges and universities remained open and welcoming in face of COVID-19 challenges and are well prepared for what's ahead," IIE CEO Allan Goodman said in a statement. "The Open Doors 2021 report gives us all a benchmark to gauge the progress we are making to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic."

Moreover, a survey assessing international student enrollment patterns in the fall of 2021 suggests the numbers are turning around. Seven in 10 polled institutions reported an increase in international student enrollment, 10% said their figures were level and 20% reported a decrease. 

Nearly all responding institutions said they were holding face-to-face classes or using a hybrid model. And around two-thirds said international students are studying on their U.S. campuses. 

More than half of U.S. colleges said they're prioritizing student outreach in India and China. To do so, majorities of institutions said they're using current international students, hosting online recruitment events and reaching out via social media. 

The aftershocks of last year's decline were felt beyond college campuses. International students at U.S. colleges contributed $28.4 billion to the nation's economy during the 2020-21 academic year, a drop of nearly 27% from the year before, according to an analysis from NAFSA: Association of International Educators. 

That represents the largest single-year drop recorded since the association began tracking the economic contributions of international students more than two decades ago. NAFSA uses Open Doors data as part of its calculations. 

The pandemic and the way it limited international students' travel drove the decrease, NAFSA concluded. Of the roughly $10.3 billion drop seen in the 2020-21 academic year, $9.4 billion is solely due to the health crisis. 

"Given the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international academic mobility, this significant drop in economic activity is not surprising, yet it need not be a trend that we are resigned to seeing continue," NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Esther Brimmer said in a statement. 

Brimmer urged the Biden administration to adopt a national strategy to help restore international student enrollment in the U.S.

"We know that U.S. colleges and universities are working tirelessly to support international students in a safe and effective manner during this challenging time," Brimmer said. "Their efforts would be greatly assisted by a coordinated governmental approach that both attracts and retains international talent."

A majority of U.S. adults in a 2021 survey think international students positively impact the colleges they attend and the economy. But many respondents were skeptical or unaware of these students' financial contributions to their institutions.

That's according to a February poll of 1,000 U.S. voters about their views on foreign students, commissioned by the American Council on Education. 

The responses indicate limited support for coordinated efforts to encourage more students from other countries to study in the U.S., ACE found. 

ACE asked similar questions of U.S. adults in 2017 and 2019. Across the three surveys, the share of respondents grew who think the U.S. should encourage more international students to study there as a way to bolster the country. But that increase was relatively small, rising from 50% in 2017 to 55% in 2021.

A similar share — 49% — said the U.S. should "not go out of its way" to grow its international student population. When shown data about the steep drop in foreign students during the pandemic, only a third of respondents said the U.S. should make such an effort. Around a fourth said visas for college students headed to the U.S. should become harder to obtain.

Data collected from more than 700 colleges last fall found a 16% drop in the number of foreign students at U.S. colleges, with the share of new students sinking 43%. This followed the first decrease in the total number of international students at U.S. colleges in more than a decade. The effects of this attrition are expected to affect colleges for years to come.

Forty percent of respondents told ACE they believe international students pay full tuition, thus enabling colleges to offer more aid to domestic students. Around 30% each said they either weren't aware or didn't believe this to be true. 

Six in 10 respondents favored enabling international students to remain in the U.S. after graduation, going through the proper legal channels, and more than half said doing so would improve the country's economic growth.

Across all three survey years, however, around a third of respondents were critical of international students, saying they "pose a security threat." They were split in the 2021 version on whether these students should be subject to more scrutiny in light of the pandemic. 

ACE's report includes recommendations for policymakers and schools about how to support international students. Some of the suggestions echo requests the group made in a letter to federal officials in March.

Federal agencies have continued to offer some flexibility for these students to take online classes while based in the U.S.

The U.S. departments of Education and State released a joint statement July 26 expressing "a renewed U.S. commitment to international education."

The agencies' pledge does not contain policy specifics, but rather offers broad assurances and principles. They include the department following "a coordinated national approach to international education" by facilitating study abroad opportunities, research with other nations and internationalization of American classrooms.

The departments also said they would "foster increased cooperation" among the federal government, the private sector and institutions to protect certain intellectual property and research from "undue foreign influence and unlawful acquisition."

The Education and State departments' statement is a sea change for the international education sector following its years-long conflicts with the Trump administration. 

Many higher education groups ascribe a downturn in international student enrollment in part to the former administration's inhospitable immigration policies. The number of international students in the U.S. dropped for the first time in more than 10 years during the 2019-20 academic year, according to an annual report. 

The pandemic and related travel restrictions also severely exacerbated the challenges to foreign students studying in the U.S. The State Department said in late May, however, that international students from several countries including Brazil, China, India, and Iran who hold certain visas are exempted from coronavirus-related travel bans.

The State and Education departments are seeking to bring foreign students and researchers into the country "in a safe and secure manner" and have them contribute to institutions, according to the new statement. The agencies also want to encourage a diverse array of U.S. students and scholars to pursue international experiences and studies. Study abroad opportunities were also limited during the health crisis.

Higher education groups applauded the departments' missive.

Louis Caldera, co-founder of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, said in a statement that the organization believed the Biden administration's forthcoming policies following the joint comments would help "reestablish U.S. preeminence in international education." 

Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, said the statement represented "a critical step forward for international education and academic collaboration." He urged policymakers to advance a plan for attracting international students.

Higher ed groups have floated such strategies. The American Council on Education in February called for a coordinated effort to recruit and assist international students at U.S. institutions. This could include helping these students navigate admissions policies or connecting them with alumni after they graduate, according to an ACE report.

NAFSA: Association of International Educators in November also published policy recommendations for how the Biden administration could rebuild international education.

An American Council on Education report earlier this year called for a more coordinated effort to recruit and improve the experience of international students studying at U.S. colleges.

Institutions attempt to attract foreign students, who often pay full tuition price, but there is a "gap between rhetoric and reality in the international student experience," the report explains.

International enrollment declined after a decade of growth, in part due to inhospitable immigration policies under the Trump administration and the pandemic. 

Foreign students are not only lucrative for colleges and the economy, they also help to create a more global campus experience, the report states. Schools enrolling large shares of international students highlighted that value when the pandemic made it difficult for them to get to campus.

But international enrollment was already in trouble. The total count of international students in the U.S. fell for the first time in over a decade during the 2019-20 academic year, according to a recent Institute of International Education survey. The pandemic dealt a further blow, coinciding with a 16% decrease in total international enrollment in the fall and a 43% decrease in new foreign students, IIE found.

The report lays out how colleges can be more involved in assisting international students, from helping them navigate admissions policies to connecting them to alumni networks upon graduation. 

Campuses need to learn "cultural competencies" to truly understand and help international students, said Miriam Feldblum, the co-founder and executive director of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which advocates for lenient immigration policies.

Officials should look beyond international student offices and involve all campus groups in developing policies that benefit this population, including campus police and mental health counselors, she said. 

She recommended colleges assess their efforts on this front if they have not already done so. While many of the ideas and recommendations in ACE's report are not "groundbreaking," Feldblum said, it is notable that the organization is drawing attention to these issues right now. 

ACE is emphasizing that the entire campus needs to be involved with international student success, said Robin Helms, assistant vice president of learning and engagement at ACE, and one of the report's authors. 

She said one area colleges can work on is engaging with international alumni and leveraging them to help current international students. 

And while the pandemic persists, colleges need to be more mindful of those students' needs, Helms said, which can involve offering class times that fit their time zones or making sure they have access to campus services.

"They need moral support, this is very stressful on so many levels," she said.