Could Foreign Student Numbers Be Headed for a Rebound?

WASHINGTON, November 13, 2006 – The results of a snapshot survey released today by several higher-education organizations suggest some increases in international student enrollments in the United States, after three years of declining numbers. Forty-five percent of responding institutions reported increases in overall international enrollments this fall over last fall, while 29% reported level enrollments, and 26% reported a decline. Overall, the new data suggest a mixed picture: small and moderate increases in international enrollments at some institutions, some increases in flows of students from certain countries, and other indicators holding steady or lagging behind. With foreign-student enrollments at U.S. higher education institutions still down by more than 20,000 from the all-time high numbers of the 2002 academic year, the absence of a national strategy to restore U.S. competitiveness for this important asset suggests that any sustained recovery in the numbers will be extremely slow.

The survey sounds a positive note on new foreign enrollments, with more of the institutions surveyed reporting increases in those numbers this year than last: 52% report an increase, 20% report declines, and 28% report that new enrollments stayed about the same. Among the responding institutions with the largest foreign enrollments, 73% reported an increase in new international enrollments, an improvement over last year, when 51% reported increases.

“While the latest numbers are cause for optimism that the troubling declines of the last several years may be headed toward a recovery, the United States has a lot of work to do to restore its competitiveness for international students and scholars. That competition has substantial implications for its future economic vitality, security, and global leadership,” said NAFSA CEO and Executive Director Marlene Johnson. Even during the long period of healthy growth rates in the numbers of foreign students attending U.S. colleges and universities, the United States was already losing ground in terms of its competitiveness as a destination for study. Since that time, a number of countries have launched aggressive and successful foreign-student recruitment campaigns, and new competitors that were small blips on the radar screen five years ago have begun to transform the market. Meanwhile, the United States’ position as an attractive destination for foreign students and scholars has suffered additional blows, due to the impact of post-9/11 policies, America’s diminished image in the world, and – perhaps most decisively – the persistent absence of a national strategy.

“What is needed is the articulation, by the President, of a comprehensive strategy that would set clear roles for various government agencies and confront the still-substantial barriers and disincentives that discourage international students and scholars from coming to the United States,” Johnson said. “High-level rhetoric about the value of educational exchanges, while encouraging, is not a substitute for policy. This is an area that will require the energetic and committed oversight of the next Congress.”

The online snapshot enrollment survey of 921 U.S. colleges and universities was conducted in October by: American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), American Council on Education (ACE), Association of American Universities (AAU), Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), Institute of International Education (IIE), NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). Among the respondents were 102 institutions that enroll more than 1,000 international students.

View the full 2006 snapshot enrollment survey report

View the joint press release

NAFSA Report: The Economic Benefits of International Education to the United States 2005 – 2006

NAFSA has also released its annual Economic Impact Statements, which estimate the amount of money foreign students spend in the United States to support their education. During the 2005 – 2006 academic year, international students and their families spent $13.49 billion on the U.S. economy. The report, which includes spending on tuition and fees and on living expenses, offers national and state-by-state breakdowns as well as data for major institutions of higher education in each state. The analysis is based on tuition and living expense data from the College Board and enrollment figures from IIE’s Open Doors 2006 report. View the state-by-state reports