Int'l students enrollments to U.S. universities remain increase despite economic woes

Most universities in the United States have seen increased or level enrollments of foreign students in the fall of 2009, said a survey released on Monday.

According to the survey by eight leading higher education associations in the United States, among 701 U.S. campuses polled in October, about 50 percent or 348 have seen the increase in overall enrollments of international students.

It also found that 24 percent or 169 experienced declines, and 26 percent or 177 report that overall international student enrollments stayed about the same as last year.

"The Fall 2009 online survey findings, while not comprehensive, suggest that both new and overall international student enrollments are likely to continue to grow, albeit perhaps at a slower rate of increase," said the Institute of International Education, one of the eight survey conductors, in a press release.

Regarding new international student enrollments, the survey indicates that 45 percent of responding institutions reported an increase for fall 2009, while 29 percent reported a decline, and 26 percent reported level enrollments.

Apart from reporting increases or decreases, educators are also asked to provide their perception of the reasons for the changes.

The major reasons for the reported increases, which were mentioned by 28 percent of institutions, appear to be largely related to continued active recruitment efforts, followed by the growing reputation and visibility of U.S. campuses abroad (26 percent) and an increased number of linkages with institutions in other countries, said the survey.

Those who experienced declines in international student enrollments cited the world financial crisis (23 percent), the cost of tuition/fees at U.S. institutions (21 percent), and home country economic problems (19 percent) as major reasons, while many others also indicated students' concerns about the H1N1 virus, lack of financial aid or scholarships, and a poor U.S. job market, it added.

Among foreign countries and regions, China was cited by most institutions (60 percent) as a source of significantly increased new enrollments, followed by the Middle East as a region (30 percent).

"Despite the economic downturn, many campuses are still seeing increases in international student enrollment for fall 2009, while others are seeing declines or flattening of enrollments," said Allan E. Goodman, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education.

"What remains clear is the continued strong presence of America's diverse range of higher education institutions in the international marketplace, and the need for campuses to do continued and vigorous outreach during tough economic times," he said.

The steps responding institutions have taken to ensure the increase included new staff or additional staff time devoted to international recruitment (cited by 29 percent), followed by new funding for international recruitment trips (20 percent), and new funding for marketing and promotion of programs (15 percent), according to the survey.

The survey was carried out by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in cooperation with American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), American Council on Education (ACE), Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), and NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Source: Xinhua