Report: International students in U.S. reach new high of 1.09 million

The number of international students studying at universities and colleges across the United States rose 1.5 percent to a new high of 1.09 million in the 2017-18 academic year, according to the latest Open Doors report released Tuesday by the Institute of International Education.

There were 121,260 international students in New York during the last school year, up 2.4 percent from the year prior, and contributing nearly $5 billion to the state’s economy, according to the report, which used enrollment data from fall 2017. New York has been second to California, the number-one host state in the country, since at least 2001, according to the institute's data.

International student enrollment across 13 Long Island institutions of higher learning remained relatively flat, at 11,754 students in fall 2017, according to data from the report and provided by the schools.

The rise in overall growth nationwide, year over year, was the lowest since the 2005-06 school year, according to the data. Universities and colleges have been seeing declines in the number of new students from other countries even as the total international enrollment has risen.

Rodney Morrison, associate provost for enrollment and retention management at Stony Brook University, said the drop in international applications has occurred "for the last couple of years."

Stony Brook is among the top host schools in the state, with 5,969 international students as of last fall, a slight increase from 5,739 in 2016-17, according to the report.

SBU and others nationally heard safety concerns from families of international students before the 2016 presidential election because of heightened political rhetoric, Morrison said. The university tried to share its message of providing a welcoming, safe environment, he said.

 “In order to be a great university, you have to have students from all over,” he said, adding that international students bring a “diversity of ideas and interests and beliefs” that are an important part of learning.  

The Open Doors report includes counts of undergraduate and graduate students at public and private universities, as well as those on nonimmigrant visas designed for foreign students. The Manhattan-based nonprofit group partners with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to provide information on international student mobility.

Students from China and India make up more than 50 percent of international students studying in the United States, with South Korea and Saudi Arabia also among the top, according to the report.

Lajja Gajjar, 26, of Gujarat, India, is among the significant international student population at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, which is second to Stony Brook on the Island.

She said she only looked to study abroad in two countries — the U.S. and the United  Kingdom — before settling on NYIT.

"The U.S. has the best universities in the world and it’s safe and it’s really diverse,” said Gajjar, a senior who is pursuing her undergraduate degree in health and wellness and also is president of the International Student Association at NYIT.

Growth nationally in overall international enrollment was primarily attributed to more participation in the Optional Practical Training program, or OPT, which allows students on nonimmigrant visas to stay in the country and practice their skills for up to 12 months during or after they complete their programs, or for up to 36 months for graduate students in STEM fields. OPT participation grew by 15.8 percent in the 2017-18 school year.

That offset, in part, a decline of 6.6 percent in new students in fall 2017, continuing a downward trend that began in the 2015-16 school year, according to the report.

The slowdown stems from a range of factors, including the rising cost of college in the U.S. and increased competition from other countries, with China and India striving to retain their own students, institute officials told reporters.

“It will always be a very, very mixed picture, and the international education consumer is always interested in access, diversity, costs, quality, safety,” Allan E. Goodman, the institute's president and CEO, told reporters during a news briefing.

Enrollment also was affected by the end of a scholarship program in Brazil that paid for students studying abroad and another program winding down in Saudi Arabia, according to the institute. The number of students coming to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia decreased 15.5 percent in the 2017-18 school year from the year prior.

The top fields of study for international students in the U.S. are engineering, business and management, and math and computer science, according to the report. 

At NYIT, international students last year made up about 24 percent of the 7,400-student population at the campuses in Old Westbury and in Manhattan, said Nada Marie Anid, vice president for strategic communications and external affairs and interim vice president for enrollment management. The school has satellite sites in Jonesboro, Arkansas; China; Vancouver; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The institution saw a slight decrease in its international enrollment, going from 2,598 international students in the 2016-17 school year to 2,318 in fall 2017, according to the report. Anid attributed the decline to an “unbelievable spike” in students who came from India in 2015 who now have graduated. 

With stricter visa restrictions put in place in 2016 under the Trump administration, NYIT has been taking the opportunity to grow its Vancouver campus, she said. “It could be the same student applying to New York, and if there is a problem then the student is diverted to Canada."

International students are important because they contribute to the school's research output, especially at the graduate level, Anid said.

Hofstra University also saw a  decline, with 1,116 international students in fall 2017, down from 1,249 in fall 2016, according to the report.

“International students are an integral part of the Hofstra community, bringing a global perspective that enhances the educational experience for all,” according to a statement from the university. “Like many colleges and universities nationwide, Hofstra University’s international enrollment has been impacted by an increasingly difficult climate for international recruitment. We remain committed to creating a global community for all our students.” 

Gajjar, the NYIT senior, said she was drawn there because the school had the program she was looking for, a good student-to-professor ratio, supports for international students, and she could live with her uncle in New Hyde Park.

She's happy with her decision. “The faculty staff members are very helpful and the students are really nice. It’s very diverse,” she said. “I feel like home right now, in my fourth year.”