Colleges assure foreign students they are welcome
On a trip to India, the president of Portland State University reassured prospective students they’d be safe on his campus. Purdue University sent overseas applicants a note from two mayors touting Indiana’s “friendly smiles” and hospitality. And dozens of other schools produced online videos to welcome foreign students.
As U.S. colleges face new but significant declines in applications from abroad, many are rolling out marketing efforts to combat fears of harassment and concerns that President Trump’s stance on immigration reflects a United States that is becoming less welcoming to foreigners.
“Students are telling us that they don’t feel safe here in the United States. That they’re concerned about discrimination, racism,” said Katharine Johnson Suski, admissions director at Iowa State University. “This year it was a little more important to make sure that they felt comfortable with their decision.”
Colleges and universities have received a financial boost in recent years from international students, who are typically charged higher tuition rates than American peers who live in state. Some schools have come to rely on revenue from foreign students, whose enrollment has climbed sharply over much of the past decade, according to federal data.
But there is evidence enrollment figures at some schools could drop next fall. Nearly half the nation’s 25 largest public universities saw undergraduate applications from abroad fall or stagnate since last year, according to data colleges provided in response to public records requests. Eight schools did not provide data, while six saw gains.
International applications to the University of Arizona are down 24 percent compared with this time last year; California State University Northridge is down 26 percent. The University of Houston has seen a 32 percent drop, although it’s still accepting applications and its numbers will probably rise.
Philadelphia’s Temple University sparked a chain reaction in November when it posted an online video featuring students and staff members saying “You are welcome here” in multiple languages, set to upbeat piano music. Since then, more than 100 other schools have made similar videos and circulated them abroad. Temple, a private university, also hosted seven overseas receptions for admitted students, more than in the past.
Students in India have been particularly alarmed, especially after a gunman shot two Indian men at a Kansas bar in March, killing one, after allegedly saying “get out of my country.”
Portland State President Wim Wiewel was in India soon after the shooting to meet prospective students, and the discussion quickly turned to safety. Wiewel and his wife reassured families that Portland is friendly to foreign visitors.