International students unsure they will return
That could further hurt schools’ revenue streams
Jainam Damanwala lives in Ahmedabad, India, an eight-hour drive north of Mumbai, but his sights are set on the Garden State this fall.
Damanwala, 22, is eager to start graduate studies at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he wants to learn from faculty with expertise in computer science and artificial intelligence.
But like students across the globe, he’s uncertain whether he’ll be able to attend school in the U.S. as the coronavirus crisis rages on.
“It’s kind of frustrating right now because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Damanwala said in an interview. “But there’s nothing I can do. It’s not in my hands.”
At colleges across the country, worries are mounting that international enrollment will halt or plummet because of a pandemic that has led to travel restrictions, economic hardship and political tensions worldwide.
That would add to the financial hardship for schools that have had to refund housing payments, shut down revenuegenerating sports programs and absorb huge stock-market hits to their endowments. Colleges also expect a decline in overall enrollment in the fall because of health fears and the economic downturn.
International students make up 5.5% of the total U.S. higher education population, according to the 2019 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. In New Jersey, 23,456 students were from foreign countries – about 2.3% of total higher education enrollment.
Many colleges rely on revenue from international students, who typically pay full tuition since they’re less likely to require or receive financial aid. At public universities, they may pay two to three times more in tuition rates because they come from out of state. Some private high schools count on similar benefits.
At Fairleigh Dickinson University, more than 300 international students are enrolled, about 3% of the study body, adding a financial and cultural boost for a school that touts its focus on global education.
“I think there’s no doubt they’re not going to be coming to the U.S. in the fall if they’re not living here right now,” said Luke Schultheis, vice president
“I think there’s no doubt they’re not going to be coming to the U.S. in the fall if they’re not living here right now.” Luke Schultheis Fairleigh Dickinson University vice president for enrollment, planning and effectiveness
for enrollment, planning and effectiveness at Fairleigh Dickinson. “U.S. consular offices have closed all over the world. They aren’t issuing any student visas. Normally, they’d be issued right about now.”
‘ The whole cultural experience’
Farleigh Dickinson draws students from about 70 countries to its campuses in Teaneck and Madison. The top countries of origin are Kuwait, India, Saudi Arabia and China.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pay for citizens to attend pre-selected universities, including FDU, where many come to study engineering, Schultheis said.
Tuition rates are the same for all students, but those from overseas are far more likely to pay the full amount since they do not get merit awards that reduce the cost for many American students, he said.
The hope is that students will still return or at least enroll in the fall, even if they must study from home online until they can secure a visa. But that may be a hard sell.
“Students want the whole cultural experience of studying in America in a diverse student body,” Schultheis said. “It’s not going to be as rich an experience.”
At Rutgers University, which had 8,681 international students in the 201819 school year, the most of any New Jersey institution, officials said it was too soon to comment about the potential impact on enrollment.
At Princeton University, 2,400 students came from other nations last year – about 11% of the total student body. In a statement, the university said that, as an institution of teaching and research, it depended on its ability to attract students and scholars from around the world.
“We will continue to advocate for policies that permit and facilitate the free flow of talent – talent of the kind that fortified America in the past and that will be essential to its future,” the university said in a statement.
Before the pandemic, the Newarkbased New Jersey Institute of Technology was on track for a banner year for endowment and enrollment growth. The campus hosted 3,264 international students last year.
“At present, enrollment for summer session is ahead of last year’s pace and projections for the incoming freshman class and transfer cohort remain ahead of expectations,” President Joel Bloom said in a statement Monday. “But we likely will realize significant declines in the number of international graduate students enrolled next year.”
In India, Damanwala said he was waiting for word about when embassies will reopen so he can secure a student visa to attend Stevens. He is still hopeful that he will be able to attend in the fall to study computer science and gain practical experience on campus.
If he has to, he said, he will enroll online. “I don’t want to delay my career for another year,” he said.
Political strife
Colleges are also concerned about political tensions with China over the outbreak, first reported in that nation’s Wuhan province in December. That could impact future study in the U.S., they fear.
“We don’t know what kind of reactions the U.S. or China are going to have and if there are going to be punitive actions,” Schultheis said.
An estimated 370,000 Chinese students attend school in the U.S. – about one-third of all international students and more than any other nation. In New Jersey, about 40% of all foreign students come from China, according to the Open Doors report, published by the New York-based Institute of International Education.
It’s more difficult to deliver online education to students in China because of the government’s tight control on information and restrictions on technology platforms, Schultheis said.
In some countries, it may also be harder for students to participate in online classes because of different time zones that could have them in class in the middle of the night.
Financial toll
Growth in international enrollment has already been on the decline, with 10% fewer new students enrolling since 2015-16, according to the Institute of International Education.
Experts cite cost and competition from other countries, increased difficulty in obtaining student visas and negative rhetoric about immigrants from the Trump administration.
Last month, the American Council on Education said it estimated a potential decline of 25% in international student enrollment in the fall, in a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
While the total impact remains uncertain, such a loss would hurt colleges and local economies, said Rachel Banks, senior director of public policy and legislative strategy for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a Washington-based nonprofit.
A NAFSA analysis showed international students and their families contributed $41 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 458,000 jobs during the 2018-19 academic year. In New Jersey, they were estimated to have contributed $823 million.
“If international student enrollment were to drop as much as 25%, we could see dollar contributions drop by $10 billion and jobs drop by 100,000,” Banks said.
It would also impact academic programs at schools since many international students study, teach and do research in STEM fields, she said. American students’ cultural exposures would also be limited.
“Fewer international students on campus will also reduce opportunities for U.S. students, who cannot afford to study abroad, to interact with students from around the world,” Banks added.
“Students want the whole cultural experience of studying in America in a diverse student body.”
Luke Schultheis Fairleigh Dickinson University vice president for enrollment, planning and effectiveness