International students focus of OU enrollment

University hoping to bring scholars back to campus in post-COVID world

After a seven-year rise in international student enrollment and a fall following the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakland University is looking to get back on track.

From 2012 to 2019 enrollment for international graduate and undergraduate students steadily rose from 379 to 911, but enrollment in 2020 dropped to 818. International students currently make up under 5% of OU’s student population.

“We had students who could not get here in the Fall of 2020 due to international travel restrictions,” said David Archbold, director, International Students and Scholars at OU. “We were trending in the right direction and then came covid and results were severe.”

Archbold said those who were enrolled in Fall 2020 were a mix of remote students and students on campus.

Enrollment in 2021 also slipped, but not as much as the previous year with 33 fewer international students.

Nationwide, international student enrollment is on the rise.

According to a study released last week by the Institute of International Education and the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, there was a 4%increase in enrollment for the 2021-22 academic year.

The survey included both enrolled students and those here on optional practical training.

More than half of all international students last year came from China or India.

Students from India led the international student population at OU in the Fall of 2021 with 260 followed by China with 121.

As students dealt with different COVID-19 testing requirements, varying government regulations, embassy closings and visa delays, OU began implementing new methods of helping those students.

Employment placement meetings that were usually held on campus began being held online.

“We found that to be very workable and that is a change that is now a part of our program,” said Archbold. “We could accomplish what we needed with paperwork and putting students in the jobs they wanted, virtually making the entire process easier.”

Government requirements for official documents to be sent and received by mail were changed to allow for electronic delivery, making life easier for the university and students.

“We would be sending things to certain countries with a mail system that was overwhelmed and unreliable,” said Archbold. “We are not going back to the old way and we are going to email everything, because that is what the times demand.”