Coronavirus’ implications for higher ed, innovation

While much discussion surrounding China’s coronavirus outbreak has centered on the fallout for America’s public health, trade relationships and corporate giants, the deep implications for higher education are also impossible to ignore.

China’s cancellation of February’s GRE and GMAT graduate entry exams portends a concerning outlook for international student enrollment in graduate programs. Although data released by the Council of Graduate Schools last month shows increased graduate applications and enrollments at U.S. universities for the first time since fall 2016, the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s most recent application trends report documents a steep 13.7% decline in international applications to American business programs from 2018 to 2019.

For as long as China’s cancellation of standardized tests persists, business schools and all graduate programs will lose countless applicants from America’s largest feeder country for international students. According to the latest Open Doors enrollment survey, the nearly 370,000 Chinese students at U.S. institutions comprise 33.7% of America’s total international students. That proportion is even more substantial at UC Berkeley, where China accounts for 40.4% of all international enrollment.

But why does international enrollment matter? Can domestic students not fill the same classroom seats vacated by their peers worldwide, including from China?

In actuality, international students must not be disregarded. NAFSA: Association of International Educators reports that international students studying at U.S. institutions contribute nearly $41 billion to this nation’s economy and support 458,290 jobs — including a $6.8 billion economic contribution and 74,814 jobs in California alone. For every seven international students enrolled in America, three jobs are created and then supported by spending that occurs in sectors such as higher education, accommodation, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications and health insurance.

Further, international students embark on careers that meet America’s fastest-growing occupational clusters at disproportionately high rates. The Open Doors survey reveals that 21.1% of international students are enrolled in engineering programs while 18.6% study math and science, aligning with rising demand in the U.S. workforce for STEM professionals.

The impact of threats to international enrollment is hardly limited to tangible factors. What cannot be measured is the vibrancy that our campuses and by extension, their local and regional communities lose when they are deprived of diverse and global perspectives from China and elsewhere.

Not even the economic ramifications can be completely documented. With specialized knowledge in artificial intelligence and other high-tech areas increasingly representing a prerequisite for success in today’s global economy, American businesses across industries depend on academic institutions to strengthen their talent pipeline with the highest-achieving students from around the world.

Accordingly, institutions like Santa Clara University are closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak and taking steps to minimize its damage. Santa Clara’s graduate business programs — which last year enrolled 50 new students from China — are working on a caseby-case basis to meet the needs of Chinese students who were unable to take February’s graduate entrance exams, including by allowing them to apply late if needed. Meanwhile, Santa Clara’s International Students & Scholars Department has communicated to all international students on campus that the institution will support them in any way possible during this challenging time.

Moving forward, colleges and universities can introduce a number of specific strategies to offset the impact of declining enrollment from China. These include developing closer relationships with local community colleges or smaller colleges that serve large numbers of international students; cultivating and/ or subsidizing international student alumni networks, including by sponsoring events where alumni can interact with prospective international students; and expanding recruitment efforts in underrepresented countries from an enrollment perspective, particularly Latin America and Africa. In fact, last month’s CGS report documents the second consecutive year of substantial growth in graduate applications (11%) and first-time enrollments (22%) from sub-Saharan African students to U.S. graduate schools.

Even amid a confounding public health episode that often feels out of academic institutions’ control, colleges and universities cannot afford to fall short in the quest to maintain robust international enrollment. Our campuses have an urgent responsibility first to understand the gravity of the coronavirus crisis, and subsequently to implement creative solutions. Toby McChesney is senior assistant dean of graduate business programs for the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, and chair of the BusinessCAS Advisory Board. Robert Ruiz is vice president of strategic enrollment at Liaison International.