China Continues to Drive Foreign-Student Growth in the United States

The story, once again, is China. Thousands of mainland Chinese students in pursuit of an American education helped drive up international enrollments at colleges across the United States last fall, according to the latest “Open Doors” report from the Institute of International Education.

Double-digit growth from China, primarily at the undergraduate level, along with a steady uptick in Saudi Arabian students are largely responsible for the increase in international enrollments to 764,495, a 5.7-percent rise over the year before.

These drivers are so significant that for the first time in 11 years there are more international undergraduate than graduate students in the United States.

“That’s likely to be a game changer,” says Allan E. Goodman, the institute’s president. Undergraduates not only stay longer, he noted, but have more impact on campus culture, both inside the classroom and out.

In all, the total number of international students in the United States grew faster in 2011 than it did in 2010 or 2009, as did the number of first-time students—a 6.5-percent increase—which is perhaps a more accurate measure of long-term interest in American education. Growth was particularly strong at the bachelor’s level and among students seeking English-language instruction. According to figures generated by Nafsa: Association of International Educators, international students and their dependents contributed $21.8-billion to the American economy in tuition and living expenses.

Other news is not so comforting. Aside from China and Saudi Arabia, numbers from other countries that American colleges rely most on for international students either declined or saw marginal growth. That includes South Korea, where enrollments have hovered around 72,000 for several years, and Japan, where enrollments plummeted 41 percent in five years.

India, which once sent more students to the United States than any other country, continues to flatline. Consider this: As recently as six years ago, China and India each sent about 100,000 students each to the United States. Today the number of Chinese students studying here has nearly doubled, while India’s numbers have dropped by 3,000.

Money Problems

Demographic changes and economic conditions are behind some countries’ weak showings. Both Japan and South Korea, for example, tend to send undergraduates, who are more sensitive to economic conditions since families pay the full cost of education. And both countries have aging populations.

While most Indian students come in at the graduate level, many pursue master’s degrees paid for out of their own pockets. The weak rupee and a sluggish Indian economy have put a damper on interest in studying in the United States.

“The only thing holding U.S. education back is Indians’ ability to pay for it,” says Rahul Choudaha, director of research and advisory services at World Education Services, a nonprofit group that specializes in evaluating foreign credentials and student trends.

Moreover, many Indian students hope to find work in the country where they study. Because of the struggling economy here, America has lost some of its luster.

By contrast, Chinese students who study in the United States return home with valued language skills, something that can help them land a higher-paying job in their home country. And many Chinese families, responsible for only one child, have more resources to pay for a costly American degree.

International recruiters are well aware of these differences, and have flooded China looking for new students. “People are creating all kinds of strategies. Some send their ELS programs, some send their honors programs,” says F. David McCauley, deputy director of college counseling at Beijing National Day School. “They’re trying to find a nugget. They’re trying to strike a vein.”

Saudi Arabia has also proved to be a boon to American colleges. According to “Open Doors,” the number of Saudi students enrolled at American colleges jumped 50 percent between 2010 and 2011, to 34,139. Most of those students are here on a scholarship program started by King Abdullah in 2005. They usually enter through intensive-English programs and continue on to receive bachelor’s degrees, says Mody Alkhalaf, assistant attache for cultural and social affairs at Saudi Arabia’s cultural mission. If they wish, they can apply to extend their scholarships to pursue graduate degrees, she says, and most want to do so.

The impact of the scholarship program, which sends students abroad worldwide, has been so profound, Ms. Alkhalaf says, that “almost every family in Saudi Arabia has one or more scholarship students on the program.”

Recruitment Targets

Both seasoned veterans and newcomers to international recruitment have benefited from the overseas appetite for American degrees.

Jing Luan, vice chancellor for educational services and planning for the San Mateo County Community College District, which began recruiting aggressively a year and a half ago, says that careful planning has led to significant enrollment increases at his three colleges. They’ve translated the international-recruitment page of their Web site into 10 other languages, improved services and clubs for international students, and crafted a marketing plan that trumpets community college as a pathway to a prestigious four-year institution.

That has led international enrollments, while still small, to double in one year, to about 270 students, with China and Saudi Arabia as the top source countries. (Saudi Arabia for the first time this fall has allowed its students to attend community college.)

For public institutions that have seen their state support shrink, China has proved to be a godsend. Many state colleges also say that foreign students provide an international perspective to their undergraduate learning, which is particularly important given that the percentage of Americans studying abroad remains largely flat. “For those who can’t leave campus, we want to give them an international experience,” says Michael Bustle, associate vice provost and director of North Carolina State University’s Global Training Initiative.

But colleges are also keenly aware that as they increase international enrollments, they need to bolster the services surrounding them, from English-language classes to academic advising to extracurricular activities. “We can’t be bringing students here to fail,” says Charles A.S. Bankart, assistant vice provost for international programs at the University of Kansas.

The Obama administration and the Departments of State and Commerce have also been more aggressive in advocating for bringing more international students to the United States. This year President Obama pledged to increase the number of students from Latin America and the Caribbean to 100,000, up from 64,000. His administration has also backed deeper education ties to Indonesia, India, and China.

A Step Forward

Victor C. Johnson, Nafsa’s senior adviser for public policy, praised the administration for setting student recruitment and study-abroad goals in places like China and Latin America. While he noted that the government did not put any money behind these targets, “the setting of any national objective is a step forward in itself.”

As for the future, both World Education Services, through its credential-evaluation service, and the College Board, through the SAT, can often predict what demand for degrees will look like in the coming years. And both see China as a viable market for the near-term, at least. “The value of speaking English, the value of making connections in the U.S., and the fact that the Chinese economy is so robust, it’s created the perfect storm,” says Clay Hensley, director of international strategy and relationships at the College Board.

Still, some colleges feel they’re reaching the saturation point with China and are looking to diversify, something that Mr. Hensley and other international-education experts support. Fordham University, where 40 percent of the international freshmen this year hailed from China, has already begun laying the groundwork in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and parts of Latin America, says Monica Esser, associate director for international-student admissions. “We want a balance of students from around the world, for both economic reasons and cultural reasons,” she says. “If something beyond our control changes, we don’t want to lose our international students.”

The challenge, of course, is finding the right fit. Ms. Esser, for example, needs to find students who speak English well enough and are academically strong enough to jump into Fordham’s core curriculum, which includes courses in philosophy, theology, and history. And while the campus’s New York location and business programs may be a draw, the cost and the Jesuit character of the college might not be right for everyone.

Finding the right match, says Mr. Choudaha of World Education Services, is critical. He helped write a report released last month offering guidance for colleges on emerging markets. “Beyond More of the Same” notes that the four countries holding the greatest potential—Brazil, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey—have distinct profiles. Vietnam has an emerging middle class, for example, but one that is not particularly wealthy. So community college might be the best option for those students. Turkey also has a growing middle class, but students there are more interested in an American degree at the graduate level.

Looking ahead, signs point to continued growth in international enrollment. A survey last month of more than 500 institutions by eight higher-education associations suggests that enrollments continued to rise this fall, with 61 percent of respondents reporting growth and 17 percent reporting declines. And according to a report released last week by the Council of Graduate Schools, member institutions reported an 8-percent increase in new international students, the same percentage growth seen the previous year.

But despite such gains, some international-education experts say the United States can do much more to attract foreign students. Mr. Johnson, of Nafsa, cautions that enrollment growth will continue to be modest until the country throws its full support behind an ambitious plan to recruit international students from across the globe, similar to how President Obama set goals for specific countries. “We’d be at a million if we set our minds to it a decade ago,” he says.

U.S. Institutions With the Most International Students, 2011-12