Reuters Posted online: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 at 1122 hours IST
Washington, November 10: The number of foreign students pursuing advanced degrees at US universities fell this year, strengthening a trend that began after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a report released on Wednesday.
"This survey confirms, as we have suspected for some time, that most of the nation's leading research universities are experiencing declines in international graduate enrollment," said Nils Hasselmo, president of the Association of American Universities.
"The major factors are US visa policy, increased international competition and perceptions that the United States is no longer a welcoming country," he said.
The survey conducted by five higher education organisations led by the Association of International Educators found that nearly half of the 480 colleges surveyed reported a decline in new enrollments of overseas graduate students compared to last year, while just under a quarter reported an increase.
However, among schools with the greatest foreign enrollments -- some two dozen universities that each enroll 2,500 foreign students -- nearly two thirds reported falling numbers both of new and continuing graduate students. The report did not give raw numbers or quantify the decline in absolute terms.
The trend was less pronounced among undergraduates. Still, in the universities with the largest foreign student bodies, 54 per cent reported a decline in numbers while 32 per cent said their numbers had grown.
WARNING FOR SOME TIME
University heads have been warning for some time that new, stringent security requirements put into place after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, have deterred large numbers of foreign students from coming to the United States.
At least one of the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the country on a student visa. After that, Congress mandated the establishment of a computerized system in which all foreign students are registered and can be tracked.
Graduate school applications from international students declined 32 per cent from 2003 to 2004, the Council of Graduate Schools reported earlier this year.
Foreign students and their dependents pump an estimated $13 billion a year into the U.S. economy. Even more importantly, education officials argue that talented graduate students, especially in engineering, science and technology, bring invaluable talent to the United States.
Marlene Johnson of the Association of International Educators said the Bush administration was aware of the situation and was trying to address some of the obstacles discouraging or preventing legitimate scholars and students from coming to the United States.
"The bad news is that, despite some positive signs, overall the numbers are still discouraging," she said. "We have to remember that losing this market is like losing a forest to fire. It happens very quickly."
The Department of Homeland Security said earlier this year there were some 580,000 students and 190,000 exchange visitors in this country. The top five countries sending foreign students were South Korea, India, China, Japan and Taiwan.
The survey found that Chinese and Korean students appeared to be coming to study in the United States in equal or greater numbers than before but the numbers from India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia were down.
