Dive Brief:
- Many higher ed administrators and officials are concerned that travel restrictions will have a pronounced impact on international student recruitment, according to the results of an international survey reported by The Independent. Many expressed worries that the dual impact of Brexit and Donald Trump's inauguration and policies could cost colleges millions in potential revenue.
- 11% of institutions surveyed reported international students make up more than one-fifth of the student population at their institution, with an additional 19% reporting one-tenth of the students on their campuses came from outside the country. In all, 56% of institutions expected negative impacts on enrollment.
- 37% of the higher education professionals surveyed for the "Global Higher Education Survey" reported that they felt high levels of job insecurity, with only 28% noting that they felt confident about their job stature. The CEO of TERMINALFOUR, which conducted the survey, noted it was important for institutions to be aware of the issue of vacancies springing from declining enrollment.
Dive Insight:
Higher ed institutions in the United States are particularly concerned that the political rhetoric and policies of President Trump may engender a decline in student recruitment and enrollment throughout the rest of the world. A recent study found that declines in international student enrollment varied in the United States by region, with the Northeast and Midwest continuing to see consistent rates of recruitment. However, this may be because these colleges are pushing harder to mitigate the drop in the number of high-school graduates in these regions. Schools in the United States need to understand how their international student body impacts the institution, including the revenue that may be endangered if that recruitment level drops, and they should be willing to invest more resources and staff into proactive outreach.
Higher ed institutions must also think beyond the concerns of revenue to question how their campuses may suffer if they were to lose the levels of international student recruitment. In a recent Education Dive interview, Sir John Daniel, an education master at DeTao Masters Academy in China, noted that often international students benefit from generous scholarships. Schools should be concerned that a lack of demographic and intellectual diversity could be an issue in terms of attracting other students, whether from around the world or the local community. He suggested that institutions with a significant international alumni population utilize the alumni to act as messengers for the strength of the schools, to convince international applicants that it is still worth pursuing a postsecondary educational career abroad despite the fractious political climate.