US: More students go abroad, more arrive

As President Barack Obama was announcing a new initiative to send 100,000 American students to China in the coming four years so as to equal the number of Chinese students in the US, the report of an Open Doors 2009 survey last week revealed a record number of US students abroad.

More than 262,000 Americans were studying overseas in the 2007-08 academic year - up 8.5% on the previous year - while the number of international students in America grew by 8% to reach nearly 672,000 in 2008-09.

So the US receives more than double the number of students it sends abroad, according to Open Doors, published annually by the Institute of International Education with support from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The number of international students in America was the largest percentage increase in international student enrolments since 1980-81 and marked the third consecutive year of significant growth, with increases of 7% in 2007-08 and 3% in 2006-07, the Open Doors report said.

First time enrolments of international students in autumn 2008 rose by 16%, following two years of 10% increases. The largest growth was in undergraduate enrolments which increased by 11% compared with a 2% increase in graduate numbers."

The small growth in international graduates in the US supports last month's report by the Council of Graduate Schools which revealed flat foreign enrolments this year. This was the first year of no growth in first-time graduate enrolments since 2004, said Nick Clark, Editor of World Education News & Reviews.

Clark added that the IIE data was one year behind while the CGS information included current final admission offers and enrolments. (See also International graduate recruitment stalls, University World News.)

The Open Doors report said the growth in international student numbers in the US was driven largely by increases in undergraduate students from China. Their number leapt by 21% to nearly 99,000.

This, along with the expanding economic importance of China and Obama's visit there last week, led to a US-China Joint Statement announcing heightened people and cultural exchanges and an agreement to create a "new bilateral mechanism" to facilitate exchanges.

The US pledged to receive more Chinese students and facilitate visas for them. The statement also said the US wanted to encourage more Americans to study in China by launching a new initiative to send 100,000 students over the coming four years.

Although the statement said there were 20,000 US students in China, Open Doors puts the number at 13,000. Whichever figure is more accurate, India remains the leading country of origin of foreign students in the US, with Indian student enrolments growing by 9% to more than 103,000.

China is in second place followed by South Korea (up 9% to 75,065), Canada (up 2% to 29,697), Japan (down 14% to 29,264) and Taiwan (down 3% to 28,065).

Sending countries that reported dramatic increases in students going to the US were Vietnam (up 46% to 12,823 following growth of 45% in 2007-08 and 31% in 2006-07), Saudi Arabia (up 28% to 12,661 thanks largely to substantial investment in government scholarships) and Nepal (up 30% to 11,581).

International students contribute $17.8 billion to the US economy through spending on tuition and living expenses, according to the US Department of Commerce, making higher education one of the nation's top service sector exports. Open Doors reported that 65% of international students received the majority of their funds from personal and family sources while 70% of all students' primary funding comes from sources outside the US.

The most popular fields of study for international students in the US were business and management (21% of total) and engineering (18%). For the eighth year the University of Southern California was the leading host institution with 7,482 international students, and California was the leading host state (up 10% to 93,124 international students).

In terms of American students abroad, Europe continued to host the largest share - 56% of all US students overseas in 2007-08, though the region's share is declining. The UK was again the most popular destination (up 2% to 33,333 students) followed by Italy (up 10% to 30,670), Spain (up 5% to 25,212), France (up 0.6% to 17,336), and China (up 19% to 13,165).

There were particularly strong rises in students going to less traditional destinations. While the most popular countries were in Europe, Open Doors said that 15 of the top 25 destinations were outside Western Europe and 19 were countries where English was not the primary language.

"Notable increases among leading destinations were in the numbers students going to China, Ireland, Austria and India (up about 20%), as well as Costa Rica, Japan, Argentina and South Africa (up nearly15% each)," the report said.

Students going to Africa increased by 18%, those heading to Asia grew by 17% and those to Latin America by 11%. The number studying in the Middle East rose by 22%, though the region is host to little more than 1% of all American students abroad.

"While this data reflects academic year 2007-08, prior to the economic downturn, it is likely that trends toward less expensive destinations and shorter stays will continue, reflecting the effects of the economy," said the report.

Allan E Goodman, IIE President and CEO, noted: "More students are eager to study in newly popular study abroad destinations such as China, India and the Middle East."

About 6% of US students study in more than one destination during the same study abroad experience and most study for short periods and so do not experience full immersion in overseas cultures. About 40% of US students abroad are on mid-length programmes while 56% choose short-term study.

"A little more than 4% of study abroad students spend a full academic or calendar year abroad," said the Open Doors report.

New York University was the top sending institution, giving academic credit for study abroad to 3,395 students, followed by Michigan State University (2,969), while 53 mostly large research institutions awarded academic credit for study abroad to more than 1,000 students.

The Open Doors data showed that 23 smaller institutions reported sending more than 80% of their students abroad at some point during their undergraduate careers. The leading fields of study are the social sciences (21.5% of those studying abroad), business and management (20%) and the humanities (13%).

The Open Doors census is based on a survey of some 3,000 accredited US institutions: "The findings do not reflect the full impact of the past year's economic downturn since decisions to come to the United States to study were made before the financial effects were fully felt in the sending countries," said the report.

To provide a 'snapshot' of what US campuses are reporting this autumn, the IIE conducted an online survey, in cooperation with seven other higher education associations, which it said indicated a "mixed picture": 50% of responding campuses continued to see increases in international student enrolments, down from 57% the previous year, while 24% reported declines and 26% reported levels about the same as last year.

"The campuses seeing declines noted varied effects of the current economic conditions and students' concerns about the H1N1 virus, while those reporting increases cited increased recruitment efforts and the growing reputation and visibility of US campuses abroad."

* The full Open Doors report costs $64.95 and can be ordered from IIE Books

karen.macgregor@uw-news.com