Foreign students returning to US, but below pre-Covid levels

International students are returning to US colleges in stronger numbers this year, but the rebound has yet to make up for last year’s historic declines as Covid-19 continUSto disrupt academic exchange, according to a new survey.

Nationwide, American colleges and universities saw a 4 per cent annual increase in international students this fall, according to survey results released Monday by the Institute of International Education. But that follows a decrease of 15 per cent last year — the steepest decline since the institute began publishing data in 1948.

The upturn is better than many colleges were forecasting over the summer as the Delta variant surged. But it also reflects continued obstacles as visa backlogs persist and as some students show reluctance to study abroad during the pandemic.

Universities and US officials hope this year’s uptick is the start of a long-term rebound. As international travel ramps up, there's optimism that colleges will see growth past their pre-pandemic levels.

“We expect a surge following the pandemic,” Matthew Lussenhop, an acting US assistant secretary of state, told reporters. This year’s increase indicates that international students “continue to value a US education and remain committed to pursuing studies in the United States,” he added.

Overall, 70 per cent of US colleges reported an uptick in international students this fall, while 20 per cent saw decreases and 10 per cent remained level, according to the institute. That’s based on a preliminary survey of more than 800 US schools. The nonprofit plans to issue full nationwide data next year.

At least some of the increase is due to new students who hoped to come to the US last year but delayed their plans because of the pandemic. All told, there was a 68 per cent increase in newly enrolled international students this year, a dramatic increase compared with last year's decrease of 46 per cent.

For many schools, even a modest upturn is a relief. Over the summer, officials at US universities worried that the delta variant would dash any hopes of a rebound. But for many, that did not come to pass.

In August, US embassies and consulates in India reported that they had recently issued visas to a record 55,000 students even after starting the process two months late because of Covid-19. Embassies in China reported that they had issued 85,000 student visas.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, more than 10,000 international students enrolled this fall, which nearly offsets a 28 per cent decline from last year.

“What we’re seeing now is a return to normal for our international populations,” said Andy Borst, director of undergraduate admissions at the university. The rebound is fueled by new undergraduates, with those from India up nearly 70 per cent over pre-pandemic levels.

“We just had this pent-up demand,” Borst said. “A lot of Big Ten schools saw increases beyond what we were expecting.”

At some schools with big brands overseas, enrollments rebounded past their 2019 figures. More than 17,000 international students enrolled at New York University this fall, up 14 per cent over 2019, according to school data.

At the University of Rochester, another top destination for international students in New York, enrollments from abroad surged 70 per cent over 2019 levels, driven by a boom in graduate students, according to school data.

Most students were able to arrive on campus within the first weeks of the semester, but many dealt with visa backlogs at US embassies and consulates, not to mention costly flights and cancellations, said Jennifer Blask, the university’s head of international admissions.

The vast majority of US colleges returned to in-person learning by this fall, but not all international students are physically on campus. After last year’s shift to remote learning, many schools have continued offering online classes to students abroad, allowing thousands to stay enrolled from afar.

Out of all international students enrolled at US colleges this year, the survey found that about 65 per cent were taking classes on campus.

For Chinese students unable to arrive for this semester, NYU is continuing to let them use its academic center in Shanghai, which is traditionally for US students studying abroad. The university also let international students use its London and Abu Dhabi locations last year, but has since returned them to use for study abroad programs.

“In the last administration, there was a lot of negativity and negative rhetoric around international students,” Banks said. “Biden is now trying to telegraph to the world that there’s interest in having international students coming here.”