Modest 6% increase builds on post-Covid IEP boom in US

• Some 67,924 international students studied Intensive English Programs across the US in 2023, building on a post-Covid boom seen in 2022
• Student week numbers went up again, with 757,712 in 2023 compared to 2022’s 669,705
• Brazil climbs above China in the top ten list, becoming the third biggest sending country, with Japan and France remaining the first and second biggest respectively

The Open Doors Intensive English Program Data Release was launched at the NAFSA Conference in New Orleans on May 30, and showed a 6% increase on 2022 figures.

While a fairly modest increase in numbers, it builds on a 63% increase between 2021 and 2022, indicating the aftermath of a post-Covid boom.

Looking at the amount of student weeks, there was an 11.6% increase on 2022’s figures, with 757,712 weeks taken by students in the US in 2023.

Once again, Japan sent the most students to IEPs, maintaining its 16% market share; Brazil continues to climb up the table, dislodging China from third place and getting 7% market share compared to its 6% in 2022.

Once again, Japan sent the most students to IEPs, maintaining its 16% market share

A notable trend down was seen for Colombia, one of the world’s biggest sending countries for English language training in 2023 – which went from the sixth biggest sending country in 2022 to the ninth in the latest data.

Open Doors also examined the trend for world regions sending students to US IEPs over the past eight years. Sub-Saharan Africa still sees a very low percentage, with 2% market share in 2015, 1% in 2019 and now 3% in 2023.

Maintaining a healthier average is Asia, which peaked in 2019 with over 50% of the market share – in 2023, it has 38% – but Europe has grown significantly since 2015 when it had just 7% market share. In 2019 it grew to 10%, but it now has 29% in 2023.

Also maintaining steady growth is Latin America and the Caribbean, which went from 15% in 2015 to 22% market share in 2023 – but the Middle East is sending a lot less students in 2023, with only 8% market share compared to 36% in 2015.

California remains the most popular state for IEP enrolment, with 15,937 students; New York is second, with 11,917; Florida has 7,463; Massachusetts 5,994; and Hawaii 3,333. All of the top five states apart from Hawaii saw a modest increase.

Visitor visas are becoming an increasingly popular way for students to access IEPs. In 2022, 73% of those studying on IEPs were on F Visas, or student visas; in 2023, this dropped to 55%, with 38% now on Visitor ‘B’ visas compared to last year when only 22% were using them.

Half of all students that were on an IEP in the US in 2023 were using an independent provider not affiliated with an HEI – a figure that’s grown by a staggering 39%. Some 40% are on an IEP governed by a college or university, and 10% with an independent provider affiliated with an HEI.

According to the data, Europeans seem to be leaning towards those independent providers – while countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Japan tend to lean towards either independent providers or HEIs. Chinese students, it seems, are going with HEIs for their IEPs.