Report shows recovery for US unis, agent usage and Ukraine War impact

The Spring 2022 Snapshot on International Educational Exchange was conducted by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and is based on the responses of 559 higher education institutions, which accounted for 49 per cent of all international students in the USA in the 2020/21 academic year.

Enrolment data:

Almost 65 per cent of institutions (65 per cent) said that international student applications for 2022/23 have increased, compared with the previous academic year, while only 12 per cent indicated that applications have decreased.

The data represents a clear improvement with the previous Spring Snapshot in 2021, when 43 per cent indicated an increase for the 2021/22 academic year, and 38 per cent cited a decrease.

Increases in applications were higher for master’s institutions (76) and doctoral institutions (73), compared with community colleges (68) and liberal arts colleges (51).

“Over time, we have seen the resilience of international educational exchange, confirming that students want to travel abroad. U.S. institutions are prepared and ready to host them or send them on exciting academic adventures. The return to in-person learning, whether among international students or in U.S. study abroad, also confirms that students and faculty will prefer in-person experiences when possible. At the same time, we have learned that hybrid options offer opportunities to complement, not replace, in-person study,” the authors said.

Recruitment methods:

In terms of future international student recruitment, 67 per cent of institutions said that they were using agents, alongside other methods such as current international students (91), online recruitment events (89), social media outreach (73), international partnerships (72) and alumni (68).

The authors explained, “Finally, we asked what outreach and recruitment tools were the most useful for institutions. When considering this, reporting institutions most readily cited agents, online recruitment events, current international students, and international partnerships as the recruitment tools with the highest utility.

“Amid Covid-19, U.S. colleges and universities have diversified their outreach and recruitment, combining traditional and new strategies that have proven useful in converting prospective international students to enrolled students on their campuses.”

There was also a return to in-person recruitment, with 43 per cent of respondents indicated that they were now utilising in-person events.

Mode of delivery:

The Spring 2022 Snapshot also shows that the majority of institutions returned to in-person for the spring semester: 28 per cent offered in-person only tuition, 71 per cent offered hybrid classes and only one per cent (four institutions) were remote only.

More than half of institutions (55 per cent) said that all of their international students were on campus this spring, compared with only eight per cent in the Spring 2021 snapshot.

Outbound study abroad programmes:

As well as welcoming international students on campus, US universities and colleges are returning to study abroad programmes for domestic students as travel barriers globally are lifted: 89 per cent said that they were offering study abroad programmes for summer 2022, and 83 per cent of institutions expect growth in their outbound study abroad numbers in 2022/23, compared with only 35 per cent in the previous Spring 2021 Snapshot.

Ukraine War impact:

The authors also looked at the impact of the Ukraine war on recruitment and services offered to students as a special focus for the Spring 2022 Snapshot.

Forty-four per cent of institutions said they had Ukrainian students currently, and services for these students included mental health counselling (81 per cent), discussions with students (77), support for legal advice (63) and emergency student funding (58).

Similarly, 55 per cent said that they had Russian students enrolled currently, and similar services were offered to Russian students.

In terms of recruitment of future students, 34 per cent said that they would offer scholarships or tuition waivers for Ukrainians, 27 per cent noted waiving application fees, and 21 per cent reported providing work study opportunities.

For the recruitment of Russian students, around 110 institutions reported that they are continuing to recruit students from Russia, while only seven said they had suspended recruitment of Russians.

“Most institutions plan to move forward with their recruitment plans and welcome international students from Ukraine and Russia just like students from other places of origin,” the authors said.

Read more: Click here to access the full Spring 2022 Snapshot by the Institute of International Education (IIE).