US uni enrollments steady, but OPT masking academic decreases

Released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) today, the Open Doors research shows that there were 1,095,299 international students at universities in 2018/19, the fourth consecutive year of over one million students and a 0.05 per cent increase compared with the previous year.

Welcoming the new peak, Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, said, “Promoting international student mobility remains a top priority for the Bureau and we want even more students in the future to see the United States as the best destination to earn their degrees. International exchange makes our colleges and universities more dynamic for all students and an education at a US institution can have a transformative effect for international students.”

However, a 9.6 per cent increase in Optional Practical Training (OPT) – where students can take paid employment related to their study field after graduation but remain enrolled at their institution – largely covered decreases elsewhere. A total of 223,085 students were in OPT in 2018/19, almost double the rate of five years earlier.

The number of international undergraduate students decreased by 2.4 per cent to 431,930, graduate students dropped by 1.3 per cent to 377,943, and there was a five per cent decline in non-degree overseas students (62,341).

The number of new, first-year international student enrolments in the USA in 2018/19 fell by 0.9 per cent to 269,383, the lowest level since 2012/13, the IIE figures showed, although the relatively small decline represented a stabilisation compared with larger falls in the last three years.

China accounted for just over one-third of all international enrolments, increasing by 1.7 per cent in 2018/19 to 369,548, and there was also a 2.9 per cent rise for second-placed India, meaning it topped the 200,000 mark for the first time.

However, there were decreases from Korea (-4.2) and Saudi Arabia (-16.5), the latter being further curtailed by reductions in the government-backed scholarship programme.

Fifteen of the top 25 source markets for US higher education institutions decreased in 2018/19. The largest growth, meanwhile, came from Brazil (+9.8 per cent), which leapfrogged into ninth place, and Bangladesh (+10).

New York University retained its position as the largest host institution for international students with 19,605, followed by the University of Southern California (16,340) and Northeastern University (16,075).

By state, California had the most international higher education students (161,693), despite a 0.2 per cent decrease, followed by New York (up by 2.5 per cent to 124,277) and Texas (a 2.9 per cent drop to 81,893).

International students constituted 5.5 per cent of all higher education students in the USA in 2018/19, an identical ratio to the previous year.

A complementary snapshot survey of 500 institutions based on the current 2019/20 academic year, also released by IIE today, shows a similarly mixed picture, with 51 per cent indicating a decrease in new international student enrolments and 42 per cent experiencing an increase.