Foreign Enrollment Levels Off at U.S. Schools

Enrollments by foreign students at American universities have leveled off after a period of heady expansion and may be headed downward because of visa restrictions introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a report released today.

An annual survey by the Institute of International Education (IIE), which administers academic exchange programs, reported significant drops in new student admissions from predominantly Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. But the decline was offset by increases in the number of students coming from countries such as South Korea and India.

Education represents a huge source of invisible exports for the United States, with economists estimating that the country earned nearly $13 billion last year from tuition fees, room and board, and other goods and services purchased by foreign students. According to the IIE, some large states such as California typically earn more from foreign students than they do from football and baseball combined.

The survey shows that 586,000 foreign students are enrolled in U.S. colleges. Over the past two years, the growth rate has dropped from 6.4 percent to 0.6 percent. The largest number of foreign students come from India and China.

IIE President Allan E. Goodman said the data show that the United States remains "the number one destination for foreign students" despite individual "horror stories" about long visa lines and brusque consular officials. He said the figures suggest that the vast majority of foreign students were coming to the United States "without substantial delay."

Some other experts took a bleaker view of the figures released by IIE, noting that they appear to herald a decline in future enrollments. "We are clearly seeing a downward trend," said Victor Johnson, associate director for public policy at the Association of International Educators, known by its former acronym, NAFSA. The nonprofit group promotes student exchanges. "This is the result of U.S. government policies that have had the effect of keeping foreign students out."

According to the IIE figures, visa restrictions appear to constitute the biggest single reason for declining student enrollments or delays in student registration, cited by 59 percent of campuses surveyed. Other reasons include the high cost of U.S. education and competition from other countries.

This year's Open Doors report from IIE had been eagerly awaited because it covers the first full academic year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the onset of the war on terrorism. New visa regulations, introduced in May 2003, require individual screening for most foreign students, a practice that has resulted in long lines outside U.S. embassies abroad.

In a recent article, Catharine R. Stimpson, the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science at New York University, accused State Department officials of overturning the university's admissions decisions and rejecting some visa applications on the basis of a few minutes of questioning. Prospective students from Middle East countries, particularly male students, have complained about "humiliating" visa procedures.

The Open Doors survey suggests that enrollments from some Middle East countries have fallen sharply. The number of Saudi students at U.S. colleges fell from 5,579 in 2002 to 4,175 this year. There was a 10 percent overall drop in the number of Middle East students.

Goodman said the decline in the number of Saudi students attending universities appeared to have started "with the decline in their economy" but may have been compounded by the perception that they are unwelcome here. "Sometimes the perception becomes the reality," he said.

"This is a worrying trend, and we need to respond now," Johnson said.