Fewer international students studying at American schools

UNIVERSITY PARK -- For Penn State student Girish Hemashettar, the question of which country he wanted to go to earn his master's degree in biotechnology was easy.

"My first choice was America," the graduate student said.

More than half a million other international students made similar choices last year and studied in the United States, according to the annual "Open Doors" report from the Institute of International Education. Even so, the number of international students is declining, and Penn State and other universities continue to face challenges in recruiting them.

According to "Open Doors," the number of students from other countries studying in the United States declined 1.3 percent in 2004-05. The number had dropped 2.4 percent the year before that, compared with 2000-01 and 2001-02, when the number of international students in the United States increased 6.4 percent.

Negar Davis, director of International Student Services at Penn State, said she does not see the trend turning around by itself.

"We have to as a nation, as well as individual institutions, be proactive in our international student recruitment and marketing efforts," Davis said. "Without the focused attention and visibility outside the United States, we will probably continue seeing a decline, because we have a lot of new and added competition, not only in the United States, but also outside the United States in the various home countries of our potential and prospective students."

Of the 41,795 students at Penn State's University Park campus in 2004-05, 3,237 were international. That is 14 percent lower than the year before, but that statistic is misleading and actually reflects a change in how international students are counted. There were 533 students on optional practical training who are no longer included in the numbers. If not for that change, Penn State's international student population would have held steady.

Along with more competition, Penn State and other universities are facing perception problems overseas, according to "Open Doors." New visa requirements enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have brought "real and perceived difficulties," according to the report. And there's the cost.

"Penn State is the most expensive public institution in the United States by every measure," said Masume Assaf, associate director of International Student Services.

She said the visa process has improved since the new requirements were enacted. Those rules required visa offices to interview everybody applying for a visa rather than completing the paperwork via the mail, and Assaf said it took time for them to work out the best way to do that.

But that message may not be reaching prospective students.

"What's not better is the image," Assaf said. "The image is not as good as it once was pre-Sept. 11. It's just going to take some time for that to change and for people to understand they're welcome."

Since the changes, several students have experienced visa delays holding up their return to Penn State.

Sokhee Jung, a student from South Korean working on a master's degree in environmental engineering, got his visa, after a mountain of paperwork.

"In my case, it's not a problem, but it's a lot of work, and I hate it," he said.

He said many Koreans had negative feelings about the United States' requirements after the new visa procedure was enacted.

Hemashettar said many international students he knows are looking at going to school in Australia or Europe.

A downturn in the number of international students means less money for universities and states. According to the Institute of International Education, foreign students in Pennsylvania spent $626.9 million in 2002-03. About 70 percent of international students say that most of that money comes from family and personal sources outside the United States, according to "Open Doors."

By Anne Danahy
adanahy@centredaily.com
Anne Danahy can be reached at 231-4648.

How overseas students spend

International Exchange Program
Department of Education

How overseas students spend

INTERNATIONAL students are injecting about $109 million a week into the Australian economy. And that's not counting the millions they pay in tuition fees.

A new report reveals that although many of them work, their spending far outstrips their income from employment. The Survey of International Students' Spending in Australia found that almost one-third of students gained income from work. But 72 per cent of those earned less than $200 a week, way short of the $539 they spent weekly.

The study was carried out by the University of Queensland Social Research Centre for the Department of Education, Science and Training's Australian Education International.

Although most of the 3186 students were in higher education, the survey also covers students in vocational education, secondary schools and English language colleges.

It shows that, like their domestic counterparts, overseas students studying in Australia spend most of their money on basic living. And while they spend more than they earn, they do not have large amounts of discretionary income.

The biggest outlays were on housing at $122 a week, food and groceries ($129 a week) and telephone ($35 a week). Students also spent about $43 a week on transport, $34 a week on entertainment and $34 a week on course costs, excluding their tuition fees. Higher education students spent the most - $597 a week - and those enrolled in English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students spent the least: $390 a week.

The report's co-author Mark Western, director of UQ's Social Research Centre, said the findings highlighted the fact that international students were a significant export earner.

"If we are going to continue to be attractive to them, then we need to support the national education system across all the sectors in order to stay competitive," he said.

Associate professor Western said the two-thirds of students who were not working were either on scholarships or being supported by their families.

"One of the things we know about international students is that a lot of them come from advantaged backgrounds. So a lot of them have access to funds back home, or they are here with family members who are probably working here or supporting them."

Most of the students in the survey were studying in Victoria (38 per cent) and Queensland (23 per cent). NSW was under-represented because some institutions with large international enrolments did not co-operate with the survey.

Overall, 68 per cent of students were in higher education, 8 per cent in vocational education, 12 per cent in schools, 9 per cent were enrolled in ELICOS and 3 per cent in foundation or enabling courses.

Those intending to migrate were most likely to be from India (41 per cent), followed by Britain (34 per cent) and China (29 per cent).

Students from Japan, North America and Canada were most likely to say they had no intention to migrate.

Dorothy Illing
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
November 30, 2005