The Impact of Immigration on Twenty-First Century America - Foreign Students At U.s. Collegesand Universities

In a statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at an October 6, 2004, hearing entitled "Addressing the New Reality of Current Visa Policy on International Students and Researchers," Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education, spelled out the cultural and economic benefits to the United States of welcoming foreign students to college campuses:

The United States is the destination of choice for most foreign students seeking to study abroad. The education available at our 4,000 accredited colleges and universities is recognized and envied around the world.… There are more seats in higher education in California, for example, than in all of China. Only nine countries in the entire world have more institutions of higher education than the states of California and New York.… Educational exchange programs … are the best investment that America can make in reducing misunderstanding of our culture, our people and our policies. An educational experience in America pays dividends to our nation's public diplomacy over many years …

There are other benefits to having foreign students on our campuses.… They come into the classroom with a very different worldview from American students. Raised in a different culture with a different history, they enrich the classroom discussion and share their global perspectives with American classmates, many of whom may never have the opportunity to study or travel abroad.… Less than 200,000 American students study abroad for credit each year, a tiny fraction of approximately 15 million enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities. For the vast majority who will never study abroad, academic dialog with foreign students on U.S. campuses may well be their only training opportunity before entering careers which will almost certainly be global, whether in business, government, academia, or the not-for-profit sector.

According to the Open Doors 2004 survey conducted by the Institute of International Education (IIE), 572,509 international students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities during the 2003–04 academic year compared to 586,323 the previous year. (See Table 7.7.) The IIE determined that this 2.4% decrease represented the first absolute decline in foreign enrollments since the 1971–72 academic year.

TABLE 7.7
SOURCE: "Total International Student Enrollment," in Open Doors 2004 Fast Facts, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Year	Int'l students	Annual % change	Total enrollment	% int'l
1954/55	34,232	—	2,499,800	1.4
1964/65	82,045	9.7	5,320,000	1.5
1974/75	154,580	2.3	10,321,500	1.5
1984/85	342,113	0.9	12,467,700	2.7
1994/95	452,653	0.6	14,554,016	3.1
1995/96	453,787	0.3	14,419,252	3.1
1996/97	457,984	0.9	14,286,478	3.1
1997/98	481,280	5.1	13,294,221a	3.6
1998/99	490,933	2.0	13,391,401	3.6
1999/00	514,723	4.8	13,584,998	3.8
2000/01	547,867	6.4	14,046,659	3.9
2001/02	582,996	6.4	13,511,149	4.3
2002/03	586,323	0.6	12,853,627	4.6
2003/04	572,509	−2.4	13,383,553b	4.3
a In 1997, The College Board changed its data collection process.
b The College Board Annual Survey of Colleges data on U.S. higher education enrollment.

India accounted for 13.9% of all foreign students enrolled in American colleges and universities in the 2003–04 academic year. Despite the overall decline in international students, the number of students from India increased 6.9% from 74,603 in 2002–03 to 79,736 in 2003–04, the greatest percentage gain of any country. Indonesia and Thailand recorded the greatest decreases in share of international students at 14.9% and 10.5%, respectively. (See Table 7.8.)

Not Enough American Students Apply for Teaching
and Research Assistantships

Goodman noted in his statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that foreign students had become an important source of graduate-level teaching and research assistants in U.S. universities, particularly in science and engineering fields, because not enough American students applied to fill the available positions. TABLE 7.8
Leading place of origin of international students, 2002/03
and 2003/04
SOURCE: "Leading Place of Origin of International Students, 2002/03 and 2003/04," in Open Doors 2004 Fast Facts, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Rank	Place of origin	2002/03	2003/04	2003/04 % change	2003/04 % total
	World total	586,323	572,509	−2.4
1	India	74,603	79,736	6.9	13.9
2	China	64,757	61,765	−4.6	10.8
3	Korea, Republic of	51,519	52,484	1.9	9.2
4	Japan	45,960	40,835	−11.2	7.1
5	Canada	26,513	27,017	1.9	4.7
6	Taiwan	28,017	26,178	−6.6	4.6
7	Mexico	12,801	13,329	4.1	2.3
8	Turkey	11,601	11,398	−1.7	2.0
9	Thailand	9,982	8,937	−10.5	1.6
10	Indonesia	10,432	8,880	−14.9	1.6
11	Germany	9,302	8,745	−6.0	1.5
12	United Kingdom	8,326	8,439	1.4	1.5
13	Brazil	8,388	7,799	−7.0	1.4
14	Colombia	7,771	7,533	−3.1	1.3
15	Kenya	7,862	7,381	−6.1	1.3
16	Hong Kong	8,076	7,353	−9.0	1.3
17	Pakistan	8,123	7,325	−9.8	1.3
18	France	7,223	6,818	−5.6	1.2
19	Malaysia	6,595	6,483	−1.7	1.1
20	Nigeria	5,816	6,140	5.6	1.1

Business and management programs were the top field of study for 19% of undergraduate- and graduate-level international students in the 2003–04 academic year. Another 16.6% were enrolled in engineering and 11.8% in math and computer science programs. These three leading fields of study all showed decreased enrollments in 2003–04 compared to 2002–03. By contrast, international student enrollment in social sciences grew 17.8% in the same period. (See Table 7.9.)

Foreign Students Contribute to U.S. Economy

"Educational exchange [is] one of the leading American service export industries, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce," Goodman told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also noted, "International students make important financial contributions to their host institution and to the local communities in which they live during their stay. Each year students from abroad bring some $12 billion into the U.S. economy."

The University of Southern California had the largest international student population with 6,647 foreign students representing 21% of the school's 31,606 total enrollment in 2003–04. (See Table 7.10.) California was also the state with the greatest number of international students: 77,186 in the 2003–04 academic year. Of the states with the most international students, only Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and North Carolina reported growth in their foreign student populations in the 2003–04 TABLE 7.9
Fields of study of international students, 2002/03 and 2003/04
SOURCE: "Fields of Study of International Students, 2002/03 and 2003/04," in Open Doors 2004 Fast Facts, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Field of study	2002/03 Int'l students	2003/04 Int'l students	2003/04 % of total	% of change
Business & management	114,777	108,788	19.0	−5.2
Engineering	96,545	95,221	16.6	−1.4
Math & computer science	71,926	67,693	11.8	−5.9
Other*	58,473	60,273	10.5	3.1
Social sciences	45,978	54,153	9.5	17.8
Physical & life sciences	43,549	44,607	7.8	2.4
Fine & applied arts	31,018	31,882	5.6	2.8
Undeclared	36,395	29,313	5.1	−19.5
Health professions	28,120	25,749	4.5	−8.4
Humanities	19,153	16,622	2.9	−13.2
Education	16,004	15,909	2.8	−0.6
Intensive English language	17,620	15,006	2.6	−14.8
Agriculture	6,763	7,293	1.3	7.8
Total	586,323	572,509	100.0	−2.4
*"Other" mainly includes liberal/general studies, communications and journalism, multi/interdisciplinary studies and law.

TABLE 7.10
U.S. institutions with the largest number of international
students, 2002/03 and 2003/04
SOURCE: "U.S. Institutions with the Largest Number of International Students, 2002/03 and 2003/04," in Open Doors 2004 Fast Facts, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Rank	Institution	State	Int'l students	Total enrollment
1	University of Southern California	CA	6,647	31,606
2	Columbia University	NY	5,362	23,609
3	Purdue University, main campus	IN	5,094	38,847
4	New York University	NY	5,070	38,188
5	University of Texas at Austin	TX	4,827	51,426
6	University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign	IL	4,769	38,747
7	University of Michigan—Ann Arbor	MI	4,583	39,031
8	Boston University	MA	4,518	29,049
9	University of California—Los Angeles	CA	4,320	38,598
10	The Ohio State University, main campus	OH	4,263	50,731
11	Texas A&M University	TX	3,815	44,813
12	University of Maryland College Park	MD	3,726	35,329
13	Indiana University at Bloomington	IN	3,715	38,589
14	Penn State University	PA	3,693	41,445
15	SUNY at Buffalo	NY	3,664	27,275
16	University of Pennsylvania	PA	3,557	22,769
17	University of Wisconsin—Madison	WI	3,435	41,507
18	Harvard University	MA	3,403	19,690
19	Florida International University	FL	3,397	33,401
20	University of Houston	TX	3,368	34,699

academic year compared to the previous year, and the increase in both Ohio and Indiana was less than 1%. (See Table 7.11.)

According to Goodman, about two-thirds of foreign students were supported by personal funds. He reported TABLE 7.11
States with the most international students, 2002/03 and 2003/04
SOURCE: "States with the Most International Students, 2002/03 and 2003/04," in Open Doors 2004 Fast Facts, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Rank	State	2002/03	2003/04	% change
1	California	80,487	77,186	−4.1
2	New York	63,773	63,313	−0.7
3	Texas	45,672	45,150	−1.1
4	Massachusetts	30,039	28,634	−4.7
5	Florida	27,270	25,861	−5.2
6	Illinois	27,116	25,609	−5.6
7	Pennsylvania	24,470	23,428	−4.3
8	Michigan	22,873	22,277	−2.6
9	Ohio	18,668	18,770	0.5
10	Indiana	13,529	13,586	0.4
11	New Jersey	13,644	13,163	−3.5
12	Maryland	12,749	12,633	−0.9
13	Virginia	12,875	12,531	−2.7
14	Georgia	12,267	12,010	−2.1
15	Washington	11,430	10,756	−5.9
16	Missouri	10,181	9,973	−2.0
17	Arizona	10,325	9,907	−4.0
18	Minnesota	8,985	9,142	1.7
19	North Carolina	8,599	8,826	2.6
20	Oklahoma	9,026	8,764	−2.9

that "for many states, the tuition, fees and living expenses paid by international students exceed the revenues generated by professional football and basketball combined."

In the IIE Open Doors 2004 survey, 67.3% of international students reported that they and/or their families provided primary funding for their 2003–04 educational expenses in the United States. The U.S. colleges and universities were the other major source of funds for 23.4% of foreign students through scholarships, grants, loans, and assistantships. (See Table 7.12.)

For the academic year 2002–03 the IIE reported that the 586,322 foreign students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities contributed $12.9 billion to the U.S. economy. Financial aid provided by the academic institutions was subtracted from the total tuition and living expenses paid by the students. (See Table 7.13.) Just 12.4% of international students were married and most of these students (85%) brought their families with them to the United States. An estimated 72,617 spouses and 43,570 children accompanied these enrolled foreign students. Living expenses paid by students for these family members were estimated at $479 million annually. (See Table 7.14.)

The IIE survey estimated that California, with the greatest number of international students, realized $1.7 billion in tuition and other fees as well as living expenses paid by students and their dependents for academic year 2002–03. New York was close behind at $1.5 billion. Wyoming, with the fewest international TABLE 7.12
Primary source of funding of international students, 2003/04
SOURCE: "Primary Source of Funding of International Students, 2003/04," in Open Doors 2004 Fast Facts, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Primary source of funds	2003/04 int'l students	2003/04 % of total
Personal & family	385,543	67.3
U.S. college or university	134,015	23.4
Home government/university	13,699	2.4
U.S. private sponsor	2,921	0.5
Foreign private sponsor	12,326	2.2
Current employment	11,888	2.1
U.S. government	10,111	1.8
International organization	1,964	0.3
Other sources	42	0.0
Total	572,509	100.0

TABLE 7.13
Net contribution to U.S. economy by foreign students, 2002/03
SOURCE: "Part 1. Net Contribution to U.S. Economy by Foreign Students, 2002/03," in Open Doors 2004, Institute of International Education, 2004, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/28491/Economic+Impact+Data+USA.pdf (accessed March 11, 2005)

Total number of foreign students:	586,322
Contribution from tuition and fees to U.S. economy:	$7,143,000,000
Contribution from living expenses:	$10,138,000,000
Total contribution by foreign students:	$17,281,000,000
Less U.S. support of 28.4%	−$4,908,000,000
Plus dependents' living expenses:	+$479,000,000

students among the forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., garnered $9.3 million from international students in the same period.

In his address to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Goodman acknowledged U.S. security concerns about possible student visa abuse, but made a plea for expediting student visa processing so that foreign students did not arrive late for the start of school semesters. He also stated that foreign students faced lengthy delays because they had to reapply for visa approval each time they returned home, even for short visits during holiday breaks. Goodman recommended student visa approval be awarded for the entire period of study in the United States.