By Robb Murray
MANKATO — While the 2008-2009 academic year saw big increases of international students at Minnesota State University and across the nation, the numbers locally appear to have leveled off this fall.
Tom Gjersvig, director of MSU’s Elizabeth and Wynn Kearney International Center, said the economy is most likely the biggest culprit. The H1N1 scare also is affecting international student numbers.
And both Gjersvig and recruiter Ludmi Herath say they’ve heard enough stories to confirm their suspicions.
Overall, the number of international students attending MSU is up slightly from 585 last fall to 593 today. But there are signs that families are being more cautious about sending their children to the U.S. to be educated and that the government is being more selective with student visas.
One student from Nepal, which sends more students to MSU than any other country, told Herath that despite showing the Nepalese consulate $40,000, he was still denied a student visa.
Gjersvig said the fewer student visas coming out of countries where they’ve typically seen strong numbers suggests the consulates in these countries are being more selective.
He said he believes the consulates are scrutinizing potential students’ financial situations more strictly, being extra careful to weed out those who may be at risk of not being able to cover the costs of their education.
Students who come directly from a foreign country to MSU actually make up a minority of international students. Most transfer in from two-year colleges.
MSU recruits heavily at Minnesota’s two-year colleges. But it also hits the Iowa colleges. Recently, they’ve begun making efforts in Seattle. And they’re considering making a concerted effort in California, where tuition is expected to rise sharply at its state universities, and enrollments may be capped. They’re hoping to get the message out that MSU is a more affordable option.
To help their chances, they tout some of MSU’s signature programs, such as business and engineering.
“Rankings matter to international students,” Herath said.
For many institutions, the last seven years have been spent making up for the losses incurred in the post-9/11 years.
After the terrorist attacks, the pipeline of students entering the U.S. was nearly cut off. Security became the primary issue as hundreds of students who normally would have been granted student visas were rejected.
MSU felt the crunch like most schools, and its numbers dipped. The community probably did, too. The Association of International Educators estimated the annual economic impact of international students on Mankato is about $12 million annually. Statewide, the economic impact estimate is nearly $233 million.
MSU’s relatively stable international student population this semester mirrors what about a quarter of respondents to a survey of 700 colleges and universities said. In that survey enrollments increased at half the institutions and decreased at about a quarter of them.
That survey asked colleges to provide reasons for increases or decreases. At colleges that saw increases, the most-often-cited reason was ramped up recruitment efforts.
At colleges that noted declines, the limping world economy was the cited most often, along with H1N1 fears, lack of financial aid or scholarships and a poor U.S. job market.
Nationally, China appears to be the biggest growth area for international students. While India sent the most students to the U.S. on student visas than any other with 103,260 (an increase of 9 percent over the previous year), China sent 98,510 (an increase of 21 percent over the previous year).
Nepal ranks 11th, and last year sent 11,581 students to the U.S., up 30 percent.
