Syracuse University has seen an increase in international student enrollment in recent years despite a nationwide trend showing the opposite.

International students made up 13.5% of SU’s undergraduate student body in fall 2018, according to the university’s fall census. In 2017 and 2016, SU students from foreign countries comprised 12.7% and 12.3% percent of the undergraduate student body, respectively. 

Juan Tavares, director of SU’s Slutzker Center for International Services, said one reason for this trend is the university’s rise in academic ranking from 2018 to 2019. SU was ranked No. 54 in the fall 2019 U.S. News and World Report ranking of best universities, an eight-spot jump from 2018.

“If everything stays the same in terms of admissions standards and strategies for recruiting, then I see no reason why this trend cannot continue,” Tavares said.

Nationwide, the 2016-17 academic year saw more than 900,000 newly enrolled international undergraduate students. The 2017-2018 year saw about 890,000, according to a 2018 Open Doors study published by the Institute of International Education. 

While the overall number of international students across the country increased during the 2017-2018 academic year, new student enrollment for international students fell by 6.6% that year and continued “a slowing or downward trend first observed in the 2015-16 academic year,” according to a 2018 Open Doors press release. 

The 2019 Open Doors data will be released in a month, said Allan Goodman, CEO of the Institute of International Education, in an email. 

“International students choose America for the quality and diversity of our higher education institutions,” Goodman said. “Other countries increasingly also seek international students, so we have competition. But none have the capacity we do with over 4,000 accredited colleges and universities open to students from all over the world.”

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Tavares said SU has seen an increase in international student enrollment in recent years, particularly from Chinese students. 

China is the No.1 country of origin for international students both at SU and in the U.S. as a whole. In China specifically, Tavares said, a school’s name and ranking is an important factor in deciding to enroll in a university. 

Jaden Chen, a first-year student from China, said he wanted to attend college in the U.S. because the country is more open to and safer for people who identify as LGBT than China is. 

“I wanted to find a place more open to this (LGBT) community so I can figure out what I want to do,” Chen said. “I wanted a place safer than in China.” 

He chose SU because he’s interested in studying media. Although he was not accepted to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he still wanted to attend the university as an undecided major in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

While Chinese student enrollment has increased at SU, these numbers have decreased at the national level. Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs at the Migration Policy Institute, said overseas competition plays a role in the national decline. Foreign countries, particularly China and Mexico, are expanding the scope of their education systems. As education overseas improves, fewer students will want to attend college in the U.S., he said.

“Everybody throughout the world is aware of the different rankings,” Capps said. “That’s where competition from other countries comes into play. The less competitive (universities) in the U.S. are having more trouble now.” 

Another factor contributing to the international student enrollment decline may be the change in rhetoric and policy within President Donald Trump’s administration, Capps said.

While the administration’s ban on immigration from Muslim countries did not directly affect Saudi Arabia, the amount of Saudi Arabian students enrolled in the U.S. has decreased in recent years, he said. Students from Latin American countries feel less comfortable in the U.S., he added.

The process of obtaining Visa cards has also slowed down, Capps said. Prospective international students can’t arrive in the country where they plan to attend college or university due to delays in obtaining Visa cards, he said. 

Chen said he hopes to stay and work in the U.S. after he graduates, but the policies of Trump’s Administration are “not very friendly.”

“My parents want me to know more about this world, so they really encouraged me to explore by myself instead of depending on them in China,” Chen said.

Published on October 15, 2019 at 9:59 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan