The Institute of International Education (IIE), with support from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, just published Open Doors 2006, the annual report on international academic mobility in the United States.
Key findings on international students in the US in 2005/06 include:
Overall foreign student numbers stabilise, ending a two-year decline: The number of international students enrolled in US higher education institutions remained steady at 564 766, within a fraction of a percent of the previous year's totals. A new analysis included in Open Doors for the first time shows colleges and universities reporting an 8% increase in new enrolments for 2005/06.
Asia remains the largest sending region, accounting for 58% of total US international enrolments. India continues to be the leading place of origin for international students with 76 503 students in the US in 2005/06 (a decrease of 5% from the previous year), followed by China (62 582, up less than 1%), Korea (58 847, up 10%), and Japan (38 712, down 8%).
Universities invest more in recruitment and marketing: A separate online survey indicates that 58% (525) of all responding institutions have taken special steps to ensure that the number of international students on their campuses does not decline, e.g. new international programmes or collaborations, new staff or additional staff time devoted to international recruitment, new funding for recruitment trips, and new funding for marketing and promotion.
Detailed statistics and a report overview can be found online at the IIE website.
