(from the Chronicle of Higher Education) The number of new international students enrolled in American higher education in the fall of 2017 declined 6.6 percent from the previous year, according to a report released this week. The data solidify an emerging trend — last year saw a 3-percent decline. Some observers have pegged at least part of the blame for the slowdown on the “Trump effect.” The thinking goes that Trump's combination of policies and rhetoric are fostering a climate hostile to globalism. But the organizations behind the report — the Institute of International Education and the U.S. State Department — play down that narrative. The primary culprits, they say, are the rising cost of American higher education; the scaleback of government-funded programs in some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, that encouraged study abroad; and stiffer competition for international students from other countries.
More from the Chronicle of Higher Education
Related content: The Business Case for International Students
Listen to the latest episode of the Net Assets podcast.
