Data collected from 700 higher education campuses for the instant survey found that 90% of institutions reported international student deferrals in Fall 2020. Responding institutions indicated that nearly 40,000 students have deferred enrollment to a future period . And, the total number of international students, which includes new and currently enrolled candidates, in the United States and studying online outside of the United States decreased by 16% in 2020.
“It is not just the United States. It’s a year of declines everywhere, ”Allan Goodman, president of the Institute for International Education, said at a news conference. “We have never had a decline like that. But there is a huge pent-up demand. When it is safe to resume the journey, we will be looking for an increase in students. “Anthony Koliha, director of the Office of Global Educational Programs in the Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State. to respond to future increase.
Even before the arrival of Covid, the flow of students from India to the United States had started to decline. Data captured by Open Doors revealed that India’s enrollment decreased 4.4% in 2019 after a 2.9% increase in the previous academic year (see chart). The slide is pronounced in the numbers of graduates, undergraduates and OPT (Optional Practical Training), with a small increase of 0.9% in the numbers of university students.
Indians enrolling in American graduate programs, which make up the majority of Indian students in the US, decreased 5.7% in 2019. The highest drop of 21.4% was from non-courses. degree and 4.1% came from OPT, which allows practical work experience after a degree program for up to 36 months.
The drop in interest in business management was offset by new fantasy in math and statistics leading to jobs in data analytics and artificial intelligence.
For the fifth year in a row, the United States hosted more than one million international students during the 2019-20 academic year. Global data indicates a slight decrease (1.8%) in the number of international students in the United States during 2019-20, after a small increase in 2018-19. According to the US Department of Commerce, international students contributed $ 44 billion to the US economy in 2019. China, followed by India and South Korea, sent the largest cohort of students to the US. Indian students contributed $ 7.7 billion to the American economy.
Hostile visa and immigration policies have reduced the number of students going to the United States. Of the top 25 countries, 19 registered a decrease in growth rate in 2019-20 compared to the previous year. Among the top 20 places of origin, the largest percentage increases were students from Bangladesh (+ 7%), Brazil (+ 4%) and Nigeria (+ 3%). Saudi Arabia experienced the largest percentage decline (-17%), mainly due to changes in its government’s scholarship program.
More than half (52%) of international students in the US earned majors in STEM fields of study (engineering, math and computer science, physical and life sciences, health professions, and agriculture) in 2019-20 . Engineering continued to be the leading field of study representing one in five (20.5%) international students. Mathematics and computer science were the second largest field of study, and the number of international students pursuing them increased by 0.9% in 2019-20
During the 2018-19 academic year, 3.47,099 American students studied abroad for academic credit, an increase of 1.6% over the previous year. Those who arrived in India fell 15.6%.
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