International enrollment drops at state's colleges

Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 28, 2005 at midnight

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International student enrollment at many of Colorado's universities dropped last school year, mirroring a nationwide trend.

Tuition increases and the perception that the U.S. isn't a welcoming place for foreigners are two major contributors to the drop, school officials said.

A report released by the Institute of International Education found that 1 percent fewer foreign students were enrolled in American colleges and universities during the 2004-05 school year than the previous year.

In Colorado:

• Colorado State University in Fort Collins showed international student enrollment decreasing by more than 8.6 percent last year. There were 868 enrolled in 2004-05 compared to the 950 the year before.

Although the university and community embraced its Middle Eastern student population shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, the after-effects have taken a toll, said Mark Hallett, CSU's director of international students.

"It took a bit longer for the students who were already here to leave" after Sept. 11, he said. "They weren't being replaced by the same numbers. They chose other schools in Britain and Australia."

• Metropolitan State College of Denver, a commuter-campus downtown, has seen lowered enrollment since the millennium. In 2002, there were 231 foreign students studying at the campus; in 2004, 190 attended.

• The University of Northern Colorado bucked the trend with a 17.5 percent increase in foreign student enrollment in 2004 with 148 students. In 2003, the school had 126.

About 23 percent of UNC's international student population comes from Taiwan.

"We have been steadily connected to countries like Taiwan and Thailand," said Gloria Reynolds, a spokeswoman with the university.

• The University of Denver, a private institution, saw its international student population rise slightly from 722 in 2003 to 729 in 2004, a 1 percent increase.

• The University of Colorado's Boulder campus, which hosts the largest number of international students in the state, saw an 11.2 percent drop. Enrollment decreased from 1,103 in 2003-04 to 980 the next year.

"It was the perception a year or two ago, that there were large problems getting visas, but that's no longer a problem," said Larry Bell, with CU's Office of International Education.

Now the problem is, he said, that international students no longer see the U.S. as a welcoming place. Tuition increases have impacted enrollment for all students, not just those from abroad, he said.

Losing hold on monopoly

Since 2001, there has been a national downward trend in foreign students coming to the U.S., said Karen de Bartolome, of the Institute of International Education's Rocky Mountain regional center in Denver.

A study by the institute found that India sends more students to the United States than any other country. There were 80,466 Indian students studying in the U.S. last school year.

Difficulty in obtaining documents is only one of several factors for decreased enrollment, she said. Many other English-speaking countries, like Australia, have recently poured money into their universities and are working hard to attract students from around the globe, she said.

"Where we used to have a complete monopoly, now the game is being played," de Bartolome said. "Getting an education in an English-speaking country is still a big priority."

The study's findings pointed to the rising cost of U.S. tuition and the perception abroad that it's harder for international students to come to the U.S., as reasons that deter enrollment.

University of Denver student Shravanti Shinde came from India to Colorado in 2004 to get her master's in information technology. Her degree path focuses on data warehousing and business intelligence. She received her undergraduate degree in engineering from an Indian university.

"When anyone comes to the U.S., the No. 1 thing is make them feel at home; that there is acceptance," Shinde said. "The feeling of being accepted comes very strongly (at) DU."

Shinde said she chose DU because it was the only place that offered her the type of degree she desired.

The importance of hosting foreign students in the U.S. is immeasurable, said de Bartolome.

"(Foreign students) bring wonderful brains and talent and enrich the educational experience of Americans while they are here. They go home as ambassadors of goodwill for the U.S."

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