United States higher education institutions, traditionally leaders in attracting international students, are now navigating a competitive global landscape with other countries emerging as formidable competitors, offering lower tuition costs and more accommodating immigration policies.
The US, however, faces an uphill battle as stringent visa policies and fluctuating geopolitical conditions affect its appeal. Against this evolving backdrop, attracting a diverse pool of international students and understanding students’ varying motivations is now more critical than ever for US universities to ensure sustainability and their global competitiveness.
The benefits of diversification
While international student diversity is an espoused goal of many US institutions, scant evidence exists on the progress made towards these efforts.
International enrolment data reveals that the international student population in the US continues to skew towards certain countries, with students from China and India continuing to comprise over half of all international students.
Diversification offers numerous advantages. A varied student body enhances social integration and academic collaboration, creating an inclusive campus environment. Financially, it reduces dependency on specific regions, safeguarding institutions from geopolitical and economic fluctuations and the shifting priorities of other countries.
There is also a domestic imperative for diversification: with an impending ‘enrolment cliff’ due to declining enrolments among American students, expanding international student recruitment from under-represented regions like Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia is crucial for sustaining enrolment.
A second enrolment cliff related to the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is reflected in broader challenges facing US higher education, such as rising costs, declining affordability and changing perceptions of the value of a degree.
But attracting international students from a wider range of countries is not just about an optimal recruitment strategy. It is also imperative if institutions are committed to issues of access and equity and to increasing educational opportunities for a broader range of students, while also considering their overall well-being, retention and success.
Beyond nationality
When thinking about international student diversity, the tendency has been to focus on geographical variation and student recruitment from a broader range of countries and regions, often from emerging markets or the Global South.
Over the past two decades, countries in South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa have begun to send more students to the US due to expanding middle classes, improved secondary education systems and ambitious scholarship programmes.
These regions have also witnessed large population growth: by 2030, India’s massive youth population – its ‘demographic dividend’ – is expected to reach 270 million and 42% of the world’s future talent will come from Africa alone.
These demographic shifts are accompanied by a dramatic growth in gross enrolment ratios (GERs) for higher education, fuelling a wave of outbound student mobility.
Other factors that have enabled a larger number of students from the Global South to go abroad include the provision of no-collateral student loans – a recent development in the international student marketplace.
Recent evidence on the impact of such loans demonstrates their positive impact on increasing access for traditionally under-represented international students, such as women in STEM fields.
Yet diversity in the context of international students should extend beyond nationality. It should encompass a range of socio-economic backgrounds, academic disciplines, cultural perspectives and within-country variations. International students are often viewed as monolithic, both as a whole but also from within a single country.
Discourse about the diversity of international students in the US also needs to acknowledge the intersectionality of the international student experience, which can in turn marginalise students based on their specific background, gender or race.
International students are often excluded from existing frameworks of disadvantage and marginalisation on US campuses, and thus excluded from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and from multicultural programming which primarily serves American students.
Yet many international students face acculturation, social and academic challenges that might overlap with those faced by some US students, such as first-generation immigrants.
Strategic approaches for US institutions
The new generation of globally mobile students hails from increasingly varied backgrounds, necessitating fresh thinking on the part of institutions to attract, engage and serve them effectively. Our recent report offers five key takeaways:
- Align international recruitment with diversity goals: Integrate international students into campus-wide diversity initiatives. Holistic admissions processes that consider diverse educational backgrounds can attract a varied pool of international students. Offer scholarships and financial aid specifically targeted at international students from under-represented regions. These financial incentives can make education more accessible to lower-income students, promoting socio-economic diversity within the international student population.
- Leverage technology: Virtual student mobility and digital engagement can surmount geographical barriers and reach students from under-represented regions. Virtual tours, webinars and a strong social media presence are essential for effective outreach. However, these approaches should not come at the expense of ongoing efforts to also enable a large and varied group of students to engage in in-person overseas study.
- Foster an inclusive campus environment: While cultural programming, support networks and faculty training are crucial for creating an inclusive environment, universities must go beyond traditional and formulaic cultural events to fully integrate international students into campus life and to bridge the divide between international and domestic students.
- Enhance support services: Comprehensive orientation programmes, specialised advising and culturally sensitive counselling services can ease the transition for international students and address their unique challenges.
- Build global partnerships: Collaborating with institutions in the Global South and engaging with high schools in key source countries can strengthen recruitment efforts and enhance global visibility.
Challenges to diversification
With its burgeoning youth population, the Global South offers the most potential for diversification, yet students from these regions will require significant financial support to afford a US education. Additionally, recent restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, particularly in public secondary and postsecondary institutions, have complicated efforts to create inclusive environments for international students.
Finally, the position of the US as the world’s top study destination remains uncertain, given restrictive immigration policies and impending political shifts.
As it is, students from Africa and the Global South face disproportionately high visa denial rates and related immigration challenges.
It remains to be seen whether potential changes in immigration policy under the second Trump administration will restrict the inflow of international students to the US or limit opportunities, such as the popular work-study programme (Optional Practical Training) which is a significant draw for international students.
According to one estimate, there were more than 400 immigration-related actions by the previous Trump administration, many of which affected international students. Between 2016 and 2019, new international student enrolments in the US declined each year, with a cumulative drop of 11.4%.
What remains a constant is that the landscape of student mobility in the US remains dynamic and ever-changing, and now more than ever institutions must adapt their strategies to attract and retain a diverse international student body.