Global: The Drop in International Enrollments Should Trouble Communities, Not Just Colleges

The numbers in an annual study of students from abroad are a grim gut-check. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Please sign up to receive your own copy.]( You’ll support our journalism and ensure that you continue to receive our emails. [Read this newsletter on the web](. First Thought Insights drawn weekly from Karin Fischer's global-education newsletter, latitude(s). [Subscribe here](. Without question, the [Open Doors international-enrollment report]( released this week, has gloomy news for colleges: The number of international students on American campuses decreased in fall 2019, dropping 2 percent. While that share isn’t large, consider this — in seven decades of Open Doors data, international enrollments have fallen only five times, almost all in the years immediately following the September 11 terror attacks. 2020 will certainly be a sixth. An accompanying snapshot survey of more than 700 colleges found international enrollments this fall contracted 16 percent amid the pandemic. The number of new international students plummeted 43 percent. These trends shouldn’t just trouble colleges. They should be a gut check for the cities, states, and communities where they are located. [Karin explains why in this week's latitude(s).]( ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( The Reading List - [A new study]( from the Institute of International Education found that since 2016 the number of students on F-1 visas at American high schools has decreased by 15 percent. - The U.S. Department of Education is [threatening to withhold]( Title IV federal-student aid funds from colleges that it says fail to comply with requirements for reporting gifts and contracts from foreign sources. - A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must allow new applicants to the [DACA program]( invalidating efforts to narrow the program for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Sign up for Our New Newsletter, Race on Campus This year laid bare stark racial inequalities in the United States. Almost everyone in higher education — and at your institution — feels the impact of race, but they feel it from different vantages. That’s why The Chronicle is starting a new newsletter: Race on Campus. Once a week, a team of reporters will try to make sense of how the national reckoning on race is unfolding at colleges across the country. The newsletter will share the different perspectives of people advocating for change, and explore what colleges can do to become more equitable, inclusive places. [Sign up for the newsletter here.]( Subscribe to The Chronicle Our mission, at a time of crisis and uncertainty, is to ensure you have the information you need to make the best decisions for your institution, your career, and your students. Please consider subscribing today to sustain our continuing coverage. [Subscribe Today]( Featured on Chronicle.com FOREIGN STUDENTS [Covid-19 Caused International Enrollments to Plummet This Fall. They Were Already Dropping.]( By Karin Fischer [image] Here’s what you should know about the latest “Open Doors” report. THE EDGE [The Edge: What It Means to Be ‘Open Access’ Now]( By Goldie Blumenstyk Nine months on, college leaders reflect on meeting students’ needs and finding ways to create community. sponsored by Ascendium [The Road Ahead for Rural Colleges]( As the pandemic upends enrollment numbers for years to come, learn how college leaders at rural institutions are being proactive to safeguard their futures and use their locations to their advantage. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( Job Announcement Director of Human Resources opening at American University of Iraq – Baghdad. [Visit jobs.chronicle.com]( for more details. sponsored by Ascendium [The Road Ahead for Rural Colleges]( As the pandemic upends enrollment numbers for years to come, learn how college leaders at rural institutions are being proactive to safeguard their futures and use their locations to their advantage. Job Opportunities [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in higher education. What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( // [It was OK]( // [Loved it](. [logo]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2020 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037