Latitudes: For one pathways program, it’s the end of the road

One of the first universities to adopt the public-private model for recruiting foreign students is calling it quits. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now read The Chronicle on [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. A Florida university is ending its international-pathways program One of the original pathways programs for recruiting international students onto an American campus is shutting down, and the breakup may be bumpy. The University of South Florida quietly terminated its contract with Into University Partnerships last spring, according to [minutes]( of a meeting of the Board of Trustees’ finance committee, saying that it was not profitable. The university then [sued]( the student-recruitment company in July to “compel the wind-up and dissolution” of the partnership. Meanwhile, Into, as the company is known, countersued South Florida for breach of contract. News of the end of the international-student program and of the lawsuits was [first reported]( by The Oracle, the university’s student-run newspaper. South Florida isn’t the only college to terminate such a partnership. But the decision to disband the program is notable because the Tampa-based university was one of the [first]( in the United States to contract with a private provider to recruit international students and help them transition to an American campus, more than a dozen years ago. Known as pathways programs, the public-private partnerships, which were imported from Australia and Britain, were [initially controversial](. Many educators were uncomfortable with what they saw as outsourcing of key college functions, such as recruitment, English-language instruction, and first-year academic programming, to a for-profit company. (Pathways programs often combine language learning with college-preparatory courses, with both partners sharing in the tuition revenue.) Critics also balked at the length of the agreements, which could last years or even decades. In the years since the Into-South Florida program got its start, more competitors, some of them homegrown, have come into the space, each with its own take on the pathways model. Many college administrators have become more open in general to working with private partners on international recruitment. For example, two-thirds of colleges in a [survey]( conducted last spring by the Institute of International Education said they now work with third-party student-recruitment agents overseas. But even as private-sector partnerships have become more widely accepted within international education, the landscape for student recruitment has become far more competitive globally. That could make it more difficult to sustain pathways programs, which have an infrastructure of recruitment and student-support services. They have typically relied on recruiting a high volume of students to make the financial model work. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, new enrollments in the South Florida pathways program had [declined](. In the trustees-meeting minutes, the university noted that by terminating the agreement, it was limiting its equity losses to the original investment amount. Neither the university nor the company is saying much publicly about the decision to call it quits. A spokesman for Into said he was unable to comment. In a written statement, Althea Johnson, South Florida’s director of media relations, said the university does not comment on pending litigation. Students enrolled in the pathways program were notified in July that the institution had changed its approach to international-student recruitment and that administrators “have ended our relationship with Into,” she said. Students had access to courses and support services during the 2022 academic year so that their experience remained unchanged. “The University of South Florida remains committed to the success of our international students and continuing to maintain a robust, diverse international student population,” Johnson wrote. The former partners are due back in court for a hearing next week. ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Bill to restore China Fulbright program introduced Democratic lawmakers are seeking to reinstate the Fulbright program to Hong Kong and mainland China. A [bill]( introduced by a trio of U.S. House members would reverse a July 2020 [executive order]( signed by President Donald J. Trump halting the exchange program amid Sino-American tensions. Lawmakers had tried to [amend]( competitiveness legislation last year to include the reinstatement language, but the effort fell short. Supporters have said canceling the flagship U.S. government exchange program is shortsighted, cutting off a cross-cultural avenue that has been key to building bilateral understanding between the two countries. The program was “designed to keep the doors open between our two societies,” a former Fulbright administrator [told me](. “Restoring Fulbright exchanges with China and Hong Kong enables the United States to build its China expertise, strengthen people-to-people ties, and give Chinese participants an opportunity to experience the real United States and the benefits of academic freedom,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, a Washington Democrat who is one of the sponsors of the House bill. So far, no legislation reinstating Fulbright in China has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Reimagining the Student Experience - The Chronicle Store]( [Trouble at the Top]( Many leaders and industry observers say it has been decades since the heat on presidents has been this intense. [Order your copy today]( to explore what today’s presidents are up against, how things are changing, and how to navigate new challenges. Student visas, by the numbers The Student and Exchange Visitor Program, the federal agency responsible for administering the student-visa database, is out with its [annual report]( on visa statistics for the 2022 calendar year. The number of active student visas increased 10 percent from the previous year, continuing a post-pandemic rebound in international enrollments. The report is a compendium of demographic data on international students, including where they’re from and what they study. Here are three datapoints that jumped out at me: Two-thirds of schools and colleges that are certified to admit international students enroll 50 or fewer visa holders. But a handful of institutions have enormous foreign-student populations: Six colleges enroll more than 15,000 international students. Eleven others have between 10,000 and 15,000. The number of international graduates taking part in Optional Practical Training, the popular work program, increased in 2022, although participation remained below pre-pandemic levels. And while China sends more students to the United States than does India, the number of Indian students approved for a special three-year-long work program for graduates with high-demand science and engineering degrees was nearly double those from China. More than 52,000 Indian students were authorized for the program, known as [STEM OPT]( in 2022 compared with fewer than 28,000 from China. Most student-visa holders are college students, but about 53,500 international students were enrolled in elementary or secondary schools in 2022. As recently as 2019, however, there were more than 78,000 foreign students at the K-12 level, many of whom planned to pursue a college degree here. Is the decline a Covid-era blip, or is American education losing its appeal for overseas families? What could that mean for the international-recruitment pipeline into American colleges? What caught your eye in the new report, and why? Drop me a line at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. SPONSOR CONTENT | University of Auckland [How the University of Auckland is Turning its Sustainability Strategy Into Action]( Around the globe Charles Lieber, a former Harvard University professor who is the most prominent researcher [convicted]( under the China Initiative, the federal investigation of academic ties to China, was [sentenced]( last week to six months of home confinement but no prison term. Four out of five Chinese Americans have a negative view of Sino-American relations, and anxiety is especially high among those who are better educated, according to a [survey]( conducted by researchers at Columbia University for the Committee of 100. Students at George Washington University have started an independent Chinese student union separate from the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, which they accused of being a “proxy” for the Chinese government. Tensions between groups of Chinese students have [flared]( on the Washington, D.C., campus, and some of the students who formed the new organization have pressed administrators to do more to [protect them]( from political censorship and monitoring. Legislation that blocks Florida’s public colleges from accepting grants or contracts or setting up collaborative agreements with universities in seven “[countries of concern]( passed the state Senate and House without opposition and will now go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The FBI now says that a Saudi graduate student who aided two September 11 hijackers when they first arrived in the United States was a spy for Saudi intelligence services, according to [documents declassified]( as part of a lawsuit by victims’ families. Lawrence Bacow, the president of Harvard, is calling for immigration reform, including making it easier for international students to stay in the United States after graduation. “Immigration is truly in the national interest. Higher education helps to serve this national interest by attracting and educating students from around the world,” Bacow said in a [speech]( to the American Council on Education. A new survey found that more than 60 percent of beneficiaries of the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides legal protections for undocumented young people brought to the United States as children, would be less likely to continue their education or pursue new educational opportunities if the program was [canceled](. Mexican lawmakers have approved controversial legislation that many scientists [fear]( will give the government greater control over research and could signal a rolling back of the country’s scientific ambitions. South Korea and the United States agreed to [new student exchanges]( in certain high-tech fields, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and engineering, during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to Washington last week. A fact-finding delegation from the European Parliament is raising concerns about deteriorating academic freedom in [Hungary](. International students in the Netherlands may have to learn Dutch, the country’s education minister [said](. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … Michelle Obama might be persona non grata the next time she visits Hong Kong. An excerpt from the former first lady’s memoir, Becoming, was used on a [college-entrance exam]( and the selection’s difficulty led many test-takers to vent their displeasure on social media. One student wrote, in a post addressed to Obama, that if they received a less-than-perfect score on the test, “it’s your responsibility.” Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so email me at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on [Twitter]( or [LinkedIn](. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. They can [sign up here.]( NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2023 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037