Latitudes: India unseats China as the top source of foreign students in the U.S.

What a Chronicle analysis of new student-visa data says about international students on campuses this fall. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. India surpasses China, and other takeaways from our analysis of student-visa data India has eclipsed China as the top source of international students in the United States, thanks in part to big increases in new students. It’s the first time in 15 years China hasn’t held the No. 1 spot. As of September, there were more than 320,000 active Indian student-visa holders compared with some 254,000 from China, according to a [database]( maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The number of new Indian students on American campuses surged again this fall. Nearly 89,000 visas were issued to Indian students in the critical months of May through August — a 5 percent increase over the same four months in 2022 and an eye-popping 160 percent more than during the same span in 2019, prior to the pandemic. My colleague Dan Bauman and I examined visa data collected by the U.S. Department of State from consulates around the globe, focusing on the summer months, when the vast majority of student visas are awarded. Over all, it’s a positive picture for American higher education, with total issuances topping 307,000 for the current academic year. [You can read our analysis here](. As always, nonsubscribers who [register]( for a free Chronicle account can read two articles a month. Your readership supports our journalism. Now, for a few key observations: While it was surpassed by India, student-visa growth in China wasn’t too shabby. Some 70,000 visas were issued to Chinese students for the new academic year, a 47 percent increase over the prior year. That’s a reversal from 2022, when Chinese visa issuances [nosedived]( during the same period. The rebound should reassure those who worried that Chinese students had soured on studying in America. Going forward, China seems likely to continue to be an important source of international students, if not the overwhelmingly dominant one it was for the last decade and a half. Still, colleges will want to keep an eye on the potential impact of China’s sputtering economy on families’ ability to afford education abroad. India’s march to the top isn’t all about new students. Indian students are far more likely than their Chinese classmates to stay in the United States after graduation to gain work experience. More than a third of Indian student-visa holders were participating in [Optional Practical Training]( the postgraduate work program, in 2021, compared with 18 percent of Chinese students. The value that Indian students place on on-the-job experience, in addition to their degrees, is important to keep in mind amid broader national debates about visas and immigration. India and China … then where? For a host of reasons — financial, cultural, educational, and to expand access — colleges are anxious to diversify their international enrollments. Yet more than half of all newly awarded visas went to students in just two countries, China and India. Beyond those two powerhouses, one major bright spot was Ghana, where visa issances climbed 68 percent. But as I combed through the data, I took note of places where I had been primed to expect big things but was seeing no or only modest growth — countries like Nigeria, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It’s hard to know exactly why a [rise in applications]( didn’t translate into bigger student growth; one reason could be [high visa-denial rates]( in certain regions of the world. The upshot is that international-admissions directors, particularly those at smaller or less-resourced institutions, can be caught in a bind, wanting to diversify but needing to show results. Just yesterday morning, one told me that he’d like to recruit more in [sub-Saharan Africa]( but struggled to justify the staff and travel costs given low student yield. “I’ll probably be on a plane to India instead.” The bottom line: It’s a positive picture for international enrollments at American colleges. The total number of new student visas awarded for the fall of 2023 increased by 9 percent from 2022 and by 20 percent from 2019. It can be easy to forget, given the pandemic’s enormous impact on student mobility, but international enrollments were [softening]( even before Covid. Not only do this year’s visa-issuance numbers reverse pandemic declines, they suggest American colleges may be on firmer footing when it comes to international students than they have been in some time. 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. Colleges face pressure about whether to speak out on attacks in Israel Hamas’s surprise attack over the weekend on Israel has put campus leaders in what has become an uncomfortable, yet familiar, position: whether to speak out on a hot-button issue. Some college presidents have been condemned for their silence on the continued bloodshed. Others have faced backlash for statements that appear too impartial. And some detractors said academic leaders shouldn’t be in the business of weighing in on contentious topics at all. Increasingly, it’s [world events]( that have opened up presidents and chancellors to criticism about what they do and don’t say, from the war in Israel and Palestine to [anti-government protests in Iran]( and [geopolitical tensions with China](. My colleague [Maggie Hicks took a look]( at what administrators have said about the current fighting and the broader controversy about whether to speak out. In news related to the violence: - Israeli universities said they would [delay]( the start of the academic year by a week because of continued fighting. - Three Palestinian students are reported [killed]( and a campus in Gaza was damaged by Israeli airstrikes. - [New York University]( said students and faculty and staff members at its center in Tel Aviv were all safe, while [Northeastern University]( evacuated study-abroad students from Israel. [Brigham Young University]( posted a security update that said academic instruction for 93 students at its center in Jerusalem would continue as scheduled. - Ten Nepalese students were [killed]( and four others were injured in Hamas’s attacks. The victims were agricultural students working on a farm in southern Israel. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [College as a Public Good - The Chronicle Store]( [College as a Public Good]( Public confidence in higher education has fallen in recent years, with barely half of Americans seeing it in a positive light. [Order this report today]( to examine the many roles colleges play in their local communities and how institutions are reimagining their outreach to rebuild public trust. Let’s talk agents Please join The Chronicle for our latest virtual forum on international education, [Making International Agents Work for You](. Two-thirds of American colleges report having partnerships with international-recruitment agencies to help attract foreign students, yet the colleges still may face problems choosing and working with recruiters. I’ll moderate a panel of global experts to discuss challenges and best practices for such relationships. The session will be held this Thursday, October 12, at 2 p.m. EDT. The event is free, but [registration]( is required. Around the globe The U.S. government will extend emergency relief for international students from [Cameroon]( until June 2025, allowing them to work more hours and to carry a reduced course load than is typically permitted under student-visa regulations. Immigrants have earned [40 percent]( of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans since 2000. One of them is Katalin Karikó, who, along with Drew Weissman, was awarded this year’s prize in physiology or medicine for her work on messenger-RNA research that paved the way for Covid vaccines. Karikó [talked]( with my colleague Megan Zahneis. A National Academies research-security panel is meeting this week at Northwestern University. On the [agenda]( are a look at an investigation of a professor who pleaded guilty to hiding his China ties from the FBI and a session on political pressures on Chinese students at American colleges. A coalition that includes research universities, scientists, and student leaders is calling on the Canadian government to [increase spending on science and research]( arguing that Canada is falling behind its peer countries. The number of international students at Irish universities has reached a [record high]( of 35,000, or about one in seven students. Sudan’s National Academy of Sciences is appealing to colleges and research institutes to aid scholars and students [displaced]( by fighting there. Russia may be internationally isolated but its [foreign enrollments]( have been growing since its invasion of Ukraine, with students coming from former Soviet republics, Africa, and Asia. Iranian students said they have been subject to [facial scanning]( and other security measures as officials seek to tamp down campus protests and activism. Iran’s government wants to [triple]( the number of international students studying there, to 320,000, by 2026. A leading opposition party in New Zealand is pledging to raise the number of hours international students can work during the academic year and lengthen the amount of time they can stay in the country after they graduate if it [wins an election]( this month. A spokeswoman for the National Party said the changes could help higher education recover from the pandemic. International students at American medical schools should be eligible to take part in three years of Optional Practical Training, the work program for foreign graduates, like others who earn degrees in science and technology, [this commentary]( argues. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … Today he’s a center on Michigan State University’s basketball team. Growing up in rural Mali, Mady Sissoko walked an hour and a half each way to attend school; when he first came to the United States, he’d never used a pen or a pencil. Sissoko, a two-time academic All Big Ten selection wants to use the advantage of his American education, and his profile as a college-basketball star, to benefit his community. He’s raised money to build his west African village’s first school and install a well to provide running water. “People there, they don’t have the opportunities,’’ Sissoko [told]( The Athletic. “I got an opportunity. Ever since I came to the United States, I wanted to give that back.’’ Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so drop me a line at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on [X]( or [LinkedIn](. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. They can [sign up here.]( JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Search jobs on The Chronicle job board]( [Find Your Next Role Today]( Whether you are actively or passively searching for your next career opportunity, The Chronicle is here to support you throughout your job search. Get started now by [exploring 30,000+ openings]( or [signing up for job alerts](. 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](. 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