International Education Week 2011
By Andreas Fried, Director of Business Development
This week we celebrate International Education Week 2011. With the number of annual high school graduates forecasted to drop by 50,000 from 2013-2015, universities realize that attracting international students will be critical to compensating for the demographic shortfall in domestic students. The number of Chinese international students in the U.S. is growing 30% annually.
International students typically represent a very profitable university clientele. Domestic students in public colleges pay on average $7,605 (in-state) or $11,990 (out-of-state) annual tuition, whereas international students pay an average annual tuition of approximately $20,000. In addition, most international students opt for language and business studies, programs that are the most scalable and the least costly to operate.
NAFSA (National Association of Foreign Educators) have research the economic impact of international students on the overall domestic economy. Read the full study here: NAFSA Study
Chinese, Indian, and Korean students are the largest international student bodies. Similarly, these are countries that represent the most significant cultural contrast to that of the United States. Statistically, 43% of international students in the U.S. are adversely impacted by cultural differences (“culture shock”).
Alienation and seclusion has been identified as the biggest threat to increased international student recruitment. The major business schools Universal Consensus works with now have almost 30% international students and a few even go beyond 30%. If international and domestic students are not well integrated this will cause significant problems.
All universities today have a cross-cultural component in their orientation. But is that enough? Universal Consensus takes a strategic look at the issue with a campus-wide assessment and implementations to transform a campus to a truly global one; equipping people with the mindset of a globalist. Read this case study of our work with University of Nebraska: Case Study
Also read these interesting thoughts from Emily Lee, Assistant Director at the University of Kansas: NAFSA Blog
Contact us if we can be of assistance in augmenting the recruitment of international students or globalizing your campus.
