When was the last time you asked a student what they thought?
November 20, 2024: The International Education Week Special
This week is International Education Week in the U.S., a joint initiative between the U.S. Departments of State and Education to recognize the important role of education in building international and global connections. Yet this week comes on the heels of the recent election in the U.S., leading to much speculation, discussion, and hand-wringing on what might be in store for higher education writ large and for international students in particular. After all, according to one estimate, during Trump's presidency, more than 400 immigration-related actions were implemented that affected international students alongside other groups of visitors, migrants and immigrants.
Since the elections, I’ve been asked repeatedly what I think will happen to the global fabric of our universities under the new administration and—more specifically—how will international students be impacted?
Are we poised for a new era in international enrollment?
Like I said, I’ve done my fair share of opining this past week, especially since the new Open Doors numbers were also released, providing us with the latest benchmark of the number of international students and scholars who come to the U.S. I had the opportunity to weigh in on the trends with Inside Higher Ed. My main takeaways in the article:
Institutions must continue to diversify their recruitment efforts, not just in terms of where students come from, but also by academic level and type of program.
Yes, India is where everyone is recruiting, but in some ways we have already moved past the huge surge, given the large visa denials for India this fall.
Most future growth in the international enrollment space will come from the Global South--namely Africa and South Asia--but these are also regions where it hardest for students to afford a U.S. higher education.
While most of the Trump administration’s past proposals never became policy, they might have a better chance of being enacted this time around.
And last but not the least, as I say in the article, "𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕—𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑮𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑽𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒏𝒂𝒎—𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈...𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼.𝑺. 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔.”
Register for this International Education Week event!
New date! Friday, 11/22 at 3pm Eastern
One of the most significant barriers that international students face is funding and how to afford a U.S. post-secondary education. While this challenge is not new, it requires a nuanced understanding and new models and solutions. I'm delighted to have partnered with the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and MPOWER Financing on a new report titled 𝑯𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 which is a deep dive into these issues and releases this week. Come join us for a webinar where we will discuss the report and its issues with a stellar line-up of industry and campus leaders, and international students of course.
Our Partners and Clients:
Champions of International Education
This International Education Week my firm Rajika Bhandari Advisors recognizes and celebrates all our wonderful current and recent clients and partners who advance the cause of international education and engagement each day through their work with students and campuses.
I also want to mention two amazing nonprofits in the field of international education and whose boards I serve—ISEP and ECE. ISEP’s mission is to make study abroad accessible to anyone who wants it. With affordable and immersive study, intern and volunteer programs abroad in more than 50 countries, ISEP opens students’ path to the world. One of the most venerable credential evaluators in the field, ECE’s mission is to ensure that educational qualifications are fairly and accurately recognized across borders, thus enabling the mobility and utilization of global talent. I feel very privileged be associated with both organizations, which have also been led by two amazing leaders, John Lucas of ISEP (currently serving) and Margit Schatzman (outgoing) of ECE.
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