CSU catching up with the nation in enrollment trends
By Elisabeth Willner
When Colorado State University decided to beef up international recruitment to bring in more revenue, the university wasn’t being creative.
Many other universities across the nation have decided to take a similar tactic to bring more revenue to their institutions.
Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president for the Institute of international Education (IIE), an organization that collects data on international students in the U.S., said that the reason nationally resembles the reasons in Colorado.
“At a time when state legislatures have cut back funding for higher education, and when private endowments have shrunk, the income from full fee-paying international students adds significant dollars to help support academic departments that might otherwise suffer substantial cuts in faculty and facilities,” Blumenthal said.
When Colorado State University decided to beef up international recruitment to bring in more revenue, the university wasn’t being creative.
Many other universities across the nation have decided to take a similar tactic to bring more revenue to their institutions.
Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president for the Institute of international Education (IIE), an organization that collects data on international students in the U.S., said that the reason nationally resembles the reasons in Colorado.
“At a time when state legislatures have cut back funding for higher education, and when private endowments have shrunk, the income from full fee-paying international students adds significant dollars to help support academic departments that might otherwise suffer substantial cuts in faculty and facilities,” Blumenthal said.
Nationally, the number of students enrolling from overseas went up 6 percent this last year, and should continue to increase, according to Blumenthal. The United States hosts more international students than any other country in the world, and will likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future, she said.
“The growth has been substantial for decades, except for a slight dip after the tightening of visa review procedures in 2002-2003,” Blumenthal said.
At CSU, international students make up 1.8 percent of the total student population, according to CSU Institutional Research. That compares to 3.6 percent on average nationwide. The university recently signed a contract with INTO University Partnerships, a company who helps recruit international students.
Due to the timing of the contract, INTO had less time than usual to recruit, according to Sagarika Sarma, the student care coordinator for INTO CSU. Less time to recruit meant fewer students to start the semester, but she said they did a good job integrating the students to CSU.
“Even being in the first semester, very much in a hurry, with not a lot of preparation, the INTO company has done a good job of integrating,” Sarma said.
Partnerships like the INTO program are only one way to recruit international students. Approaches used by other universities include direct recruiting through international alumni or higher education fairs or US government-sponsored offices like EducationUSA.
Overall, international students contributed over $22 billion to the U.S. economy in 2011-2012, and over $253 Million to the State of Colorado, according the Blumenthal.
But beyond the monetary aspect, many agree that the primary benefit of international enrollment is the cultural exchange it offers.
“(International students) help to provide a truly international learning experience to all students, and to advancing knowledge and research, which is a global enterprise,” Blumenthal said.