CINCINNATI — Students from Iraq are the latest products of overseas recruiting by the University of Cincinnati, which is building enrollment and revenues with international students.
The first arrivals from that nation join more than 2,600 other international students on the southwest Ohio campus. UC’s international enrollment has jumped 41 percent since 2008. Cincinnati has more than 42,000 students overall.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that UC has sent admissions officers the last two years to a college fair in Iraq’s Kurdish region. Some 30 students have been conditionally admitted.
Recruiting in China has helped bring nearly 1,000 Chinese students to the school. There were 604 students from India enrolled for fall, and 191 from South Korea. Iran ranked 10th among foreign countries with 32 students.
The international students have meant more than $10 million a year to UC.
Ohio State University is among other schools seeing rising numbers of international students. The school reported more than 6,000 on campus in the fall. That’s up from a record two years earlier of nearly 5,000.
University officials say the international students help broaden the educational experience for other students, and also can help build relationships with the United States.
