Despite fears that international students might stay away from the U.S. because of President Donald Trump’s proposed travel ban, which has been partially permitted pending Supreme Court review, that doesn’t appear to be happening this fall, a new survey has found.
The report states that modest drops in the yield at some institutions may be offset by steady or increased yield at other institutions. The term “yield” means the enrollment rates of admitted students. The yield is generally considered an insightful way for colleges and universities to gauge the effectiveness of their admissions recruitment and enrollment processes, according to the report.
“Overall, international undergraduate yield appears to have dipped slightly from 26 to 24 percent from Fall 2016 to Fall 2017,” the report states. It states that the 2 percentage point decline is “comparable to shifts in the domestic student yield reported by institutional respondents, which fell from 30 to 28 percent over the same time period.”
The report provides a historical context for contemporary yield figures.
“Among domestic students, today’s yield is lower than it was fifteen years ago as students apply and are accepted to more institutions than in previous years,” the report states. “While there is no definitive national data on the factors impacting international student yield, it may be the case that international student yield trends are driven by similar application patterns as domestic students.”
Despite the relatively steady rate at which international students plan to study in the US this fall, officials at IIE say there is an ongoing need to remain watchful for any fallout from President Trump’s executive order that bars foreign nationals from six Muslim majority countries unless they have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.
