Report on International Student Exchange Finds UB among Top 20 U.S. Host Universities

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The 2012 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released yesterday in Washington, D.C., finds that, for the tenth year in a row, the University at Buffalo is among the top 20 institutions in the United States hosting international students.

In the 2011-12 academic year, UB hosted 5,357 international students, and the number increased this fall, according to Stephen Dunnett, PhD, vice provost for international education at UB.

"As the Open Doors report confirms, the competition for international students is intensifying, as many of the major public and private universities, both here and abroad, vie for the best students from around the world," he said.

He also noted that potential enrollees, like students everywhere, face increasing economic challenges and are concerned about their post-graduation employment and further educational prospects, another recruitment challenge.

"It is to the credit of our outstanding international enrollment management team -- Joseph Hindrawan, Steven Shaw and Raymond Lew -- all of whom spent a good portion of the fall semester recruiting overseas, that even in this difficult environment UB continues to increase its roster of international students and to be a model of best practices in international admissions and enrollment," Dunnett said.

The Open Doors Report, which can be found online at http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2012/11-13-2012-Open-Doors-International-Students, offers a detailed analysis of the status of international student exchange. It is published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States. The IIE has conducted an annual statistical survey of the international students in the United States since 1919.

According to the report, the 2010-11 New York State enrollment figure for international students was 82, 436, a 4.5 percent increase from last year and the second highest enrollment in the country (California, with an enrollment of 102,789 came in first).

Although international student enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities dropped 3.75 percent overall in the 2003-06 political climate, enrollment has enjoyed an increase of 31.2 percent since 2006-07 and, with the most recent increase of 5.7 percent, stands at more than 764,495 students.

The report noted increases in the number of students from 12 of the top 25 places of origin, including Brazil, China, France, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Venezuela and Vietnam.

"At the same time," the report stated, "numbers declined from several major sending countries, including India (down 4 percent), South Korea, (down 1 percent), and Japan (down 6 percent). The factors driving these declines may include global and home country economic factors, growing higher education opportunities at home and stronger employment opportunities at home after graduation."