College Students From Other Countries Spent $18.8 Billion in the United States Last Year

Study abroad numbers falter amid global economic downturn

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California, New York and Texas continue to lead the nation in foreign-student enrollments and the financial contribution those students and their families make to local communities and states through tuition, fees, and living expenses, according to a new NAFSA report released today. Foreign students spent $18.8 billion in the United States last year.

• View the full report of foreign-student spending, including analysis by state and congressional district
• View the results of a snapshot survey of foreign-student enrollments conducted by NAFSA and seven other higher-education and international-education organizations

Study Abroad Numbers Falter amid Global Economic Downturn

For the first time in more than 20 years of surveying, the numbers of American students studying abroad declined during the 2008 – 2009 academic year, by 0.8%, to 260,327, according to figures released today by the Institute of International Education.

• See NAFSA's new state-by-state chart for the percentage of each state's college students who studied abroad in 2008 – 2009.
• NAFSA's study abroad demographics chart offers further breakdowns in participation trends.

"It is difficult to speculate about the reason for this shift in the numbers," said NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Marlene M. Johnson. "The more important issue to focus on is that if we want our students to receive an education that prepares them for the globalized environment they will graduate into, we must dramatically increase study abroad numbers. And we can't expect to see that kind of growth unless we address the barriers – primarily at the campus level – that are prohibiting students from participating in greater numbers. Unless we can make affordable, accessible, and academically valued study abroad the norm, we cannot expect to grow the numbers beyond the relatively privileged few who can currently afford the opportunity. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) have proposed a national program, known as the Simon Study Abroad Program, which would make it possible for U.S. higher education institutions to get there. This isn't a minor change in approach – it's a shift in vision beyond a reliance on direct scholarships, which can only get us so far, to an approach that leverages real change in order to open the doors of study abroad to many more students."

More on the Simon study abroad bill

In the States: Governors Support International Education Week

Thirty governors have issued proclamations and statements of support as the 11th annual International Education Week kicks off today. Visit Connecting Our World to see which state governors have made proclamations and check out our Facebook event page to see how schools and communities are celebrating.

With 10,000 members, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world's largest nonprofit professional association dedicated to international education.

SOURCE NAFSA: Association of International Educators