With the increase in national security and airport inspections, many international students are electing to study in countries
other than the United States in order to avoid humiliating investigative procedures.
Ohio University has experienced a 45 percent decline in international student enrollment this year.
Alan Boyd, director of International Student Services, said the general consensus of colleges in the United States is that students are being discouraged from attending American universities.
Boyd said countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada have become top American competitors in recruitment of international students since Sept. 11.
Because these countries do not share the strict homeland security procedures that the United States currently enforces, international students are settling for comfort over quality, Josep Rota, associate provost of International Programs, said.
Currently at OU, an international student task force of roughly 18 members is working to solve the problem of declining international enrollment. The co-chairmen of the task force, Rota and Claudia Hale, said they hope the problem is only temporary.
Enrollment decline is an area of our concern because OU is known for its richness in diversity
Hale said. If we can find a magic key to solve this problem we will explore it.
A major factor in the enrollment decrease of students in Middle Eastern countries is the difficulty in acquiring student visas.
Rota said the United States has 27 countries under watch because the Department of Homeland Security speculates that Arab terrorists live there. Students from these countries are subject to scrutiny and the majority is denied entrance to the United States.
In 2000, OU's enrollment of Saudi Arabian students was at 55. In 2003, the enrollment dropped to 23.
Because of our current vigilant administration an international student coming to America has to prove he or she is not guilty of a crime
Rota said.
To illustrate additional communication concerns between American universities and foreign nations, Hale said that a Chinese student interested in OU could not be contacted through Hale's OU e-mail because her country had blocked .edu web addresses. Hale had to go around the system by contacting her using Hotmail.com.
Rota said that the current American foreign policy's absurdity makes it nearly impossible to build bridges of communication and engage in dialogue. He noted that 46 head-of-state leaders throughout the world are former graduates of U.S. universities.
Stopping the flow of world leaders coming from this country is really short sighted
Rota said. Quite frankly-it's stupid.
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Blake Gillespie
