The number of international graduate students at the University of Cincinnati has declined by more than 700 this fall. The sharp drop was predicted by education organizations and immigration advocates earlier this year, who attribute the sudden decline to visa bans for certain countries, stricter immigration policies, and a general sense of fear students currently have about traveling to the United States to study.
Jack Miner, UC's vice president for enrollment management, says the university is seeing the largest decline among students from India and China, a significant number of whom typically enroll in the university's engineering and information technology master's programs.
Last year, 2,900 graduate and professional international students attended UC. This year, the number is 2,163, about a 25% decrease.
When including undergraduate students from India in the figures, the total number from India alone fell by 728, or almost 33%.
Although UC's total enrollment grew slightly this year, Miner says having fewer international students in UC's graduate college will have a significant impact on research at the institution and the national education landscape.
"Graduate students are also researchers," Miner told WVXU. "That is 700 fewer discoveries that are happening. That is 700 fewer research projects."
Region 'could really suffer'
Beyond the classrooms and labs, international students often pay higher tuition, which brings in more money for the university. Miner also points out that many of them stay in the region after graduating to start businesses or join local companies. Without them, he predicts their absence to wear on Greater Cincinnati's economy over time.
"When we think about how much Cincinnati has grown as an engineering and manufacturing region, that could really suffer because of what's happening more globally around international students coming to the university and the U.S.," he said.
Bryan Wright, executive director of the immigrant advocacy organization Cincinnati Compass, echoes those concerns. He attributes the drop to students feeling hesitant about traveling in and out of the U.S. under the current administration.
"There is fear among international students," Wright said. "Even though they have valid visas for travel and study in the U.S., they're afraid to travel out of the country and return."
The Trump administration imposed visa bans on several countries this summer, and advocates say it was difficult for many people to finish the visa process due to an earlier pause in visa interviews. Wright says all the pauses and uncertainty have added unnecessary hurdles, preventing international students from contributing to their colleges and communities.
"Some of these policies just don't make sense from a financial standpoint, from an economic growth standpoint," he said.
The nonprofit NAFSA: Association of International Educators predicts that Ohio will experience an economic loss of more than $200 million due to the lack of international students.
Like many other universities around the country, UC's research programs also took a financial hit. UC says it's aware of five National Institute of Health grants totaling $2.6 million that have been terminated.
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