Lang
3/29/22
Iowa lawmakers are seeking answers from representatives from the Board of Regents on why international student numbers are dropping at the three state-run universities.
Statistics show the numbers were dropping even before the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, international student numbers peaked at the University of Iowa in 2015 at 4,540. That number has dropped 64% since then to 1,614.
International student numbers have dropped at Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa as well.
State officials say international students are cherished because they pay out-of-state tuition, enrich the experience of domestic students and in some cases take jobs in Iowa after graduation.
Only four other states have lost a larger percentage of international students than Iowa. Two neighboring states…Nebraska and Wisconsin…had actually been seeing a rise in international student numbers before the pandemic.
Jason Pontius, associate chief academic officer for the regents, told legislators on Monday that part of the problem could be how welcoming international students find a particular state or region. Democratic Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City noted political leaders making various references to the “Chinese flu” during the pandemic may have turned some Chinese students off from attending school overseas.
Other possible causes for the drop were discussed, including international universities building better research facilities. It was also noted that statistics show colleges and universities with higher admission standards did not see the same drop in international students.