US enrollment of international students declined for the second year in a row, sending waves of unease across American colleges and universities, which see students from abroad as a buffer against the falling number of US high-school students graduating each year.
美國(guó)大學(xué)國(guó)際學(xué)生的入學(xué)率連續(xù)第二年下滑,令美國(guó)各大學(xué)深感不安。在美國(guó)高中畢業(yè)生人數(shù)連年下降的情況下,美國(guó)大學(xué)都把海外留學(xué)生視為緩沖力量。
The number of new international students enrolling at American institutions fell by 6.6% during the 2017-18 academic year, on top of a 3.3% decline the year before, according to a report by the Institute of International Education released Tuesday.
據(jù)美國(guó)國(guó)際教育學(xué)會(huì)11月13日發(fā)布的報(bào)告稱(chēng),2017-18學(xué)年,美國(guó)各大學(xué)新入學(xué)國(guó)際學(xué)生的數(shù)量減少了6.6%,而上一年的下降率為3.3%。
The drop takes the number of new students back to the level seen three or four years ago.
這導(dǎo)致美國(guó)各大學(xué)新入學(xué)國(guó)際學(xué)生的數(shù)量退回到三四年前的水平。
At the University of Central Missouri, foreign enrollment surged to 2600 in 2016 before plummeting to just 650 this year, according to data obtained by The AP.
美聯(lián)社獲得的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,在中央密蘇里大學(xué),外國(guó)學(xué)生的入學(xué)人數(shù)在2016年激增至2600人,今年則驟降至650人。
At Purdue University, one of the nation's biggest hubs for international students, total foreign enrollment fell by 2 percent this year.
而作為美國(guó)最大的國(guó)際學(xué)生接收地,普渡大學(xué)今年外國(guó)學(xué)生的總數(shù)下降了2%。
Meanwhile, the total number of international students in the US plus those working here on a student visa rose by just 1.5% this year. That was down from average annual growth of 6.1% over the past decade, a period during which enrollment of international students doubled.
與此同時(shí),美國(guó)的國(guó)際學(xué)生總數(shù)加上持學(xué)生簽證在美國(guó)工作的人今年僅增加1.5%,低于過(guò)去10年平均每年6.1%的增長(zhǎng)率,過(guò)去10年招收的國(guó)際學(xué)生的人數(shù)增加了一倍。
International enrollment fell by 4 percent following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, according to data provided by the institute.
根據(jù)該機(jī)構(gòu)提供的數(shù)據(jù),在2001年“911”恐怖襲擊之后,美國(guó)的國(guó)際學(xué)生入學(xué)人數(shù)下降了4%。
Similar to previous years, the largest numbers of students came from China, India and South Korea, which together made up 56.1 percent of all international students.
和前些年相仿,美國(guó)大學(xué)國(guó)際學(xué)生的最大來(lái)源國(guó)是中國(guó)、印度和韓國(guó),來(lái)自這三個(gè)國(guó)家的國(guó)際學(xué)生占到總?cè)藬?shù)的56.1%。
The US is also losing students to English-speaking countries such as Canada, Australia and the UK, which have all seen growth in the past year.
在招收國(guó)際學(xué)生方面,美國(guó)還輸給了加拿大、澳大利亞和英國(guó)等英語(yǔ)國(guó)家,過(guò)去一年,這些國(guó)家的留學(xué)生數(shù)量都在增長(zhǎng)。
Canada reported a 20 percent jump in 2017, while Australia saw a 12 percent increase.
加拿大2017年的留學(xué)生人數(shù)增長(zhǎng)了20%,澳大利亞增長(zhǎng)了12%。
Students from abroad are still flocking to the coasts, but are less interested in the South and Midwest.
海外留學(xué)生仍在涌向美國(guó)沿海地區(qū),他們對(duì)南部和中西部不那么感興趣。
多種原因?qū)е聡?guó)際學(xué)生人數(shù)下降
Several factors are driving the decrease. Visa and immigration policy changes by the Trump administration have deterred some international students from enrolling, college administrators and immigration analysts said.
有多種原因?qū)е铝藝?guó)際學(xué)生人數(shù)的下降。美國(guó)大學(xué)的管理人員和移民分析師認(rèn)為,特朗普政府簽證和移民政策的改變使一些國(guó)際學(xué)生打消了去美國(guó)留學(xué)的念頭。
A strong dollar has made US college tuition relatively more expensive, Canadian and European universities are competing fiercely for the same students and headlines about mass shootings also may have deterred some students, said Allan Goodman, president of IIE.
國(guó)際教育學(xué)會(huì)主席艾倫·古德曼說(shuō),美元走強(qiáng)使得美國(guó)大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)相對(duì)更昂貴,加拿大和歐洲的大學(xué)也在爭(zhēng)搶國(guó)際學(xué)生,競(jìng)爭(zhēng)十分激烈,關(guān)于美國(guó)大規(guī)模槍擊案的新聞報(bào)道也讓一些學(xué)生望而卻步。
“Everything matters from safety, to cost, to perhaps perceptions of visa policy,” Goodman said.
古德曼說(shuō):“各種因素都有,安全、費(fèi)用、或許還有對(duì)簽證政策的看法。”
“We’re hearing that they have choices. We’re hearing that there’s competition from other countries.”
他說(shuō):“我們聽(tīng)說(shuō),學(xué)生們不止有一個(gè)選擇;我們也聽(tīng)說(shuō),還有來(lái)自其他國(guó)家的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。”
The shift is due to a combination of politics, geography and branding, said Alejandra Sosa Pieroni, an international recruitment expert with Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a company that consults with colleges to improve enrollment.
美國(guó)招生咨詢(xún)公司拉法洛-諾埃爾-勒維茨公司的國(guó)際招生專(zhuān)家亞力杭德拉·索莎·諾埃爾說(shuō),這一變化是政治、地理和品牌推廣等多種因素造成的。
“Students are not feeling welcome in some states, so they are looking beyond those states and heading to places where they will feel welcome,” she said.
“學(xué)生在某些州感覺(jué)不那么受歡迎,所以,他們就繞開(kāi)那些州,前往他們感覺(jué)受歡迎的州。”她說(shuō)。
對(duì)美國(guó)大學(xué)財(cái)務(wù)狀況產(chǎn)生影響
Foreign students are big business: They pumped $42 billion into US college and university coffers in the 2017-18 school year alone.
國(guó)際學(xué)生給美國(guó)大學(xué)帶來(lái)了大筆收入:僅在2017-18學(xué)年,他們就為美國(guó)各大學(xué)貢獻(xiàn)了420億美元(約合2916億元人民幣)。
International students have become an important funding source for American colleges as traditional revenue sources, such as state funding, come under pressure. Most undergraduate foreign students do not qualify for need-based financial aid and must pay close to full tuition and fees to attend US schools.
由于政府資助等傳統(tǒng)的經(jīng)費(fèi)來(lái)源受限,國(guó)際學(xué)生成為美國(guó)大學(xué)重要的資金來(lái)源。大多數(shù)就讀本科的國(guó)際學(xué)生不符合申請(qǐng)經(jīng)濟(jì)資助的條件,必須全額支付學(xué)費(fèi)和其他費(fèi)用。
Carol Spradling, director of the school of computer science at Northwest Missouri State University, said international enrollment began declining precipitously two years ago, following a “perfect storm” that included President Trump’s election with his tough talk on immigration and the shooting of an Indian immigrant worker in Olathe, Kan. The downturn, she said, had a huge impact on her school’s finances.
美國(guó)西北密蘇里州立大學(xué)計(jì)算機(jī)學(xué)院院長(zhǎng)卡蘿爾·斯普拉德林說(shuō),兩年前,特朗普當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)并就移民問(wèn)題發(fā)表強(qiáng)硬言論,一名印度工程師在堪薩斯州奧拉西被槍殺,國(guó)際學(xué)生的入學(xué)率開(kāi)始急劇下降。她說(shuō),國(guó)際學(xué)生下降對(duì)她所在學(xué)校的財(cái)務(wù)產(chǎn)生了巨大影響。
The report also found that the number of US students studying abroad ticked up by 2 percent last year, continuing eight years of slow but steady growth. Europe remained the top destination, followed by Latin America and Asia.
報(bào)告還發(fā)現(xiàn),美國(guó)學(xué)生出國(guó)留學(xué)的人數(shù)去年增加了2%,連續(xù)8年緩慢但穩(wěn)定地增長(zhǎng)。歐洲仍是美國(guó)學(xué)生出國(guó)留學(xué)的第一選擇,緊隨其后的是拉丁美洲和亞洲。