“If we’re left flat-footed, we may not be able to regain those losses,” said Rachel Banks, the group’s director of public policy.
Even with the political tensions and visa troubles, Chinese student enrollment won’t drop to zero overnight. But the stakes vary by school.
NYU, USC, Northeastern and Columbia universities enroll the most international students among private schools. Arizona State, the University of Illinois, UCLA and Purdue lead among public schools, according to the IIE.
“A good practice generally is to have a diverse source of students from many different countries,’’ Farnsworth said. “The reality is the global market doesn’t work that way. The most who have the financial means and motivation are coming from just a handful of countries.’’
Illinois, in particular, is already under pressure from several economic trends. State funding has dropped. The state’s high school-age population is shrinking, reducing the pool of undergraduates.
More than a decade ago, the school began actively recruiting students from abroad, said Kevin Pitts, vice provost for undergraduate education at the flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign. Chinese students are the biggest cohort, making up almost 12% of the school’s 49,000 students and concentrated in business and engineering degrees.
The University of Illinois’ international students overall generated about $475 million in economic impact and supported more than 7,300 jobs, according to data from NAFSA. Tuition paid by them also helps fund need-based and merit aid for in-state students.
“It’s absolutely true that the revenue helps us,’’ Pitts said in an interview. “It’s helping us be better servants of the students in the state.’’
If the number of undergraduates from China is curtailed, the school would turn its attention to potential out-of-state students, who also pay higher tuition than state residents. Prices are locked in for its current crop of students, so any tuition increase would take effect for those entering in 2020, Pitts said.
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