US Education 2018: Foreign Student Enrollment At Universities Drops For Third Straight Year Amid US-China Tensions

A report from the Institute of International Education released Monday said that the number of newly enrolled foreign students at American universities dropped by 1% in fall 2018 over the year before. In the previous two years, enrollment dropped by 7% and 3% respectively.

"What we've seen today is a dramatically better picture compared to last year's declines," Caroline Casagrande, deputy assistant secretary for academic programs at the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs said. "The Trump administration has dedicated more resources than ever to international student mobility."

Although the Trump administration has claimed that the rise in tuition has contributed to the decreases, critics claim that political tension with China and Trump's travel ban is partially behind the decline. There are more foreign students from China than any other country, with some universities noting a major drop in Chinese enrollment. The number of Chinese students at the University of Alabama, for example, decreased by 43% over the past two years.

The Chinese government in July warned Chinese students that student visas to the United States have become more restricted. The Trump administration reportedly considered a ban on student visas for Chinese nationals in 2018.

Other nations with the highest number of students attending U.S. universities include India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The number of Saudi Arabian students has also declined, which may partially be due to harsh anti-Muslim rhetoric coming from Trump, who called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the U.S. during the 2016 election campaign.

There are some countries that have seen more students come to the U.S. The number of foreign students coming from Brazil and Bangladesh increased by 10% last year. The State Department's Casagrande claims that more Brazilians will come due to the strong relationship between President Trump and Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro.