Over the past week, the State Department ordered a pause in U.S. embassy interviews related to the issuance of new student visas in an effort to enhance social media screenings of applicants.
This move by the State Department comes on the heels of the Department of Homeland Security’s recent press release that halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students, and stated existing students must transfer or lose their legal status.
The story has captured the attention of a number of higher education administrators as the implications of the situation could have ripple effects across many colleges, universities and international students. As of May 29, the measure has been temporarily blocked by a court order.
While ultimate resolution may not be known until the courts decide, there may be a lasting impact as international students are a large part of the Higher Education landscape within the United States. According to the website statisticsanddata.org, there were well over a million international students matriculating in the U.S. during the 2023/2024 academic year.
This record high represents a 7% increase over the previous academic year and a more than 100% surge since 1999/2000 (with trends slightly curtailed during the pandemic). The upward trajectory is expected to increase even more in the future. Given an average tuition cost of $36,000 per student across the U.S., the international contingent represents about $36 billion in annual gross tuition revenue that may be at risk. Given the consideration that many international students receive a lower discount rate associated with their tuition, it’s apparent that this impact would be significant.
The current headlines should prompt schools of all sizes to stay up to date on these developing stories, as they consider the impact to budgets for both international student attendance and federal grant money. While the outcome appears uncertain, U.S. colleges and universities could be impacted in a major way. As part of the responding to this uncertainty, colleges and universities should evaluate their ability to budget and forecast and how this may impact their budget for next fiscal year.
Due to some of these uncertainties, institutions are evaluating many different budgeting strategies including multiple budget scenarios or preparing and passing budgets for each quarter. Schneider Downs just recently held a webinar, Navigating Times of Uncertainty for NFPs and Higher Ed, talking about responding to uncertainty which you can access as part of our on-demand learning.
As events continue to unfold, check our website for further updates on this and other topics impacting Higher Education.
About Schneider Downs Higher Education Services
The Schneider Downs Higher Education industry group is a dedicated team of experienced professionals specializing in serving institutions from high schools to universities. Our experience in audit and assurance, tax advisory, technology and data and more allow our professionals to stay ahead of the latest trends, developments and challenges within the education sector and provide timely and practical solutions to our clients.
To learn more, visit our Higher Education Industry Group page.
