International students increasing in US, at UNC

The number of international students in the U.S. is at an all-time high — and with 886,052 international students at U.S. schools during the 2013-14 academic year, the U.S. now hosts more foreign students than any other country.

The total number of international undergraduate and graduate students increased by 8 percent in 2014, according to a report released Nov. 17 by the Department of State.

There are 1,825 international students at UNC, which is a small increase over the total in 2013. Elizabeth Barnum, director of UNC’s International Student and Scholar Services, said the 18 percent cap on out-of-state first-semester freshmen limits the number of international students.

Barnum said while some people would argue to further internationalize UNC, the benefit of a small number of international students is that the university can welcome each student individually.

Barnum said the main draw for international students is the high rating of academic programs and the historic nature of the campus.

“U.S. students don’t know the top five chemistry programs in the country, but an international student does,” Barnum said.

More U.S. students studied in foreign countries last year as well — the number increased by 2 percent to 289,408.

The number of UNC students going abroad follows with the national increase, with 1,300 students on average choosing to study abroad each year. Ashley Memory, assistant director of admissions, said in an email that the access to study abroad programs attracts prospective American students to UNC.

“We are asked frequently by prospective students about our study abroad program, and they are delighted to learn about the wealth of 300 programs in 70 countries across the world,” Memory said.

Susan Pittman, a Department of State spokeswoman, said in an email that international students primarily come to the U.S. because of its reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The N.C. Association for Institutional Research released a report in October tracing the increase of international students in the system and the increase of foreign-born residents in the state.

Leslie Boney, vice president for the UNC system’s Office of International, Economic and Community Engagement, which helped publish the report, said studies show that if international students stay and graduate, they are likely to stay in the state.

Since international students often major in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, Boney said they boost the state’s economy.

American students also benefit from the presence of international students, Boney said.

“An overwhelming majority of students in our system cannot go abroad, so if more international students come here, native-born students will have at least some exposure of being around people from a different culture before graduating and working with other people,” Boney said.

Boney said the UNC Board of Governors has, on occasion, discussed changing the cap on incoming first-semester freshmen, which would allow for more international students. But he said there are only three schools in the system that even approach this cap — UNC-CH being one of them.

“It’s possible in the future the cap will change,” he said. “For now, there’s room to increase without coming close to the cap.”

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