Attracting International Students: Can American Higher Education Maintain its Leadership?

Studying in the U.S. is a dream of many international students. More than 75 percent of international students indicated motivation to “expand career and life opportunities” and “quality higher education options” as the top two reasons that motivated them to study in the U.S., according to a recent survey of nearly 5,000 international students by World Education Services.

With 886,052 international students enrolled in U.S. higher education in 2013/14, the number of international students has increased by 55 percent from 2003/04, according Institute of International Education. It is easy to infer that U.S. has been hugely successful in attracting international students. However, what is lost in the positive growth are some of the acute challenges that can threaten American leadership in attracting and retaining global talent. Here are five facts about international students enrolled in American higher education:

1. Share of U.S. in international student enrollment has decreased 

American higher education system is the leading destination for international students, according to OECD. However, post-9/11, destinations like the U.K. and Australia have attracted an increasing number of international students, which has resulted in a decline in market share for the U.S. – from nearly 23 percent in 2000, to 16 percent in 2012.

2. New destinations are further fueling the competition 

Emerging markets are offering increasing opportunities for students who want to be part of their growth story and at the same time earn a foreign degree at a lower cost. For example, the number of Korean students going to China has been consistently increasing and at the same time it has been decreasing for the U.S. Read the whole article.

This article was originally published on the Huff Post Blog.