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International Student Numbers Rebounding

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By JULIANA BARBASSA, The Associated Press

Published: December 6, 2007

Updated: 12/06/2007 01:11 am

BERKELEY, Calif. - The number of international students attending American colleges and universities has nearly rebounded from a slump that after the Sept. 11 attacks, which triggered tough new visa restrictions and closer monitoring of foreign scholars.

During the 2006-07 academic year, nearly 583,000 international students took classes at U.S. schools, just 3,000 fewer than the record enrollment set just before the crackdown began, according to a recent report from the State Department and the nonprofit Institute of International Education.

Vance Gram, 26, a graduate student from Norway who is studying political science at the University of California, Berkeley, said the nation is more welcoming to international students than a few years ago.

"There's been something of a release from the grip of fear and distrust of anything foreign," said Gram, who has been in and out of the United States for years. "And America is more relaxed now than even two, three years ago, never mind five."

The enrollment figures were welcomed by government and academic officials who have worked to attract foreigners.

"This is a hugely important economic investment as well as an investment in human capital," said Tom Farrell, deputy assistant secretary for academic programs at the State Department, which released the report last month.

"We believe that people who study and learn here with us are better able to work with us later in their careers."

For years, U.S. schools made it easy for students from other countries to study here for long periods. After one of the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the country on a student visa, however, the Bush administration adopted visa restrictions and reforms that allowed the government fast access to foreign students' information.

According to the report, India sends more scholars to U.S. institutions than any other foreign country - nearly 84,000 in 2006, a 9.6 percent increase over the prior year. China is second, followed by South Korea.

The biggest growth was among students from Saudi Arabia. Nearly 8,000 students from that country attended American colleges and universities in 2006-07, a 128 percent increase over 2005-06.

The University of Southern California enrolls the greatest numbers of international students - more than 7,000, followed by Columbia University and New York University.

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