Obama presidency prompts change, increase for international education
Libbi Sturm
Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: News
In the midst of the most recent and historic political change, Tao Tao, an electrical engineering graduate student from China, eagerly watched the election night totals with his American friends, even though neither candidate would be his president.
Many international students like Tao took the recent election seriously, following the news and voicing their opinions, even though they would not be able to vote.
Many students coming through the International Students and Scholars Office are "really interested in politics," said Matthew Sokoloski, the UA office program coordinator. "My graduate assistant, [an international student] is very politically involved."
Because of the role politics play in the lives of international students, it should come as no surprise that the new administration is predicted to have a direct effect on the international student population.
The number of international students studying at the UA will continue to increase as recent trends are reinforced by the changing political atmosphere, said Susan Byram, the assistant director in the UA International Admissions Office.
The international student population has experienced a lot of ups and downs in the last decade.
In fall 2001, enrollment began to make a comeback from a slump in the 1990s, Byram said, with a record number of applications from international students.
But, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, she said, the whole country experienced a sharp decline in the number of students applying to study at U.S. universities.
Following the attacks, undergraduate international student enrollment in the United States dropped by almost 1,000 students, according to the Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education.
By 2004, according to the report, the undergraduate numbers were down by almost 25,000. The fewer than 573,000 undergraduate and graduate international students in that year showed the first overall decline in numbers since 1971.
Many international students like Tao took the recent election seriously, following the news and voicing their opinions, even though they would not be able to vote.
Many students coming through the International Students and Scholars Office are "really interested in politics," said Matthew Sokoloski, the UA office program coordinator. "My graduate assistant, [an international student] is very politically involved."
Because of the role politics play in the lives of international students, it should come as no surprise that the new administration is predicted to have a direct effect on the international student population.
The number of international students studying at the UA will continue to increase as recent trends are reinforced by the changing political atmosphere, said Susan Byram, the assistant director in the UA International Admissions Office.
The international student population has experienced a lot of ups and downs in the last decade.
In fall 2001, enrollment began to make a comeback from a slump in the 1990s, Byram said, with a record number of applications from international students.
But, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, she said, the whole country experienced a sharp decline in the number of students applying to study at U.S. universities.
Following the attacks, undergraduate international student enrollment in the United States dropped by almost 1,000 students, according to the Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education.
By 2004, according to the report, the undergraduate numbers were down by almost 25,000. The fewer than 573,000 undergraduate and graduate international students in that year showed the first overall decline in numbers since 1971.
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