Does anyone know what colleges are planning for if international students evaporate?

[Anonymous]

Is anyone in higher ed and privy to any of the contingency plans if international students don’t return, can’t get visas, decline admits? The timing is really awful on top of the whole thing being awful.

1. Schools will be under enrolled as the chaos will not be resolved in time to back fill students.
2. Registration will be a disaster as classes taught by missing TAs are cancelled. Undergrads will not be able to get required classes and end up later doing an extra year.
3. Research is gutted so US grad students won’t have PhD programs to go into. Grad and PhD students won’t be able to finish their degrees dependent on research.
4. Foreign students given virtual option similar to COVID. Universities change their by laws regarding in person defenses.
5. Schools WTH satellite campuses try to shuffle students canceling US students going abroad and moving international students there. Faculty shuffled overseas.
6. Schools panic about revenue, back fill with domestic students but then everything resolves by Sept and now over enrollment soars.
7. Non US schools start retaliating by sending US students back.

[Anonymous]

Omg it’s such a mess 😯
This nonsense plus AI. Our poor kids.

[Anonymous]

I didn't even realize how much it will suck in big state schools if TAs (many of who are international grad students on student visas) aren't available to teach smaller discussion sections. Will they just do the 300 person lecture sessions and cancel the smaller TA support discussion sections.

This is all so bad. On top of the TA and research issue, people don't realize how much having fellow students in college from other countries studying alongside you enriches learning. Some of my favorite classmates in college were from Africa, India and France. For some people, college is the first time they are actually engaging deeply with non-US citizens (vacations out of country to a resort for a week aren't the same).

[Anonymous]

Hardest hit schools will be large public flagships were TAs carrry the weight.

Safest most insulated - SLACs.

[Anonymous]

What portion of TAs are grad students who are newly enrolled at the university?

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure this is like COVID. They can’t plan because TACO. There is no stability in the federal policy is. So they are lurching from on scenario to the next. Which, of course, takes time, money and resources away from them focusing on things that could actually benefit the whole student body.

I did see today that Macalaster is recommending international students not go home this summer because they might not get back in. And is offering them free on campus summer housing/ financial supports. I have a kid in IR who looked at Mac because that’s a huge strength for them. Global student body, special program to prepare kids for the peace corps and sends huge numbers, lots of Fulbrights, etc. So for them, this as about maintaining their identity/brand/ academic department/LAC niche as much as money.

[Anonymous]

Post on r/academia, r/askacademia, r/askProfessors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What portion of TAs are grad students who are newly enrolled at the university?

I would imagine 100%? Aren't all TAs grad students at the same school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What portion of TAs are grad students who are newly enrolled at the university?

I would imagine 100%? Aren't all TAs grad students at the same school?

No, the question is how many TAs are typically fresh-off-the-plane from another country, such that this fall's TAs are currently located in their home country awaiting a visa, and accordingly, possibly impacted by the pause on the scheduling of new appointments for student visas.

[Anonymous]

International students do not pay full price on average.

See below

$26,800 is the average aid for international students at U.S. colleges

Analysis of 2022-2023 higher education data discloses U.S. colleges awarded international students $26,800 in financial aid on average last year.

However, packages tripled to nearly $77,000 among the most internationally-friendly schools.

https://www.skillademia.com/statistics/scholarship-statistics/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Post on r/academia, r/askacademia, r/askProfessors

See this link for what is happening real time.
https://www.reddit.com/r/academia/comments/1kyc9rp/visa_b1b2_denied_for_summer_course_in_usa/

[Anonymous]

I just saw something that 6000 MD/PHD students are going to be denied visas when they were scheduled to start residency this July (in a month!). That's an insane blow to the medical system as well. 6000 fewer medical residents will have impacts for many years down the line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just saw something that 6000 MD/PHD students are going to be denied visas when they were scheduled to start residency this July (in a month!). That's an insane blow to the medical system as well. 6000 fewer medical residents will have impacts for many years down the line.

Since US med schools generally do not provide for visas, these visas must be work visas. Different kettle of fish.

[Anonymous]

With the huge cuts in research funding, many grad students who were being paid from grants will be available to TA. There may also be post docs willing to TA for funding, if their grants were cut.

It probably won't be that hard to fill gaps in missing international students this fall for TA spots.

School budgets will be hit and research will slow down, but I don't think it will stop US undergrads from being taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What portion of TAs are grad students who are newly enrolled at the university?

I would imagine 100%? Aren't all TAs grad students at the same school?

No, the question is how many TAs are typically fresh-off-the-plane from another country, such that this fall's TAs are currently located in their home country awaiting a visa, and accordingly, possibly impacted by the pause on the scheduling of new appointments for student visas.

Or Chinese students and any other group Steven Miller decides to push around by revoking their existing Visas. Incoming new international students with other options are likely to just bail. Universities will not know this until the next deadline for housing deposits or registration. Students don’t call the university if they decide not to go, they just stop responding. This pushes out any knowledge of how much damage was done. Existing international students are likely to stick it out until they are revoked or denied entry. Some at the undergraduate level or early grad level may start on working on transferring to Canada, EU, Australia etc for the next cycle.