While colleges across the United States are still on the fence about opening their campuses to students, most are preparing for a drop in the number of international students, according to a new study.

On May 14, the Institute of International Education (IIE), which tracks data on college students, released the results of a survey it conducted with 599 colleges and universities in all 50 states about their plans for the summer and fall semesters in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mirka Martel, the report’s author, noted that 74 percent of respondents said they don’t know if they will continue their study-abroad programs in the fall but 70 percent said they anticipate that at least some international students won’t be able to come to their campus for that semester.

“Our analysis indicates that these institutions anticipate that approximately 16 percent of their international student body will not be able to come to campus in person in fall 2020,” Martel said during a conference call with reporters.

The surveyed campuses taught 519,000 international students during the 2018-2019 academic year, which was approximately 47 percent of the country’s total international student population, according to IIE. Martel noted that because of the pandemic, academic institutions had to scale back their recruitment efforts abroad. Roughly 78 percent of the schools switched to virtual recruitment methods, such as online information sessions and phone calls with prospective students, and many took actions to waive certain costs, such as application fees, the report said. Martel said college administrators are concerned about their budgets as the number of international students dwindles.

“They are thinking about internationalization and how international education may change and evolve post COVID-19,” she said.

The report added that the schools are turning to alternative options to help students who are still interested in attending their classes. About three-quarters of the respondents said they would offer students the option of deferring their enrollment to the fall of 2021. Colleges are still figuring out how many classes will be taught online and what offerings will be available in the fall.

“As a result, 52 percent of reported institutions indicate that they plan to offer students online enrollment in the fall, whereas 42 percent indicate that they will offer online instruction until the student can come to campus in person,” the report said.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【抱观望态度】 bào guānwàng tàidù on the fence characterized by indecision

【可能的】kěnéng de prospective potential, likely, or expected

最新研究显示，尽管美国各地的大学仍在犹豫是否开学，但多数大学都在为国际学生数量下降做准备。

美国国际教育协会对全美50个州的599所大学开展了一项调查，询问其鉴于目前的新冠疫情，夏季和秋季的开学计划，并在5月14日公布了调查报告。该协会对大学生的数据进行跟踪调查。

报告的作者米尔卡▪马特尔指出，74%的高校表示不确定秋季是否会继续开展海外学习项目，但70%的受访高校预计部分留学生在秋季学期开始后不会返校。

“我们的分析表明，这些高校预计，在今年秋季学期，约有16%的国际学生无法亲自到校学习，”马特尔在电话会议上告诉记者。

根据该协会的数据，接受调查的高校中2018-2019学年约有51.9万名留学生，约占美国留学生总数的47%。马特尔称，由于新冠肺炎疫情，学术机构不得不减少海外招生工作。

大约78%的高校转而采取虚拟招生方式，比如与意向学生的网络会议和电话面试等。报告称，许多高校采取行动免除申请费等某些费用。马特尔说，随着国际学生数量的减少，大学管理人员担心学校的预算。

她说：“高校正在考虑如何推动国际化，以及在新冠肺炎疫情过后国际教育将发生何种变化。”

报告还指出，这些高校正在转向其他选择，以帮助那些对入读仍然感兴趣的学生。约四分之三的受访高校表示，学生可以选择推迟至2021年秋季学期入学。

各所高校仍在研究有多少课程将在网上教学，以及秋季学期将会有什么课程安排。

报告称：“因此，52%的受访高校表示，计划在秋季为学生提供在线入学登记。而42%的受访高校表示，他们将提供网络教学，直到学生能够亲自来到校园。”

(chinadaily.com.cn)