Analysis Of International Student Enrollments At A Florida Public University

This study sought to determine if international student admissions at a public university had been affected by the events on September 11, 2001. To accomplish this, an analysis was conducted comparing international and domestic students\u27 application rates, number of acceptances and enrollments for the fall semesters from 1998 through 2004 on data obtained from University of South Florida. The USF population data were also compared to enrollments in the U.S. for the respective years. Analyses on application frequencies and student enrollments comparing colleges of major and regions of origin were also performed. Generally, although statistical significance was found in many comparisons, the results of the chi square analyses found that no real effects were present, particularly when comparing USF international and domestic student populations. The chi square analyses comparing USF enrollments to the U.S. population from 1998 to 2003 also found no real effect. The analyses of the proportions of international graduate and domestic student enrollments and applications before and after September 11, 2001, also found no relationship. However, the analyses on world regions found that proportions of students from the Mideast declined from before to after Fall 2001 but other regions increased. Additionally, for graduate students, the proportion of Chinese students declined after 2001. Descriptive statistics indicated that international students majoring in engineering declined after 2001. The literature review found there were many factors in influencing the international student population in the U.S. including competition from other countries for students, the expense of a U.S education and changes in the U.S. regulations for issuing student visas. In general, the literature supported a decline in the number of overseas students coming to the U.S. to study. While the USF enrollments seemed to be consistent with the literature, no conclusive evidence indicated this decline was a result of the events of September 11, 2001