During the inaugural International Forum on Migration Statistics, Dr. Rajika Bhandari, IIE's Head of Research, Policy & Practice, presented IIE's latest academic mobility data in global landscape. She spoke on a panel, “International Students and Temporary Skilled Workers: Comparing Data from Around the Globe” on January 16, 2018 in Paris.

1. Shifting National Landscapes
and Global Student Mobility:
How are the Top Host
Countries Faring?
International Forum on Migration
Statistics
January 2018, Paris
Rajika Bhandari, Ph.D.
Head of Research, Policy & Practice

2. IIE by the Numbers
2015 Impact
200+
PROGRAMS
185
COUNTRIES
1,400+
MEMBER
INSTITUTIONS
19
OFFICES AND
AFFILIATES
42,500
TOTAL
PARTICIPANTS
5,700+
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS PLACED AT
U.S. UNIVERSITIES
600+
GENERATION
STUDY ABROAD
PARTNERS
1,600+
HIGHER ED PARTNERS
PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL
EXCHANGE
2
For nearly a century, IIE has been the
global leader in international education

3. IIE sent out a
questionnaire
to higher
education
institutions
collecting
international
student data
1948 1955 1972 2001
The
publication
was expanded
and renamed
Open Doors
The U.S.
Department
of State began
providing
support for
IIE’s Open
Doors
IIE launched
Project Atlas
in
collaboration
with
international
partners
IIE began
publishing
data in
Education for
One World
1921
Almost a 100 years of student mobility data…

4. Project Atlas®
Project Atlas®: A global community of student mobility
agencies and researchers

5. 5
Global competition
The case of the U.S.
Defining and
measuring mobility

6. Mobile postsecondary students: A global look
Source: Project Atlas, 2017; UNESCO, 2017 data release

7. United
Kingdom
United
States
China France Australia
20162013
International student growth over the past 5 years
Germany
200K
400K
600K
800K
1Mil
1.2Mil
United
Kingdom
United
States
China France Australia Canada
2017

8. Global Competition: Why do countries want
international students?
8
• Educational and cultural exchange
• Building knowledge economies; science and
innovation
• Revenue: Higher education as an “export”
• U.S.: $39.4 billion
• U.K.: $22 billion
• Australia: £25 billion
• Internationalization of campuses
• World‐class universities & rankings

9. Host countries and their targets
9

10. Strategies to attract students
10
• Canada: new immigration process; additional points for
residency for those who obtained degrees in Canada and hold job
offers (Nov. 2016)
• Germany: minimal fees, career incentives, English‐taught
graduate programs
• China: internships; opportunities for international students in
high‐tech and e‐commerce to transition to workforce; scholarships
• Japan: subsidized company internships, job search assistance,
Japanese language courses

11. A shifting landscape: how is the U.S. faring?
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1980/81 1986/87 1992/93 1998/99 2004/05 2010/11 2016/17
16%Percent of Total:
12%
84%

12. 0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
1 2 3 4 5
New enrollment slows down by 3.3%
Continuing‐Undergrad
Continuing‐Graduate
Continuing‐OPT
Continuing‐Non‐Degree
New‐Graduate
New‐Undergrad
New‐Non‐Degree
‐1.3%
‐2.9%
‐8.8%
2016/172015/162014/152013/142012/13

13. Who is an international student? Measurement
challenges
13
• Comparing apples and oranges
• HEI enrollment data vs. immigration/visa data
• Linking student enrollment and skilled
immigration data
• Variations in: program of study; duration;
delivery

14. Who is an international student? Who should
count?
14

15. Online Resources
#OpenDoorsReport
iie.org/opendoors
@IIEResearch @IIEGlobal
iie.org/mobility
educationusa.state.gov