Missouri on the Move - IIE Open Doors Report Reveals

The much awaited IIE Open Doors 2023 report is out! The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and IIE released their findings from the Open Doors? Report on International Educational Exchange at the annual data release on Monday, November 13, 2023.

The whole International Education (IE) Sector was eagerly awaiting for this report and it was a moment of hurrah! for all of us in US-Higher Education (International Recruitment) as we saw the number of international students in the USA reach the pre-pandemic levels and officially cross the million student mark. What is most exciting is that since 2014/15 this is the first time that the international student enrollment increased across all academic levels.

Missouri as a state outperformed several others and climbed up 3 spots to become ranked number 13th in overall State Rankings. This is one of the best ever performance by Missouri Institutions in this century and there is much more to cheer than just the ranking. Open Doors report indicates that enrollment of international students in Missouri institutions grew by 26.6% in 22-23, dwarfing the national average of 12%. This is a tremendous feat. This also translates to an $827 million in international student expenditure, compared to $621 million in 2021-2022 for the state of Missouri.

There were other interesting data shifts from 2022, which indicated an overall market shift. China is no longer the highest sender of international students to Missouri. India has overtaken China in accounting for over 40% of all international students in Missouri. This means there are now over 10,000 Indian students in Missouri. China used to be the number one sender of students to Missouri in 2022 and nearly 6,000 Chinese students were studying in Missouri in 2021-2022. This year even though the total number of Chinese students in Missouri has crossed the 6000 mark, in percentage and ranking, China has fallen to the second spot.

South Korea, Nepal and Vietnam make up for the remaining of the top 5. These three nations seem to be in a close race to take a clear third spot in the future. Saudi Arabia has dropped off the top five places of origin, which could be due to the recent changes in scholarship-funding priorities, and the SACM government sponsored students from Saudi Arabia to USA as indicated by #ICEFMonitor.

The Open Doors Reports showcase data from 22-23 academic year. But the Fall Snapshot report, which gives initial trends from institutions reporting their Fall 2023 trends, also demonstrate the the upward trend of international students in USA continued last Fall. Most Missouri based institutions including Webster University's Fall Census has very positive trends reported. Webster saw more than 20% overall enrollment growth and the current number of international students in the USA is over 2600 according to the University census report.

Missouri's low cost of living, welcoming institutions and availability of various CPT and OPT opportunities will continue to drive international students to this state in the years to come. The change in the top 5 senders/places of origin may be more than just an annual trend for 22-23. The places of origin data shows a strong growth of the international student population from South Asia. Most students coming from South Asia fund their own education or get family support and education loans. They are seeking a very good value proposition and lower cost of living. Unlike students from China. who are mostly looking for big cities (mostly in the east and west coast); students from the sub-continent are much more flexible with their destination as long as the institutions are well-recognized and the costs are within their budget. Going by this trend, Missouri is destined to enter the top 10 receiving states list in the next few years.