A Shock to the System

In a video that helped jump-start a national campaign intended to reassure international students considering U.S. institutions, three members of the Temple University community toss an inflatable globe into the air. “We are Temple. Philadelphia is our home, and you are welcome here!” they exclaim. 

The #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign, which has spread to more than 300 colleges and universities nationwide, is a reaction to the so-called “Trump effect.” The current administration’s combination of rhetoric and realities has contributed to the well-publicized chill in international students opting to study in the United States. At the same time, the inflatable globe in the video serves as a reminder that U.S. politics represent only one piece of the much larger globalized puzzle. 

“There’s an acknowledgement now that it’s more than just the Trump effect,” says Ian Wright, director of partnerships for World Education Services (WES). “That was the easy answer last winter.” 

It is becoming increasingly clear that these shifts in student populations, which began before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, represent more than just the impact of domestic politics. A combination of evolving enrollment patterns in other countries, increased aspirations to create world-class institutions elsewhere in the world, and demographic and economic shifts have all contributed to a rapidly changing—and somewhat unpredictable—environment. 

Role Reversal 

The shifts in international enrollment have been dramatic. After rising steadily for more than a decade, the number of international students enrolled in U.S. institutions broke the million-student barrier in the 2015–16 academic year. The following year, however, the number