Community colleges continue to see an uptick among international students post-Covid, with a 12.7% increase in 2023-24 for a total of 59,315 enrollments, according to an annual report from the Institute of International Education (IIE).
Like all higher education institutions, international student enrollment at public-two-year colleges — which was already experiencing a decline before the pandemic — tanked during Covid, hitting -24% in 2020-21 and -12.5% in 2021-22, before edging up by 7.2% in 2022-23, according to the “Open Doors” report, which is sponsored by the U.S. State Department. The high point for international student enrollment at U.S. community colleges was 96,472 students in 2016-17.
Overall, U.S. colleges and universities saw a 7% increase among international students in 2023-24, with the bulk of those increases coming from graduate students, said Mirka Martel, head of research, evaluation and learning at IIE. The number of undergraduates coming to study at U.S. institutions actually dropped by -1%, she said, noting that the undergraduate decreases during Covid “are still cycling through the four-year system.”
Data dive
Overall among all U.S. higher education institutions, India replaced China as sending the most students to U.S. colleges and universities. However, for community colleges, China was still at the top (7.2% of total international students at associate-degree institutions), followed by Vietnam (6.9%), Nepal (5.2%), Mexico (4.9%) and Brazil and Japan (both 4.7%).
The top five two-year colleges that have traditionally attracted the largest number of international students stayed the same in 2023-24, with Houston Community College (3,629) at the top, followed by Lone Star College (3,196), Dallas College (2,305), Santa Monica College (1,796) and Valencia College (1,690).
Among international students at community colleges, 53.2% were women, compared to 44.4% at all U.S. higher education institutions. A greater percentage of international students on two-year campuses were part-time students (12.8%) and single (92.6%), compared to all institutions (6.1% and 89.3%, respectively).
Students who study abroad
When looking at the characteristics of community college students who studied abroad, 68.5% were women, compared to 67.2% at all institutions. A greater percentage of community college students studying abroad were Hispanic/Latino (26.2%) and Black (7.3%), compared to all other institutions (12.2% and 5.9%, respectively). White students (57.6%) comprised the largest percentage of two-year college students in study abroad programs, though it was much lower than the percentage of White students at all institutions (66.4%).
As with all institutions in general, Europe was the most popular destination for students at associate-degree institutions, with 67.7% of 2022-23 participants going there. Latin America and the Caribbean (14.1%) were the second top destination for community college students, followed by Asia (9.5%). Most two-year students went to Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland and France.
College of DuPage had 224 students study abroad in 2022-23, followed by Citrus College (165), Pellissippi State Community College (150), Johnson County Community College (132) and Glendale Community College (131).
IIE also noted that 14,890 U.S. higher education students participated in online global learning, largely through internships and consulting with global companies, and collaborative project-based learning.
“These virtual education experiences provide a critical way for students who are not able to travel abroad to gain valuable insights and perspectives,” said Julie Baer, IIE’s research and learning lead.
