There are multiple explanations answering why international student enrollment has declined during this academic year. COVID-19, additional costs and travel bans all pose barriers to those looking to study abroad.
When the University of Idaho transitioned to online learning last March, it presented unusual challenges for students looking to earn their degree, but even more demanding were the expectations placed on international students to do the same.
Due to the pandemic and international relations, international student enrollment at UI is down 29% from 2019, according to a memo from President C. Scott Green on Oct. 20. Though some students were able to remain in Moscow over the summer, many were not able to attend the current 2020-2021 academic year.
“The pandemic has certainly impacted international students because other countries have been shut down,” Dana Brolley, director of International Services said. “But there’s been more than one reason for the decline.”
The decline is due to a range of complications, including economic issues, additional costs, travel bans and the closure of overseas embassies, according to Brolley. Various COVID-19 travel bans by Presidential Proclamation prohibited travelers from entry into the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making students who had gone home unable to get back.
Eddie Hau, junior from Taiwan studying finance at UI, thought of going home at the end of last March but would have needed to quarantine for 14 days.
The pandemic also caused widespread international flight cancellations. Some countries shut down all flights for extended periods of time, making it nearly impossible for students to go home and visit family.
Preyusha Aryal, a senior studying computer engineering from Nepal, hasn’t seen her family in over a year. According to Reuters, Nepal closed its airspace for nearly five months beginning in March. When COVID-19 began spreading across the globe, Aryal thought it was best to stay put.
“If you go to a different country, you have to quarantine for 14 days, and coming back to the states it’s the same thing,” Aryal said. “The flights were getting canceled; people were stuck and even if they wanted to fly out it was hard.”
But travel bans aren’t the only thing making it hard for international students. The U.S. Department of State suspended routine visa services worldwide in March, according to the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Embassies and consulates began providing emergency and “mission-critical visa services” instead. In many cases, new students had trouble receiving their visas.
Bandita Karki, a senior studying statistics and mathematics from Nepal, has not experienced this issue but has seen how it affects students in her country looking to study abroad.
“I applied in 2017 and didn’t have any problems,” Karki said. “But right now, the U.S. Embassy in Nepal is closed and no one has been able to apply for visas.”
Richard Pathomsiri | Argonaut
Jaime Bellingham, a fifth-year student from New Zealand working on her master’s in human psychology at UI, spent two months trying to get a visa appointment. They wanted physical paperwork which took an additional three months to send, due to postal delays.
While some students have stayed in Moscow, unable to travel home and visit family, Bellingham was able to return home over the summer. According to Brolley, the distance between students and their families makes it difficult to stay in the country and finish school.
“I know there’s a lot of worry, guilt and pressure they feel in relationship to their family,” Brolley said. “Yet, at the same time, they’ve invested a lot into completing a degree and are nearly finished. To walk away from that… it’s a really difficult choice to make.”
While Aryal has been away from her family for extended periods of time before, this time she’s worried about the possibility of them contracting a deadly virus before they can all be reunited. At the same time, Aryal worries about herself getting sick because she may not be able to afford medication and doesn’t have insurance in the states.
“It’s super hard because once you’re here because you’re not present with (family),” Aryal said. “It’s difficult just having to deal with that.”
When cases of COVID-19 started popping up in the U.S., Bellingham returned home to stay with her parents. Upon arriving, she was quarantined by the government to keep her parents safe.
Despite wanting to return home to her family, Karki was unable to due to travel restrictions in her country. A few months ago, some of her family members tested positive for COVID-19.
“It was an emotionally draining period to even think about the consequences,” Karki said. “I was not able to focus on anything during that time. But things have started getting better and I’m hoping for a better tomorrow.”
When the pandemic first began, many universities made the switch to remote coursework. But international students in the U.S. weren’t allowed to have an online-only education at the time. The additional stress and regulations placed on them eventually took its toll on their academic performance.
“That introduced a lot of uncertainty in the community,” Karki said. “We were all really worried about it, but I think the university has been doing their best.”
International students are now required to take only one online class each semester which allows them to worry less about the virus, according to Bellingham. She said online courses are different because there’s less social interaction, but it also makes school easier.
Aryal was taking internships when the pandemic started. Transitioning from working in an office to working from home proved to be difficult. In-person classes make it easier to ask professors for help on specific projects, according to Aryal, and although online meetings have a screen share feature, it’s harder to bond with a professor or convey a problem.
“It was hard to communicate, you could not meet your friends, do homework together or have a quick discussion,” Aryal said. “Zoom is fine, but I was missing that human interaction.”
Time zone differences and technology challenges also make it harder for students who’ve returned home, Brolley said. Some platforms can be less stable and make it harder to access materials.
In Nepal, Karki said not everyone has internet access or a computer they can work on at home. Students in Moscow have access to the internet and computers through the library and other various locations across campus.
“Back in Nepal, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the lack of vaccines,” Karki said. “Nobody received a stimulus check or anything.”
Due to economic uncertainty, some students were not able to receive support from their families. It’s had a major impact on international students who pay out-of-state tuition, Brolley said.
“Last semester was mostly tough because we weren’t sure what was happening,” Karki said. “I used to work for the athletics department, but they shut down for more than four months. For someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, it was exhausting to not be able to work for such a long time.”
Because there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, Bellingham’s family is able to live somewhat normally. Citizens can go to concerts and interact with others in-person. ln the U.S., Bellingham gets a stipend from the athletic department to play golf at the university’s course.
“One of the challenges is that international students aren’t eligible for any federal resources,” Brolley said. “There’s money, but they’re not eligible for any of it and even getting some kind of service through a federally funded program puts them at risk because it’s a violation of their immigration.”
Though the government cannot provide funding for international students, the university provides some aid.
While the International Programs Office provides scholarships to their students, there’s also the Bruce Pitman Emergency Fund. The fund has been assisting individuals who are struggling financially, dealing with job loss and those without support.
Advisors and staff have helped as much as they can, even crowdfunding to raise money for students, Brolley said.
The Counseling and Testing Center is also available to those suffering from external stressors in school, at home or in daily life. Individuals who are food insecure can access the Vandal Food Pantry.
Emily Pearce can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce