Camille Knoepffler left her home country of Guatemala to study dance at Wichita State University. The number of international students like her who have enrolled at Kansas universities has declined, causing schools economic losses and the loss of cultural diversity on campus. [Fernando Salazar/Special to the Capital-Journal]

Seeking diversity: Kansas universities are losing international students

Washburn University President Jerry Farley spent less than two days in Nepal last year — more time in the air than on the ground — to recruit students from the southern Asia country.

He returned home exhausted but with a commitment from 37 students to attend WU in the fall 2018 semester.

"That was good. We had residents halls for them here. We had them enrolled in classes," he said. "They had filled out all of the immigration forms. They went in for their final one-on-one face-to-face visit with the (U.S.) embassy. It’s just perfunctory. You walk in and they talk to you for about five minutes and then they move you on. They stopped 17 of our students. Wouldn’t let them in the country."

The loss of 17 students who pay the more expensive out-of-state tuition rate and live on-campus is not a small one in a time when Kansas universities are battling declining enrollments and decreased state funding.

The number of international students enrolled in Kansas Board of Regents schools and Washburn University dropped 11.29 percent since 2015, down 1,560 students, according to Kansas Higher Education Statistics. The decrease hits already financially strapped universities in the pocketbook, but also affects the cultural diversity experience on campuses, school leaders say.

Lost revenue

International students contribute about $39 billion to the U.S. economy and make up about 5.5 percent of enrollment nationally, said Rachel Banks, NAFSA: Association of International Educators director for public policy.

A NAFSA database shows international students have a $260.2 million economic impact on Kansas and support about 2,500 jobs. But that data, based on 9,500 international students, likely is an understatement. KBOR numbers reported for the 2017/2018 academic year show 12,251 international students enrolled at Kansas Board of Regents state universities and Washburn University.

The economic impact of losing international students is felt by universities and communities.

"It's tremendous," said Charles Taber, provost and executive vice president at Kansas State University, where they've lost about 600 international students in recent years. "These are 600 fewer students paying out of state tuition coming to our university. That's millions of dollars of revenue loss. It's a very direct financial impact."

Carol Solko-Olliff, director of international student services at Fort Hays State, said international students spend money locally too.

"When they come, they bring two bags," she said. "They are buying everything else they need. It's a huge economic impact."

Multiple factors are impacting the ability or willingness of international students to seek education in the United States.

'Unwelcoming'

Some report, like Washburn, that it has become tougher in the last two years to get visas. Allison Garrett, president of Emporia State University, said they had seen a "fairly significant" increase in visa denials numbering about 40 in the past two semesters. Solko-Olliff said they had experienced the same issues as FHSU, as did a Wichita State representative. A Pittsburg State spokesperson said he hadn't seen a change.

The global political landscape has had an impact, in general.

Banks noted that the travel ban put in place in 2017, which since has been revised, caused upheaval at the time.

"I think it's the unwelcoming message and uncertainty for students to come here," she said, adding that the travel ban was rolled out without any warning and people were pulled off planes because of it.

Chuck Olcese, director of international support services at the University of Kansas, said recruiters get a lot of questions about the political situation.

"One is just not really wanting to go to the U.S. because of what they read in the news and the other is how that would affect their ability to get a visa," he said. "The travel bans that came our right after the Trump presidency took effect and children being separated from parents at the borders, these all make international news in big ways, and just kind of underscores an unwelcome feeling."

Kansas has an additional challenge, Olcese said.

"Guns on campus and that, connected to the shooting of the two engineers in Overland Park a couple of years ago — in India, that was all over the papers," he said, referring to a hate crime in which two Indian engineers were killed.

"That's a real question for people who are coming from cultures where guns aren't even present," Olcese said. "They feel like everybody here has a gun and is going to be sitting in class with a gun."

Farley said trade challenges with China have changed the reception he and recruiters get in that country.

He's been going to China for several years now, staying in dormitories and visiting with people at different universities, Farley said.

"We were up to over 100 Chinese students here," he said. "Maybe 125 or so, until the election and beginning in '16 a little bit but in '17, a dramatic difference, schools were cool to us. They were still friendly. They still 

wanted to send some students to us, but not nearly the enthusiasm about it at all."

Farley said that in China, the trade problems are relayed through a party secretary and on every campus, a local party secretary makes sure that the schools are teaching "the things they ought."

The number of Chinese students studying at Washburn is down by 60 to 70 students, he said.

Increased competition

Also significant in the decreasing numbers of international students coming to Kansas is that more countries are actively competing for those students, several university leaders said.

"It's become much more competitive globally with many universities in Canada, Australia and Europe picking up the slack and really competing hard to attract international students that used to see the U.S. as the primary destination for higher ed," said K-State's Taber.

Many countries that used to subsidize their students to study in the U.S. have stopped those programs, he added, pointing especially to China and Brazil.

In addition, Taber said, China and South Korea have invested in their own educational infrastructures and more students who used to study abroad are staying home.

"International students would much rather go to Canada, Australi or even places like China where there is a message being sent by those countries of we want you, we want you to succeed here, we even want you to stay on and get some practical training experience after it's done," said NAFSA's Banks.

Canada and Australia, she said, even offer a pathway for international students to become citizens and stay.

"We cannot and do not have a way to be able to offer that certainty to international students," Banks said. "That's definitely a

variable that's weighing heavily."

A future here?

In December, there were 7.3 million job openings in the United States. The availability of workforce has become a key component in economic development and is threatening to slow growth in numerous industries. At a recent conference in Virginia, the National Association of Landscape Professionals called it a labor crisis and Total Landscape Care reported that industry had 71,000 unfilled jobs in 2017.

One component of addressing workforce needs could be international students, Banks said.

"There are Democrats and Republicans who believe we do need to be accessible and attractive to international talent," she said. "Already some bills have been introduced in this (U.S.) Congress that are targeted at fixes to make us recognize the value of that."

But international students are embroiled in the larger immigration debate, Banks said. Comprehensive immigration reform is necessary.

"We're still operating in circa 1952 immigration laws and regulations," she said. "We really are flatfooted compared to our competitors in the world. We are welcoming a commonsense immigration policy."

KU's Olcese said the bigger issue of immigration goes far beyond a border wall.

"It's how do we accept the other. How do we welcome and interact and learn from people who are different from ourselves," he said.

ESU's Garrett said attracting students to study in Kansas can lead to workforce development.

"If you attract students here to universities in Kansas, there’s a decent shot at them staying within Kansas," she said. "I look at Emporia State and our student population, and what we know is that 84 percent of our graduates are actually staying within the area and adding to the economic prosperity of this area."

Cultural diversity

While economics underpin a lot of conversations about the decrease in international students, for those committed to education, there's a more important issue.

"The money is one factor, but the more guiding factor is the ability to make an international environment for students from Kansas or wherever they're coming from across the U.S.," KU's Olcese said.

That's a critical part of the university educational experience, Farley said.

"It gives our students the opportunity to have an international experience without having to travel the world," he said. "We will have students that come to us — we recruit from a lot of little small towns — they never met anyone from China or from Japan or from Nepal. They get the opportunity to have classes together. They eat together. We put them right in the residence halls and assign them Kansas roommates.

"They get to know them, and it's both ways, because the students that crom to us from abroad get to know our students."

Olcese said that 70 percent of KU's students may not have met somebody from another country, or had any kind of serious interaction with another culture.

"To be able to come to KU and do that in a very personal way is just very important," he said. "Particularly in the Midwest, where we're kind of isolated here. That's going to prepare students for a future in a world that is getting smaller and smaller every day."

It's difficult, Olcese said, to think of any profession that isn't affected by what's happening internationally.

"If you've done your whole education in a very isolated environment without interacting with someone who thinks different culturally than you, you're really at a disadvantage."

Rachel Banks
Jerry Farley
Allison Garrett
Brazilian Ana Lima has been studying at Washburn University for nine years, and she'll graduate in May with her master's in clinical psychology.
Camille Knoepffler is studying dance at Wichita State University. She says she never would have gotten the opportunity to study dance as a profession in her native Guatemala. [Fernando Salazar/Special to the Capital-Journal]

Overwhelming and worth it: Students share their experiences studying in Kansas

Ana Lima left her home country of Brazil nine years ago to attend Washburn University.

She graduates in May with her master's in clinical psychology. But even all these years later, she remembers clearly what the first months in a new country are like.

"Everything is just so much. You can't keep up with the information," she said. "Most students have never even left their home country before. So new country. New language. New culture. Everything is so much. It's like everything is hyperstimulating, that's the sensation you get."

Today, as one of seven jobs that she works on the Washburn campus, Lima is a presidential ambassador for international students. As someone who had lived in two countries and spoke three languages before coming to the U.S., her personal experience wasn't as tough as some of those she's seen. But it's always an adjustment.

Take a syllabus, for instance. Lima had no idea what it was, and she's found that to be true of many international students she helps.

"I honestly didn't know there was a syllabus until I was like two-and-a-half months, three months, in. Don't get me wrong. They said the word 'syllabus' many times," she said. "The thing is that it's so much that when I was in class and the professor said something like syllabus, I had no idea what was happening. The word didn't register. It was so unfamiliar that it just goes over your head."

Lima can tick off a near endless list of what international students struggle with, including everything from email etiquette to dining differences to not having a car or being able to work off campus.

She can laugh about it now, though, and Lima works hard with other international students to make their transitions as easy as possible.

Academic expectations was probably the area it was most difficult for Lima to adjust, she said. Everything was different from Brazil and from Paraguay, where she lived for some time. It's often the simple things.

"You have orientation on what classes to choose, and you don't even know what a credit hour is because that's not the system that they use," Lima said.

But the experience is worth that period of "making oh so many mistakes," she added.

Camille Knoepffler is an international student at Wichita State University where she studies dance. In her home country of Guatemala, dance wouldn't have been a career option.

"It was always my dream to study abroad. I honestly didn’t see myself studying like psychology or architecture. I always wanted to pursue my dance career," she said.

Dance is starting, slowly, to become a professional option in Guatemala, but it primarily is considered a hobby, as are many of the arts, Knoepffler said.

She has enjoyed the opportunity to be stimulated by a different culture and different ideas.

But her first months here weren't a tremendous culture shock, she said.

"A lot of the terms are different. Like, for example, we don’t (say) college of fine arts or college of engineering," Knoeppfler said. "We don’t call it like that in Spanish. But it clicked right away."

Though here now for years, both women remember clearly the process of getting their student visas and preparing to come to the United States.

It was critical, Lima said, to make sure your paperwork was in perfect order. The process at first felt overwhelming.

Important first is choosing a university and getting accepted. The university will look at financial statements for proof that you can pay for tuition and living experiences, she said, and that also means that sponsors in your home country will have enough to live on too. Once that's determined, an I-20 is issued.

That Form I-20, which is a Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant Student Status, is important, Lima said.

"That is your ticket to everything," she said. "You need it for pretty much everything. You leave the country, you come in, you have to have it at all times."

After that is attained, the process begins of applying for a student visa, typically the F-1 visa. That includes paying $200 for the SEVIS fee, or I-901 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System fee. Lima said that was only a challenge because students are required to have an international credit card, and that could be a big deal in Brazil.

Applying for the actual visa requires filling out pages and pages of paperwork, and it's here that Lima and Knoepffler said it's important to be detailed and accurate.

"The smallest mistake sets you back incredibly far, to the point of even getting your visa denied," Lima said. "Honestly, every step you take you have to be extremely careful."

Knoepffler said when she started the process she signed up online with an organization that was supposed to help her through the process. But the company disappeared halfway through, and she had to cancel the payment that she'd made on her credit card.

The final step is the visa interview, where you stand in line at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate and turn in your paperwork and do an in-person interview.

Vince Altum, executive director of the office of international education at Wichita State University, said he was allowed to witness a visa interview at one time.

"The students are very, very nervous," he said. "It's kind of like going to a large bank in the U.S. You stand in line for your interview and you slide your passport under a little crack under a bank window. Most interviews are like three minutes long."

Those quick interviews, which Lima said can last as long as 10 minutes and vary considerably from embassy to embassy, can support or end a student's dream to study in the United States.

Lima called it one of the most intimidating experiences in her life.

"The line is super long. Everyone is behind the glass — and they're mostly all Americans so I could hear them speak Portuguese with this very thick accent and they're very serious and very intimidating," she said.

It's extremely important that those doing the interviewing understand that students intend to return to their home countries, Lima said. Students can show their ties to their home country through owning vehicles, showing a history of working there for a long time or having lots of family members there.

There is an appeal process if you're rejected, she said. Most often rejections come because the student doesn't show they have enough money. Even though they have the I-20, they have to once again prove their financial situation at the embassy. Another reason is concern that the student wants to stay in the U.S. That can happen if there are already relatives in the U.S. who have stayed there through marriage, for instance.

All of the nerves and financial commitment, though, were worth it for Lima and Knoepffler. Both said they enjoy the challenge of being confronted with ideas that are different than what they've known.

Lima dived deep into work at the Washburn campus, where she's the clinic director at the Washburn Psychological Services Clinic and an intern at counseling services, among other roles. She fell in love with Topeka, she said.

"I fell in love with people here. I felt like everyone here has been more of a family than anything," Lima said. "I love the culture. I love the people. I love everything. I love rules and recycling."

She laughed.

Ana Lima shares what it’s like to be a student in a new country. In two words – “too much”

Brazilian Ana Lima is wrapping up nine years of education at Washburn University. She loves being in Topeka, she says, and has made friends who feel like family. [Morgan Chilson/The Capital-Journal]

Kansas school leaders search for ways to support diversity, workforce

Kansas universities have seen a significant drop in the enrollment of international students, and leaders there are taking action to see if they can boost those numbers.

At Wichita State University, which saw a decline of 587 international students from the 2014-2015 school year through 2017-2018, a new online program is making up some of the slack, according to Vince Altum, executive director of the office of international education.

"WSU started offering a lot of non-degree coursework that's very popular with our students that are overseas that do it online," he said, adding that although the university has seen a decrease in the number of international students studying on campus, students through the Workforce Education and Badge Program are increasing.

In fall 2018, Altum said, there were 421 students taking those professional development classes. The Badge program didn't start with a focus on international students.

"It was a way to start offering micro-credentials, and then the university said, 'Hey, why don't you see if any international students might be interested?' " Altum said.

They were, and the response was impressive.

Charles Taber, provost and executive vice president at Kansas State University, said he was hopeful regulatory changes at the state and federal level can continue to encourage international students to choose the U.S.

The Optional Practical Training program through the federal government offers students on an F-1 visa — the most common type of student visa — the chance to work for 12 months in the U.S. in their chosen field. Recently, Taber said, the government expanded the OPT to two years for students in STEM fields.

"That's a positive development," he said. "That really is a pathway where students can spend two years working in the U.S. after their degree and some of those students can find an opportunity that turns into a permanent (position)."

Offering international students a way to stay in the U.S. is one way to address some of the escalating workforce issues, he said. It also needs attention at the state level, Taber added.

"I think that states that invest in higher education and see a connection to workforce will also develop programs at their universities and fund programs at their universities that will attract talent, international talent," he said.

Taber noted that he testified last week at the higher education budget committee at the Kansas Statehouse, along with leaders from other Kansas schools.

"In some sense we're competitors, but more importantly we really have a common cause," Taber said. "The universities in Kansas have a common cause to make to advocate for increased support that will allow us to really draw the talent. It's not just international students. They are components of it, but the talent from across the country and retaining the Kansas talent so they don't find better opportunities out of state and leave."

Aaron Hurt, interim director of international programs and services office at Pittsburg State University, said his school experienced a drop in international students after a scholarship program with Saudi Arabia ended. It was a limited program to start with, and the school wanted to do something to make sure the experience on campus was multicultural.

Pitt State has started several new initiatives, including hiring an in-country recruiter in China and India. It has already had several applications come from that program, he said.

It also will be implementing new scholarship programs for international students in the fall.

Carol Solko-Olliff, director of international student services at Fort Hays State University, said she expects to see the situation in international education start to shift.

Once things turn around, it will be important to build back trust with the international community, she said.

"That's why I think it's important when the students come that their experience is positive so they can be ambassadors when they go back to talk about the experience they had," she said. "It's a people-to-people relationship. It shouldn't be government to government. While that has an influence, it's honestly the interpersonal."

Rachel Banks, NAFSA director for public policy, said changes need to occur for the U.S. to be competitive. NAFSA is a national organization focused on international students and education.

Visa challenges that bar students from studying here can often be attributed to immigration law that requires international students to demonstrate they have no intent to immigrate to the U.S.

"That can be a pretty big hurdle for some students to climb over," she said. "It gives the consul officers great leeway to deny an applicant under the auspice of 'I don't believe you have no intention to immigrate.' We have been advocating to change it because of the reality of 21st century academic mobility. Competitor countries that are seeking to attract talent from all over the world, and specifically Canada and Australia, have specific paths for international students to be able to immigrate and become citizens."

The need is to tackle the issue of all immigration policies, Banks said.

"We are welcoming a common-sense immigration policy," she said. "It hinders our competitive edge in the world. In 2016, all six of the U.S. winners of Nobel prizes in the sciences and economic sciences were immigrants."