Why We Shouldn’t Fear the China Syndrome
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Headline: Undergraduate Chinese students enrolling in Ohio colleges in record numbers
Reality: Ohio has seen a bigger influx in students from Illinois than China over the past 10 years.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes about Case Western Reserve University, which “like others in Ohio and across the country, has realized the benefits of recruiting Chinese students — who usually pay full price and can handle the academic challenges:”
The number of Chinese students in undergraduate programs at U.S. colleges increased 43 percent, to 57,000 students, from 2009 to 2010, according to the most recent statistics from the Institute of International Education…
Countries that send the most students to the United States are, in order: China, India, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. The top three account for 46 percent of all foreign enrollment.
As a group, Ohio colleges had 388 more foreign undergrads in 2010 than in 2000, according to the most recent federal data. That’s an increase of nearly 40 percent.
But let’s put that in perspective:
- In 2010, less than 1 percent of Ohio undergrads were from foreign countries.
- Ohio colleges saw greater percentage increases in the number of undergrads from 33 states plus the District of Columbia than in it did for foreign students.
- The number of undergrads from Illinois shot up by 80 percent over the same period, with 666 more Illinois students attending school in Ohio in 2010 than 2000.
- And the increases in students from Florida and California are even steeper: Florida sent nearly 374 more undergrads to Ohio schools in 2010 than 2000. California sent 332 more.
Undergraduate Enrollment in Ohio Colleges by Selected Student State/Region of Residence
Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System | First-time, full-time undergraduates | Download Data