Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • June 29, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com A s Connecticut colleges prepare to reopen for in-person instruction in the coming months amid the coronavirus pandemic, an important — and lu- crative — part of the student body won't be fully returning to campus: international students. Some local colleges say they are projecting double-digit percentage declines in international pupils this fall due to student visa and travel restrictions from COVID-19, and con- cerns over civil unrest in the United States, school administrators said. Students from China, where coro- navirus spawned and more than 35% of international students in Con- necticut hailed from in 2019, are fac- ing particular barriers to returning. That will further exacerbate col- leges' coronavirus-induced financial woes because international students typically pay full price for tuition and housing, while more than 90% of the total U.S. college student population receives some kind of discount, like in-state tuition or grants, said Martin Van Der Werf, the education policy researcher at the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. Connecticut colleges last year col- lectively hosted nearly 15,000 inter- national students, who spent almost $589 million in the state on tuition as well as accommodations, dining, retail, transportation and other expenses, according to data collected by the In- stitute of International Education (IIE). "If you have a huge drop in your international students, you're going to have a huge drop in revenue," Van Der Werf said. College administrators say the situation is problematic, but not dire. They are also taking various steps to facilitate the continuing edu- cation of foreign students having difficulty getting visas or flights to return to cam- pus, including offering tuition discounts for re- mote instruction and partnering with higher-ed- ucation institu- tions in other countries. These challenges are swirling after Connecticut colleges in recent weeks have announced plans to cautiously reopen their campuses for the fall semester, with significant precautions to prevent the trans- mission of coronavirus. Most schools plan to reopen in late August or early September for hybrid in-person and virtual coursework, before closing campuses after Thanksgiving and converting the rest of the semester to re- mote learning. The Univer- sity of Hartford expects its international student enroll- ment of about 500 last semes- ter to decline by as much as 25% this fall, while UConn projects about 700 of its 3,800 international students might not return to campus. Yuhang Rong, UConn's associate vice president for global affairs, said his school has taken multiple steps to address the problem, including partnering with two universities in China — where about 88% of UConn's international students are from — so that its pupils there can continue to take courses while still maintaining enrollment. As part of the deal, UConn paid about $2.4 mil- lion each to East China Normal University and the University of Nottingham so that its Chinese students can take courses at the schools. The students earn cred- its from and pay tuition to UConn. That's significant because UConn estimated it would lose between $9.4 million and $13.5 million in fiscal 2021 if the school ceded between 40% and 65% of its international students. More broadly, the school is project- ing a deficit next fall of at least $47 million, but it could go as high as $129 million, school administrators recently told the board of trustees. "We are asking them to provide course instruc- tion, and resi- dence halls for any of our stu- dents who can't make it to Con- necticut in the fall," Rong said. "It's no different than any UConn student studying abroad." Additionally, UConn is tapping into its alumni network in China and other countries, to help students fa- miliarize themselves with the area, and organize social gatherings, Rong said. Rong also sees a bright spot in that UConn currently has the same number of deposits from interna- tional pupils as it did last year, a sign that most students are gener- ally not canceling plans to attend. Civil unrest concerns The University of Hartford, which has enacted voluntary furloughs and pay cuts in response to COVID- 19-related financial losses, is offering up to 50% off tuition to international students who can't get visas, but agree to take courses online next se- Enrollment Gap CT colleges will see fewer high-paying international students this fall amid COVID-19 fears CT colleges with the highest number of international students School City Total students University of Connecticut Storrs 4,172 Yale University New Haven 3,636 University of Bridgeport Bridgeport 1,878 University of New Haven West Haven 1,410 University of Hartford West Hartford 533 Source: The Institute of International Education R.J. McGivney, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Continuing Education, University of Hartford Yuhang Rong, Associate Vice President for Global Affairs, UConn Adrienne Oddi, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Trinity College The University of Hartford expects to see its international student enrollment drop by as much as 25% in the fall 2020 semester. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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