唐納德·特朗普當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)后的第一批大學(xué)新生到校了,新的數(shù)據(jù)證實(shí)了高等教育產(chǎn)業(yè)的擔(dān)憂:赴美外國留學(xué)生數(shù)量下滑。
The number of newly arriving international students declined an average 7 percent in fall 2017, with 45 percent of campuses reporting drops in new international enrollment, according to a survey of nearly 500 campuses across the country by the Institute of International Education.
根據(jù)國際教育協(xié)會(Institute of International Education)對全美近500所高校的調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù),2017年秋季新入學(xué)的國際學(xué)生數(shù)量減少了7%,有45%的高校反映新入學(xué)的國際學(xué)生數(shù)量出現(xiàn)下降。
Experts cited an uncertain social and political climate in the United States as part of the reason for the decline in enrollment.
專家提出,美國社會和政治環(huán)境的不確定性是入學(xué)人數(shù)下降的原因之一。
“It’s a mix of factors,” said Rajika Bhandari, head of research for the institute, which collects data on international students in cooperation with the State Department. “Concerns around the travel ban had a lot to do with concerns around personal safety based on a few incidents involving international students, and a generalized concern about whether they’re safe.”
“這是多種因素的結(jié)合,”該協(xié)會的研究負(fù)責(zé)人拉吉卡·班達(dá)里(Rajika Bhandari)表示,該協(xié)會與美國國務(wù)院協(xié)作收集國際學(xué)生數(shù)據(jù)。“由于發(fā)生了幾起涉及國際學(xué)生的事件,人們對旅行禁令的擔(dān)憂很大程度上是對人身安全的擔(dān)憂,也有對自己是否安全的一種普遍擔(dān)憂。”
Another reason for the decline is increasing competition from countries like Canada, Britain and Australia, said Allan E. Goodman, president of the institute.
數(shù)據(jù)下滑的另一個原因是來自加拿大、英國、澳大利亞的競爭在不斷加強(qiáng),國際教育協(xié)會主席艾倫·E·古德曼(Allan E. Goodman)說道。
The figures released Monday also included final numbers for 2016-2017, which show robust international enrollment, with a record 1.08 million international students in the United States, an increase of 85 percent from a decade earlier.
周一發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù)還包含了2016-2017年的最終數(shù)據(jù),它們顯示國際學(xué)生入學(xué)人數(shù)增長穩(wěn)健,美國的國際生數(shù)量達(dá)到創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的108萬人,比10年前增長了85%。
Much of the record was driven by 175,000 students who have remained in the United States after completing their degrees, in internship-type programs known as “optional practical training.”
增長主要來自在畢業(yè)后選擇留在美國參加“選擇性實(shí)習(xí)”(Optional Practical Training)項(xiàng)目的17.5萬名學(xué)生。
The 2016-2017 figures, though, revealed that first-time international students dropped 3 percent, indicating that the decline had begun before President Trump took office. 但2016-2017的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,國際學(xué)生已首次出現(xiàn)3%的下滑。這意味著在特朗普上臺之前就已經(jīng)開始下降。
The drop in new students signals potential financial difficulties for some small universities that have come to rely on money from foreign students, who provide an infusion of $39 billion into the United States economy each year.
新入學(xué)學(xué)生的下降,預(yù)示著一些依靠外國學(xué)生、規(guī)模不大的高校有可能出現(xiàn)財(cái)政困難。外國學(xué)生每年為美國經(jīng)濟(jì)貢獻(xiàn)390億美元(約合2600億人民幣)。
Particularly hard hit are campuses in the Midwest, according to the institute.
該機(jī)構(gòu)表示,中西部的高校受到的打擊尤其嚴(yán)重。
At the University of Iowa, overall international enrollment this fall was 3,564, down from 4,100 in 2015.
艾奧瓦大學(xué)(University of Iowa)今年秋季國際學(xué)生入學(xué)總數(shù)從2015年的4100人降為3564人。
Downing Thomas, the university’s dean of international programs, said that some other schools in the Big Ten are also experiencing declines, and none are seeing the rapid increases of the recent past.
艾奧瓦大學(xué)國際項(xiàng)目主任唐寧·托馬斯(Downing Thomas)表示,十大聯(lián)盟(Big Ten)中的其他高校也遭遇了人數(shù)下降,沒有一所學(xué)校還有不久前的那種快速增長。
While Iowa primarily lost Chinese students, the University of Central Missouri experienced a sharp decline this year in students from India, said Mike Godard, vice provost for enrollment management.
艾奧瓦大學(xué)減少的主要是中國學(xué)生,而中密蘇里大學(xué)(University of Central Missouri)負(fù)責(zé)招生工作的副教務(wù)長麥克·戈達(dá)德(Mike Godard)表示,該校今年的印度學(xué)生數(shù)量驟降。
In the fall of 2016, the Warrensburg, Mo., university had 2,638 international students. This fall it has 944.
2016年秋,中密蘇里大學(xué)有2638名國際學(xué)生。今年秋季只有944名。
Dr. Godard said fewer students came from India partly because of a currency crisis in the country, but also because of concerns about the Trump administration’s travel ban affecting Muslim countries. India was not on that list, but Dr. Godard said many of the university’s Indian students were from Muslim areas of the country and were concerned about the ban.
戈達(dá)表示印度留學(xué)生減少的部分原因在于印度的貨幣危機(jī),但也出于對特朗普政府涉及穆斯林國家的旅行禁令的擔(dān)憂。印度不在旅行禁令的國家名單上,但戈達(dá)德說,學(xué)校的許多印度學(xué)生都來自印度穆斯林地區(qū),對禁令感到擔(dān)憂。
“Although India wasn’t listed as one of the countries, certainly feeling welcome and safe and all those things is important,” he said. “It would be naïve to say that wasn’t a contributing factor.”
“盡管印度不在旅行禁令的國家名單上,但讓他們感到受歡迎、感到安全等那些事情上都非常重要。”他說,“如果說這不是其中的原因,那也太天真了。”
Prospective students from India — interviewed shortly after last year’s presidential election — have expressed fears about the racial climate in the United States, concerns that might have been heightened after the shooting death in February of an Indian engineer in a suburban Kansas City bar.
來自印度的預(yù)備學(xué)生——在總統(tǒng)大選后不久進(jìn)行面試的學(xué)生——表達(dá)了對美國種族大環(huán)境的擔(dān)憂。在今年二月一名印度工程師在堪薩斯城郊外酒吧被射殺后,人們的擔(dān)憂更甚。
A breakdown of declines by country was not yet available for fall 2017.
對2017年秋各國留學(xué)生下滑情況的分析尚未公布。
In fall 2016, the sharpest drops nationally from a year earlier involved students from Brazil and Saudi Arabia, which cut back on funding international scholarships.
截至2016年秋,從一年前開始留學(xué)生人數(shù)下滑最厲害的國家是巴西和沙特阿拉伯,兩國削減了國際獎學(xué)金經(jīng)費(fèi)。