International students in the U.S.A. increases but is this at risk?

The most recent Open Doors indicated that enrollment of international students in U.S.A. universities increased by 7% in the 2015-16 academic year, topping 1 million in total; the proportion of international students in all of U.S.A. universities stands at 5.2%. While China is the source of over 300,000 of these students (with an 8.1% increase), India, Vietnam, and Nigeria numbers increased at a faster pace.

When the U.S.A. was contemplating the impact of the election of Donald Trump as President, Philip Altbach and Hans de Wit predicted a decline in international student numbers. Their prediction was applicable to a number of countries world-wide that have begun to embrace more "nationalist, anti-globalist and xenophobic governments." Altbach and de Wit included the United Kingdom, Hungary, Poland, the Philippines, and Turkey in this group.

Now that Donald Trump has begun the implementation of his first 100 days, limiting visas and building walls is becoming a reality. Watching the trends, anticipating the impact, and positioning educational opportunity in various national contexts such as the U.S.A. and U.K. will be an important focus of the attention of many in higher education. For some higher education institutions international student enrollment is a substantial part of their revenue. Particularly for the U.S.A., where 10% of total funding comes from international students.