America’s colleges and universities are under duress. At least 76 public or nonprofit colleges have closed or merged since March 2020, and some experts believe more are on the way.
A big reason for this trend is the “enrollment cliff.” This year, the number of high school graduates will peak at around 3.9 million and then begin a gradual descent that will result in about 13% fewer by 2041.
In response, many institutions of higher learning have recruited students from overseas to backfill the declining domestic enrollments. In the 2023-24 academic year, a record number of international students attended U.S. colleges and universities, marking a 7% increase from the previous year. Altogether, international student enrollment contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy last year.
