International student enrollment this year at AU has increased, up from a downward trend since Sept. 11, 2001, according to Fanta Aw, director of International Student Services.
The undergraduate program increased the number of freshman international students from 23 last year to 44 this year, according to Aw. This comes after a 16 percent decrease last year and a 30 percent nationwide decrease of international students.
Other AU programs, including the graduate, doctoral and Washington Semester programs, are maintaining the same numbers of students as previous years. The Washington College of Law was the only school to experience a slight decline in enrolled international students, Aw said.
Over the last few years, international student enrollment declined mostly because of changes in the visa application process after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a study done last year by the Institute of International Education, a student and faculty exchange organization.
As The Eagle reported last fall, other factors that played into the decrease in the number of students, particularly from the Middle East, were "financial difficulties and students' attraction to other host countries."
However, that has not deterred some students.
Aleksandar Ivanov, a freshman from Bulgaria, says he came to the United States despite the new regulations that make it easier to study in Europe. "Washington, D.C. is the capital of the world," he said.
Aw attributes the increase in enrollment to "the dust beginning to settle from 9/11, [a change in the] U.S government's message that students from overseas are welcome here again," AU's "international reputation" for academics and extensive services that familiarize international students with AU and the United States.
Integrating international students into AU by showing that "diversity is valued and being explored here" is the goal of Aw's office, she said. This attracts many students, both American and non-American, to AU.
The increase in AU's international enrollment this year comes despite new visa regulations, fees, and a two-year-old national database called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
SEVIS keeps track of international and exchange students in the United States and is maintained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
This year, SEVIS is charging a $100 fee for new international students, said Michael Kegan, a spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The additional charge was effective Sept. 1, but did not affect new students this fall, Aw said. It will only affect students applying for visas after the deadline - mostly students in the spring and next year, she added.
However, Aw says the new regulations and the new SEVIS fees will not be cumbersome for students because of AU's efforts to simplify things through technology.
For example, Aw said, all international students are required by SEVIS to "check-in" to AU at the beginning of each semester. Instead of having the students come physically to the ISS offices, students are able to check in online.
Additionally, students are able to access all information that SEVIS requires AU to report through the Internet. Students can view, update or correct it, Aw said.
Rog Sohar, a senior from Canada, does not believe that the new steps and fees will be a problem for new students. "Even with more security, if you are on record, it is easy" to go to school and travel back and forth from home, he said.
Aw hopes that enrollment of international students will continue to increase because students are attracted to AU's "trademark - that this is a place that has a commitment to service" of the community and its students.
Additionally, Aw says that AU "takes the pulse of the community [by] continuously listening to what students have to say" and adapting to their needs.
