International Student Recruitment Abuses

International students have regrettably become a commodity. Universities and colleges in developed countries, often supported by their governments, actively pursue them. In the United States, for example, there were a record 1,078,822 international students studying during the 2016/2017 academic year, accounting for 5.3 percent of all U.S. university and college students.1 According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which considers international student recruitment as an American export, international students contributed $39.4 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016.2The most high-minded universities and colleges recruit international students to serve as leavening for their student bodies and to bring truly diverse perspectives to their campuses. However, many universities and colleges recruit them principally for financial gain. In recent years, state universities have increasingly looked to international students to make up for reductions in state appropriations and some have compromised