International student enrollment elevated final 12 months, in keeping with the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety — opposite to information the company beforehand posted, which confirmed a decline.
A new analysis by Chris Glass, a professor at Boston Faculty, discovered that scholar and change customer info system data issued by DHS underreported the variety of international students by greater than 200,000 — an error that the company corrected this month. Glass flagged the change on July 7.
The numbers from SEVIS, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, present abroad enrollments totaled 1,294,231 in September, in comparison with the earlier-reported, faulty determine of 1,091,182. SEVIS information tracks school college students as properly college students in private and non-private excessive faculties, language coaching, flight faculties and vocational faculties, amongst different applications.
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The corrected information exhibits year-over-year progress of 6.5%, in keeping with Glass. That is largely consistent with Open Doors information, launched by the U.S. Division of State and the Institute of Worldwide Schooling, which additionally discovered that the U.S. hosted a document variety of college students from overseas within the 2023-24 tutorial 12 months.
The revised numbers present “strong progress,” Glass advised CNBC. “It is vital information at a second when persons are paying shut consideration to the variety of worldwide college students within the U.S.”
SEVIS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Trump, Harvard battle over worldwide enrollment

For now, the destiny of worldwide enrollment at Harvard and elsewhere remains to be up within the air.
In early June, Harvard President Alan Garber said in an announcement that “Harvard’s Faculties proceed to make plans to make sure that our worldwide college students and students will have the ability to pursue their tutorial work absolutely.”
Folks maintain up indicators throughout the Harvard College students for Freedom rally in assist of worldwide college students on the Harvard College campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on Might 27, 2025.
Rick Friedman | Afp | Getty Photographs
Though worldwide undergraduate and graduate college students within the U.S. make up barely lower than 6% of the full U.S. increased schooling inhabitants, at Harvard, the share of worldwide college students is disproportionately excessive.
Worldwide college students accounted for 27% of Harvard’s complete enrollment within the 2024-25 tutorial 12 months, up from 22.5% a decade earlier.