The National Science Foundation (NSF) released last week an “InfoBrief” detailing the number of foreign science and engineering (S&E) students enrolled at U.S. universities:

This InfoBrief addresses trends in foreign enrollment at all levels in S&E fields as well as in all fields in U.S. institutions of higher education through fall 2009. Using data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), this InfoBrief examines changes in S&E enrollment by level, field, and country of origin from fall 2006 to fall 2009.

The Institute of International Education (IIE), which compiles the annual Open Doors report with support from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, released last Friday a statement examining the NSF study in the context of Open Doors and identifying and explaining key differences between the data reported in Open Doors and SEVIS data, on which the NSF study is based.

The full IIE statement is available below:

International Students: Looking at NSF's InfoBrief in the Context of the Open Doors Report

An NSF Info Brief, "Foreign Science and Engineering Students in the United States," was the subject of articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education and Insider Higher Ed this week. To address questions from colleagues who are wondering about how this NSF report (drawing on data extracted from the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System maintained by the Department of Homeland Security) relates to Open Doors data and analysis, we would like to offer the following contextual comments.

As the higher education community continues to examine key issues and trends related to international student enrollments, it is important to note that there are some key differences between the data reported in Open Doors and SEVIS data. The Open Doors report, compiled by the Institute of International Education with support from the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is a comprehensive information resource intended for higher education analysis and policy use, providing long-term trend data based on each institution's report of "peak" enrollments, capturing all international students enrolled at an institution during a particular semester/term.

On the other hand, SEVIS data from the Department of Homeland Security is by nature a snapshot of international student enrollments at the moment the data was extracted, and provides real-time tracking information intended for immigration oversight. Since enrollment levels vary throughout the course of the term, depending on the date of the SEVIS data extract, the SEVIS totals reported may be significantly lower than those reported by Open Doors, which are for the entire term. IIE research staff regularly compare our data with that available from SEVIS for comparable time periods. While we have found that the trends in both data sources are consistent over time when the same visa categories are compared, totals for a given term may vary, with the Open Doors report providing more in-depth longitudinal data for over 60 years.

The NSF report mentioned above cites a SEVIS total of 585,530 for "2009 total enrollments." This reflects SEVIS enrollments as of December 6, 2009, and excludes approximately 52,000 non-degree-seeking students and about 40,000 students on exchange visitor visas, as well as students who have already departed or completed their studies or Optional Practical Training for the term. For these reasons and perhaps others as well, the figure reported in the NSF report for total international student enrollments as of December 6, 2009, which is described as an increase over the prior year, actually is lower than the Open Doors reported total of 671,616 for 2008/09 international student enrollments.

The latest Open Doors data, for 2009/10, will be released on November 15 and will provide detailed data breakdowns and trend analyses by geographic region, fields of study, gender, and other data elements. The overall enrollment totals will likely be higher than both the NSF reported total for 2009 and the 2008/09 Open Doors total of 671,616. This overall increase was projected last October in the Fall 2009 online survey conducted by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in cooperation with American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), American Council on Education (ACE), Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), and NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

We look forward to continuing to contribute key data that helps inform the dialog among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, and that highlights the important contributions that international students make in their participation on America's campuses and in our wider communities.