An enrollment increase of 1 percent isn't always something to shout about. But the past few years have been so difficult for those trying to enroll graduate students from outside the United States that data being released today should be quite encouraging.

Enrollment of first-time foreign graduate students was up 1 percent this fall, following successive declines since 2002, according to a report being released by the Council of Graduate Schools. Total enrollment appears to be down 3 percent this year, but given the declines in first-time enrollment between 2002 and 2005, that result is not surprising, and officials hope that the increases in first-time students, if sustained, will soon show up in total enrollment figures.

"Obviously the direction change is the most notable part of this report," said Heath Brown, director of research and policy analysis for the council. "It's not a very large increase, but following three consecutive years of decreases in first year enrollments, this is a positive side and we hope the indication of a turnaround."

Brown said that the survey of the council's members did not include information on why the turnaround was taking place. But he said that he suspected it was a combination of improvements in the visas process and increased recruitment efforts by American universities.

In terms of field of study, enrollments were up in business (+7 percent), engineering (+3 percent), and physical sciences (+1 percent). Enrollments in the life sciences, social sciences, humanities and education experienced declines, but the fields seeing increases are also those where universities in the United States enroll the greatest number of foreign students.

The survey of fall enrollments asks about students from three countries and one region, and all reported increases: China (+3 percent), India (+3 percent), Korea (+5 percent) and the Middle East (+11 percent). China and India send more graduate students to the United States than any other countries, so those increases are especially significant. Last year, first-time enrollments from China were down 8 percent.

Given those increases, first-year enrollments are obviously down from some other countries and regions. While the survey did not indicate which countries they are, Brown said that likely candidates include Australia, Canada and Europe -- all of which historically send many graduate students to the United States.

The survey of graduate schools on which the report is based also asked whether the institutions were developing policies to deal with the rise of the three-year undergraduate degree in Europe. As part of the "Bologna Process" for harmonizing higher education in Europe, most universities there are moving toward three-year undergraduate degrees. There has been uncertainty about how American graduate schools would treat these degrees -- and some in international education circles fear that if American universities didn't treat these degrees as authentic undergraduate degrees, European students might look elsewhere for graduate education.

The survey found that 63 percent of graduate schools consider the three-year degree to be an issue that needs action, and that many are in the process of developing policies, either institutionwide or program by program. Only a small percentage of institutions (22 percent) reported that they restrict enrollment to those with four-year degrees, but many of the other institutions require a specific review of the three-year program of an applicant and others reserve the right to require extra coursework after admission to deal with any remedial needs.

Brown said that while the Bologna Process has made three-year undergraduate degrees a top issue, three-year degrees are not unique to Europe. He said that many Indian universities offer three-year undergraduate degrees, so the policies universities develop because of the Bologna Process will end up helping with recruitment from other regions as well.

While graduate school policies appear to be in flux on these issues at many institutions, Brown said he was encouraged to see that that three-year degree is on institutions' radar screens.
For American universities to be competitive for top graduate students from many countries, "it has to be addressed in a meaningful way," he said.