International enrolments at US community colleges may be under-reported

The research has been published by Melissa Whatley at William & Mary School of Education, as part of the Community College International Education Research Initiative (CCIERI).

Analysis of 922 community colleges in the 2024/25 academic year shows that at least 755 enrolled international students (82 per cent), while 102 college (11 per cent) did not enrol any overseas students. The position on international enrolment at a further 65 colleges was unclear.

Community colleges engaged in study abroad and international student recruitment. Source – CCIERI

The authors said that international student enrolment at community colleges has likely been underrepresented in traditional data sources on higher education in the USA.

For example, the Open Doors report on the 2023/24 academic year produced by the Institute of International Education found that there were 49,250 international students enrolled at 198 community colleges.

However, IIE only records institutions that have at least 10 international students enrolled. The CCIERI finding that 755 colleges had international students enrolled in 2024/25 suggests that enrolment in the community college sector could be higher than is typically estimated.

Based on IIE enrolment data, NAFSA estimated that the value of international students at community colleges in 2023/24 was $2 billion, through tuition fees, accommodation and other student spending. The CCIERI research suggest that the true economic contribution of international students at community college is likely to be higher.

Community colleges also play a role in study abroad programs, and the authors found that 38 per cent of those analyzed offered study abroad courses for their students in 2024/25. Information was not available on a further 189 colleges due to value or outdated information.

Elements of ‘internationalization at home’ was also analyzed in the research, which included virtual exchange programs (offered by 38 colleges), certificates/diplomas in global learning (48 colleges), staff support for internationalization (61 colleges), and internationally focused cultural events and clubs on campus (216 colleges).

The research is part of the CCIERI initiative to emphasize the importance of community colleges in the wider international education sector in the USA.

Internationalization activities at community colleges.

“Although international education has been a topic of conversation at community colleges since the 1960s, this sector has traditionally been marginalized or absent from broader international education conversations, which tend to focus on the four-year university or liberal arts college contexts,” the authors said.