Small increase for USA Intensive English Programs in 2024

The latest Open Doors Intensive English Program Data Release from the Institute of International Education (IIE) is based on the survey responses on 347 IEPs in the USA.

Headline data: It shows that there were 69,386 international students enrolled at those IEPs in 2024, a two per cent increase compared with 67,924 in the previous year.

This represented a 92 per cent recovery against the pre-pandemic total of 75,379 students in 2019 but was still way below the sector peak of 133,335 students in 2015.

Enrolment at USA IEPs over the last 20 years. Graphic source – IIE

Meanwhile, there were 768,883 student weeks delivered in 2024, a 1.5 per cent increase compared with 757,712 weeks in the previous year – a recovery rate of 72.7 per cent against the 2019 benchmark of 1,041,553 weeks.

The average stay in 2024 was 11 weeks, slightly down on the previous year and well below 13.8 weeks in 2019. Students from the MENA region had the longest average stay in 2024 at 17 weeks, while Europeans had the shortest at seven weeks.

Source markets: Japan was the top source market with 10,784 students, a decrease of 1.8 per cent compared with the previous year, followed by China, which increased by 39 per cent to 5,538 students.

The top five was completed by Brazil, with growth of 14.3 per cent to 5,471; France, which rose by 4.4 per cent to 5,416; and Italy with an 8.2 per cent increase to 3,953 students.

In its market report on 2024, Brazilian agency association BELTA said that the USA restored its position as the second-most popular destination for Brazilian students in 2024.

A major growth market in 2024 was Vietnam, which increased by 59 per cent to 2,107 students. Vietnam similarly registered strong growth in K-12 high school students on F-1 visas in the USA last year, as highlighted in the government’s SEVIS by the Numbers report published earlier this week.

However, Saudi Arabia, which was once the top source market in the peak years of government-backed scholarships, decreased by 17.5 per cent to 2,275 students. In 2015, there were 37,982 Saudi students at IEPs in the USA.

There was slight growth registered from a number of other European markets, including Germany (2,155 students), Switzerland (1,845), Spain (1,109), and Poland (1,055). In 2024, Europe accounted for 29 per cent of students, compared with 10 per cent in 2019 and only seven per cent in 2014.

Source – IIE

Asia remains the largest source region, accounting for 40 per cent of students in 2024 – a reduced market share compared with 54 per cent in 2019.

Students by provider type: There was an increased share for independent providers not affiliated by any higher education institution, who hosted 54 per cent of students in 2024 – up from exactly half in the previous year. Meanwhile, 39 per cent of students were at an IEP governed by a college or university, and seven per cent were enrolled at an independent provider affiliated with a higher education institution.

There was a clear distinction between the Asian and European markets in terms of types of institution. Independent providers hosted 95 per cent of French students, 85 per cent of those from Germany, and 77 per cent of Italians.

In contrast, institutions affiliated with higher education programs welcomed 83 per cent of students from Vietnam, 82 per cent from China, 66 per cent from South Korea, and 65 per cent of Japanese. Latin America was more evenly spread, although three-quarters of Brazilian students attended independent providers.

Source – IIE

Visa type: IIE found that 54 per cent of students enrolled at IEPs in 2024 were on F-1 student visas, and 41 per cent were on B travel visas, which represented an increased share compared with 38 per cent in the previous year, possibly reflecting growth in short-term European students. Three per cent had J exchange visas, and the remainder came on other visa routes.

For independent IEPs that were not affiliated to a higher education institution, 57 per cent of students were on B visas, while 42 per cent had F-1 students visas. For IEPs affiliated with a HEI, 68 per cent of students had F-1 visas, while 23 per cent came on B visas.

Other findings: California was the largest host state with 16,407 students, followed by New York (12,366), Massachusetts (6,934), Florida (6,773) and Hawaii (3,283).

According to a related survey of students, 28 pe cent of IEP students intended to continue into further study in the United States – an almost identical ratio to the previous year. This ratio was higher for those at IEPs affiliated with HEIs at 43 per cent.