More foreign students at state colleges a good sign for economy

Indiana colleges are seeing rising numbers of foreign students enrolling, and that's good news for the state's economy.

The number of foreign students enrolled in Indiana colleges and universities rose 8.6 percent to 18,569 in 2010, according to Open Doors 2010, an annual report published by the Institute of International Education. That puts Indiana 10th in the nation for number of students from abroad, the report said.

Purdue University in West Lafayette drew the most foreign students, with 6,903. Indiana University followed at 4,819, IUPUI had 1,440 and the University of Notre Dame had 830.

Ball State, which had 604 foreign students, says it wants to increase its numbers. The Star Press reports the university is recruiting students from China, India, South Korea, Turkey and Saudi Arabia in hopes of having students with international origins comprise 5 percent of total enrollment by 2012.

Money is one reason. Foreign students contributed nearly $514 million to the state's economy last year, including $14.6 million in Muncie, the report found. Nationally, foreign students contributed $20 billion to the economy.

"Dollars are part of it, but there are very strong educational reasons to have international students — diversity and learning about other cultures, for example, Islamic cultures," said Scott Cantrell, director of international student services at Ball State. "Foreign students learn to understand true Americans, rather than what they see on TV in their home country. There are higher political aims here, making sure there is a good exchange of cultural information."

Nearly 24 percent of the foreign students in Indiana came from China, while almost 18 percent were from India, the report found.

The students come to the U.S. for reasons including educational opportunity. More than 20 percent study business and management.

Others want to learn English for business reasons, Cantrell said.

"English is the everyday language of almost everywhere," he said.

Students and educators say it's a misconception that all the foreign students who study in the U.S. come from wealthy families. In many cases, families combine their resources to help pay for their study abroad.

"In China, which has a one-child policy, lots of family members contribute, not just the parents but grandparents give, aunts and uncles give," Cantrell said. "They pool their money.

"Some foreign students are wealthy, but some are very poor."

Educators say having a global student body is essential in a global economy.

"Anywhere in the world, you see the same brands everywhere. So people are not marketing to Muncie, Delaware County or Indiana. They are marketing products globally," Ball State President Jo Ann Gora said. "Students need to be culturally sensitive, accepting and aware."