Drop in international enrollment affects my university’s bottom line

Image credit: UCM’s International Student Services

Here’s an informative article by Charles L. Welch about the economic, educational, and cultural benefits to having international students attend regional public universities: like the University of Central Missouri, through which I am pursuing my graduate studies in librarianship.

UCM’s International Student Services describes UCM as “truly a global experience with more than 798 international students representing 49 countries.” In his article, Welch states that international students “enrich the educational experience for all students — bringing global perspectives into classrooms and exposing students who may never have traveled abroad to new cultures, ideas, and ways of thinking. In today’s economy, even regional careers require global awareness. International students help prepare graduates for that reality.”

One thing that particularly interested and concerned me when reading Welch’s article was that it specifically refers to UCM: stating that visa barriers cut new graduate enrollment in half during Fall 2025 and that the result was a “direct hit” to UCM’s bottom line.