SUNY looks to up international enrollment

The state’s public university system wants to boost international student enrollment by 78 percent in the next five years.

The global recruitment initiative outlined by State University of New York officials aims to add 14,000 new international students to the 64-campus system, bumping total international enrollment to 32,000 students. SUNY plans to use the additional tuition revenue to fund more study-abroad scholarships for domestic students, more faculty internationalization grants and more campus internationalization activities.

“SUNY’s efforts in international student recruitment are unique nationally and set the bar very high in terms of professional standards,” SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said in a release. “SUNY intends to lead a national effort that will demonstrate how the presence of international student recruitment can qualitatively improve the academic experience for domestic students, improve the research capacities of our campuses, and boost revenue, creating opportunities for domestic students to study abroad and for faculty to better engage globally.”

The strategy is part of SUNY’s long-range plan to enhance its role as a major economic driver in New York state. Its “Power of SUNY” campaign, introduced a year ago, is built around the idea of establishing SUNY as a significant contributor to the state’s economic revitalization.

To attract more international students, SUNY intends to work with international student recruitment agencies around the world, it said. It has already signed contracts with five companies that recruit in 30 different countries. Eventually, SUNY hopes to work with 50 to 75 agencies.

In total, SUNY educates about 467,000 students among its 64 campuses.

Source: Buffalo Business First