Tech’s Influence On MBA Value

International Students Aren’t Getting Jobs In The US

Applications at U.S. business schools are rising. For international applicants, those MBA degrees aren’t translating to full-time jobs.

More than two-thirds of MBA programs that took part in a new MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance survey reported a decrease in opportunities available to international candidates, The Pie News reports.

At the top MBA schools, international students make up between 30% and 40% of the student population. At a number of mid-tier schools, international students make up close to half or the majority of the student population. And despite bringing in more than $35 billion to the US economy, according to the Washington Post, 68% of responding institutions report that job opportunities for international MBA students have decreased.

For international students who choose to earn a specialized degree, the situation isn’t much better.

“More than 40% of responding schools also reported a decline in job opportunities for international ‘specialized masters’ students, such as those taking master’s in management,” according to The Pie News.

U.S. Losing International Applicants

The New York Times recently reported that the number of new foreign students declined an average of 7% this past fall, according to figures from the Institute of International Education’s survey of 500 colleges.

One theory for the reason? President Trump’s election and the restricted immigration policies.

With visa applications under heavy scrutiny and some nationalities even being banned from entering the U.S., college administrators are worried that their international student population will continue to decline.

“As you lose those students, then the tuition revenue is negatively impacted as well,” Michael Godard, the interim provost at the University of Central Missouri, tells The New York Times. “We’ve had to make some decisions, budgetary decisions, to adjust.”

Roger Best, executive vice president and chief operating officer at University of Central Missouri, tells The New York Times that the school has had to make a number of budget cuts as a result of its declining international student population. From cutting instructors to deferring maintenance to cutting money in the campus newspaper, the school has lost revenue of close to $14 million.

In an NPR report, news director Stan Jastrzebski illustrates the dire effect that the Trump administration has had on the international student population in higher education.

“Multiple admissions officials say the U.S. is no longer the education Mecca it once was, in part because of the perception that the welcome mat has been pulled by the Trump administration,” he reports. “Add to that better schools in countries like China and India and increased competition from those in countries like Australia. And combined, it likely adds up to fewer international students coming here.”

Sources: The Pie News, MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance, Poets & Quants, Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR