Who Goes Where and Why

Part II: Country Study: United States

An Overview and Analysis of Global Educational Mobility

The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed changes in the scale and range of global educational mobility. Currently there are over 3.3 million students studying in a country beyond their own. In this report, the fifth in a series of Global Education Research Reports published by IIE and the AIFS Foundation, Caroline Macready and Clive Tucker describe and analyze current information on how and why students choose their study abroad destinations, and the ways in which national policies in a variety of host and sending countries impact students’ decisions. This report also provides a thorough analysis of the Exchange Visitor Program in the United States, using statistics provided to the authors by the U.S. Department of State. Overall, this report offers a comprehensive overview of the complexity of student mobility worldwide.


Table of Contents

Forewords
Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education
Sir Cyril Taylor, Founder and Chairman of the American Institute For Foreign Study

Part I: An Overview and Analysis of Global Educational Mobility

Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview
Scope of the Study
Why Is Student Mobility Important?
A Future of Continuing Growth?
A Changing Pattern of Supply and Demand
Conclusions

Chapter 2: Global Student Mobility in Tertiary Education
The Scale of Global Mobility
Where Do International Students Go?
Where Do International Students Come From?
At What Level of Tertiary Education Do International Students Enroll?
Shorter-Term Tertiary Mobility

Chapter 3: Global Student Mobility in Non-Tertiary Education
Mobility at Secondary School Level
Postsecondary Non-Tertiary Education, Including Vocational Education
Mobility of Professors and Other Academic Staff, Researchers, and Scholars
Mobility of Teachers
Other Movers for Educational Purposes

Chapter 4: Why Students Move and How They Choose Destinations
Why Students Move: Push Factors
Why Students May Not Move: Anti-Push Factors
How Students Decide Where to Go: Pull Factors

Chapter 5: The Impact of National Policies
The United States of America
Canada
Mexico
China
India
Japan
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
Conclusions on the Impact of National Policies

Part II: Country Study: United States