U.S. Institutions Consider Program Cuts and Tuition Hikes to Cover Lost Revenue as International Enrollment Continues to Fall

Nationwide in 2016, international students made up 6% of enrollment but accounted for 12% of revenue at colleges and universities. Fast forward to today, and as international student arrivals continue falling, down nearly 22% since last summer, U.S. colleges are cutting programs and raising tuition to cover the lost revenue. For instance, the University of North Texas lost 2,800 expected international students, pushing it $45 million into deficit and forcing elimination of 71 academic programs, while similar enrollment-related cuts have hit Northwestern, USC, DePaul, Boston University, Syracuse, and dozens of other institutions tracked by the database CollegeCuts, which has recorded over 300 instances of program eliminations, layoffs, and closures since January 2024. Many of these schools have also raised tuition by roughly 3-4%, though administrators avoided directly attributing the increases to international enrollment losses, according to the Hechinger Report.