Virginia has been a magnet for foreign students with its multicultural environment and academic excellence at the institutions of higher learning.
During the academic year 2016-17 international students had an important impact on the state’s economy, contributing $688.3 million and supporting or creating 9,118 total jobs.
According to NAFSA, Association of International Educators, in all 1,078,822 international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $36.9 billion and supported more than 450,000 jobs to the U.S. economy during the 2016-2017 academic year.
The association conducts an annual state-by-state and congressional districts analysis of the economic contributions of international students and their families to the U.S. economy.
University of Virginia School of Law Library Credit: User:Mmw3v/Wikimedia Commons
“The economic contributions of international students are in addition to the immeasurable academic and cultural value these students bring to our campuses and local communities,” NAFSA said on its website.
However, the United States has seen an overall decline in the number of foreign students coming to American colleges and universities during 2017. Some analysts ascribe this to the political rhetoric against immigrants in the ongoing debate. However, no conclusion can be drawn definitively until a full report on international students for the year is released.
The Institute of International Education says the number of newly arriving international students declined an average 7 percent at colleges in the fall of 2017 compared to 2016.
