A decline in international graduate student enrollment is projected to lose UB approximately $6.5 million in its tuition revenue for the upcoming year.
The university is expecting a decrease of approximately 750-1,000 students enrolled this fall because of visa processing delays, challenges securing visa appointments and U.S. labor market corrections, according to its officials. An F1 visa is required for international students to live, study and work in the U.S.
“We anticipate that these declines will largely affect STEM master’s programs and have resource implications for the university,” Provost A. Scott Weber wrote in a statement released to UB faculty and staff Monday.
Specific revenue numbers on the impact will not be known until later this academic year, officials say.
Multiple universities nationwide are dealing with similar declines in international student enrollment, where a scenario model conducted by the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) — a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting international education — predicted a total loss of about 150,000 international students this fall.
This comes as the Trump administration tightens entry and visa issuances in an effort to crackdown on colleges and universities, where a large part of tuition revenue is from international students.
Visa interviews were briefly suspended late May — weeks after new students officially commit to universities — to instate a new requirement to screen applicants’ social media accounts for “any indication of hostility.” The Trump administration proposed a rule to add new limits on how long international students would be able to study in the U.S. Wednesday, where students would be capped at four years.
Tuition revenue makes up the majority of UB’s budget, with approximately 38% in the 2024-25 budget.
While a record first-year enrollment of at least 5,000 students this fall — an increase of about 1,000 students from last year — may assist in filling the missing gaps at UB, international students pay out-of-state tuition and fees almost two to three times greater than in-state students.
Out-of-state undergraduates pay around $32,464 and graduates at around $29,058 in tuition and fees at UB. In-state undergraduates pay up to $11,034 in tuition and fees and graduate students at about $14,628.
About 5,045 international students in total were enrolled at UB for the 2024-25 year.
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com.
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor at The Spectrum. Outside of getting lost in Buffalo, she enjoys practicing the piano and being a bean plant mom. She can be found at @my_my_my_myliennnn on Instagram.
