Foreign students in US hits record enrollment

WASHINGTON: The number of international students studying in the United States increased by 8 percent to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008-'09 academic year than the previous year, a survey has found.

This represents the largest percentage increase in international student enrollments since the 1980-'81 academic year, according to the Open Doors 2009 survey, whose results were published on Monday.

"The all-time high number ... testifies to the quality and diversity for which American higher education is known around the world," Judith McHale, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, said on Monday at the National Press Club in Washington.