Drop in Chinese students worrisome to US universities

The reversal of the trend of more Chinese going to the United States to study, especially at the undergraduate level, is causing concern at US universities about revenue and academic research.

For a decade, there had been consistent and rapid growth in Chinese undergraduate students coming into the US, said Rahul Choudaha, a research associate at Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley. But in fall 2017, for the first time in recent years, the number shifted downward, Choudaha said.

Some institutions, such as the universities of Oregon and Illinois, have seen a significant decline in Chinese student enrollment this year, especially for non-STEM programs (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), Choudaha said.