Abdullah Alhassan can understand why some of his fellow Saudis have stopped studying in the United States.

In early 2002, he and his wife returned to Saudi Arabia from the United States so she could deliver their first child. While they were there, the American Embassy delayed approval of Alhassan’s visa for seven months, and he missed the fall 2002 semester.

“The worst thing is waiting in Saudi Arabia, waiting there and sitting at home for seven months doing nothing,” said Alhassan, a doctoral student in economics at Kansas University. “It’s the worst thing in the world, just waiting.”

As word gets out about frustrating experiences such as the one Alhassan encountered, those who work with international students at American universities worry the United States will no longer be an attractive destination spot for some students from around the world.

The numbers reported this fall at KU and at other universities continue to show evidence of the decline. At KU, there are 1,615 students from other countries enrolled this fall, down from 1,644 last year.

Enrollment has declined steadily since it reached 1,677 in fall 2001, the semester when the 9-11 terrorist attacks led the federal government to increase its scrutiny of international students seeking American visas, increase application fees and create a database to track students.

A national study by the Council of Graduate Schools found an 18 percent drop in admissions of international graduate students this fall among the 126 institutions surveyed.

Joe Potts, director of international student and scholar services at KU, said he thought KU’s decrease would be less than the change seen at other universities.

“We feel really fortunate,” he said. “We’ve tried hard. We’ve recruited intensively. Maybe a small decrease will be a victory for us.”

Kansas University student Abdullah Alhassan, shown Wednesday at Summerfield Hall at Kansas University, says he understands why fellow Saudis have stopped studying in the United States. Alhassan, a doctoral student in economics, missed the fall 2002 semester at KU because the American embassy delayed approval of his visa for seven months.

The biggest enrollment decline continues to be from the Middle East. For instance, 61 Saudi students enrolled this fall, down from 76 last year.

The largest population of foreign students continue to be from India (254 students), Korea (173) and China (166). Enrollment from each of those countries was relatively steady from last year.

Other nations step up

Potts said the United States was developing a reputation for being a difficult country in which to study. Noting that reputation, countries such as Great Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have increased efforts to attract students from around the world.

“We have to decide both as a nation and individual schools what benefit we get from having international students here,” Potts said. “Schools are realizing it’s a really good thing to have students in the class. It really makes the university campus a much richer place, a better educational environment.”

Following the money

KU sets record with 29,590 enrolled (09-24-04) Special enrollment session welcomes international students (08-06-04) Foreign college student enrollment slows (10-03-03)

Katarina Topalov heard pitches from other countries when she was considering where to attend graduate school to study ecology.

Topalov, 25, said some of her fellow Serbians were opting to attend European universities because they were cheaper to attend and cheaper to travel to.

“I think the tide is changing toward Europe,” she said.

Keeping tuition rates competitive will continue to help American universities compete, she said.

“Money makes the world go ’round,” she said. “The students will always go for stipends.”

Potts said KU’s tuition rates, among the lowest in the Association of American Universities, would keep students coming to KU.

“I think KU has a good chance of holding its own,” he said.

New hurdles

For Alhassan, the Saudi student, the concerns continue. He’s headed home in December to introduce his newborn daughter to his parents, and he’s worried his visa, which is up for renewal in January, will be canceled.

“I’m taking a risk by going there,” he said. “Maybe I won’t get to go back.”

Alhassan, 27, said his mother-in-law and brother-in-law applied for visas two weeks ago to visit the United States. His mother-in-law was approved in two minutes. His brother-in-law still hasn’t heard back.

He said he could understand greater scrutiny but wished it was applied more evenly.

“This is the place with the terrorists,” Alhassan said of the Middle East. “This is the place where some people hate the U.S. and are willing to act. You have to be afraid. You cannot tell the terrorist from the nonterrorist. But give me clear procedures.”