By Rollins Park
Murphy News Service
International students have a big impact on the state’s economy.
Foreign students spent $354.2 million in Minnesota during the 2013-14 academic year, according to New York City-based Institute of International Education.
The number of foreign students in Minnesota was 13,765 during the 2013-14 academic year — an increase of 4 percent compared to the previous academic year, according to the institute’s Open Doors Report released Nov. 17.
Minnesota is ranked 19th for the number of foreign students attending college in the state.
“International students enhance the cultural, academic and economic values of communities throughout the state,” said Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
The report said there were 886,052 international students and their families at universities and colleges in the U.S. They supported about 340,000 jobs and contributed $25.6 billion to the U.S. economy during 2013-14 academic year.
The report said the number of foreign students in Minnesota was 13,765. The University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities campus, had the most international students in the state. There were 6,621 foreign students at the campus. St. Cloud State University was the second. It had 1,272 students. Minnesota State University Mankato, Minnesota State University Moorhead, and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul followed the two universities.
Chinese students comprised the largest proportion of international students in the state. They accounted for 29.8 percent. They were followed by students from South Korea (10 percent), India (8.9 percent), Saudi Arabia (5.4 percent) and Nepal (4.2 percent).
DEED’s Trade Office and the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce supports a nonprofit group run by Minnesota educational institutions, Study Minnesota.
Study Minnesota officially formed on March 2013.
It was created to coordinate efforts to increase the number of foreign students in Minnesota.
“[The] goals of Study Minnesota are supporting the international enrollment goals of the member institutions, creating a more diverse learning environment to help Minnesota students be more competitive in the global economy, and fostering lasting relationships between international students and the state of Minnesota,” said David Edmiston, senior international trade specialist of U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The report also analyzed that international students had not only contributed to the U.S. economy but also brought global perspectives in the U.S. classrooms, supported U.S. science and engineering innovations, and built bridges between the United States and other countries.
Rollins Park is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.