Harrison Keller was starting his second year as president of the University of North Texas last fall when he was abruptly confronted with a big problem.
Enrollment was down. And the source of the decline made it much more impactful: In the wake of Trump administration moves to deny and revoke visas, deport international students and impose travel bans, 2,800 students from abroad whom the university expected to show up had stayed away.
Full-tuition-paying international students—especially graduate students, who Keller said bring $20,000 to $25,000 each to his bottom line—are critical to balancing the budget, underwriting services and keeping costs lower for their domestic classmates.
