Federal stimulus funds are being used to bring more international students to the University of Iowa. U-of-I President Sally Mason says the university’s international student enrollment is jumping, from 30 undergraduates four years ago to nearly 500 this fall.
“This past year we used a little bit of stimulus money to help recruit international students,” Mason says. “…The number of students coming this fall are going to generate millions and millions of dollars, not only to the university, but in terms of what they’ll spend.”
Spending for things like food, clothes and lodging in the Iowa City area. The university used about $200,000 dollars worth of federal economic stimulus money to hire a recruiter and buy advertising. “The three countries that provide us with the largest number of international students are South Korea, China and India,” Mason says.
International students made up nearly 4% of the total undergraduate enrollment at the University of Iowa this past year. Just over 16.5%of the U-of-I’s masters and doctoral students were from another country. Students who come from Iowa pay far less in tuition and fees than out-of-staters and students from foreign countries.
Undergraduate tuition and fees for in-state students were a little less than $7,000 this past year, while students who live in other states or other countries paid about $32,000 in tuition and fees.