University only sees slight decrease in international students
Despite the ongoing global pandemic, the University of Rhode Island has only seen a slight decrease in the amount of international students staying at the Kingston campus this semester.
According to Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Gifty Ako-Adounvo, URI has about 450 international students enrolled. Twenty-five of these students are continuing their students remotely from their home country, while 27 newly admitted students are beginning studies this year.
“We had fewer students than usual accepting admission to the University, but that’s a nationwide trend that we found that there’s been a drop in international students in the [United States] accepting admission,” Ako-Adounvo said. “The thinking behind it is, yes, it could be conflict-related reasons, students want to stay close to home during COVID, but also the economic fallout of COVID. But others also feel that the increasingly unwelcoming message coming from the U.S. administration may also affect why students are not coming.”
Ako-Adounvo explained that in the spring semester, some international students stayed on campus to avoid travel, and either eventually returned home or have not left the U.S. since.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, students living on-campus were really grateful for the opportunity to stay on-campus, and the University recognized that packing up and going home wasn’t something they could do easily,” Ako-Adounvo said. “So, the University allowed them to stay in resident halls for shelter-in-place. After that, some students went home, others remain, we have not heard anything sort of specific, but we do know that all of our students are feeling that this is strange and different from years past.”
Matias Pavez is a transfer student from Chile who just started attending URI this semester. As a journalism and criminology major, he always wanted to study in the United States since his mother travels annually to Providence for work, although his family and friends at home were concerned with the growing cases of COVID-19 in the country.
“For me, [my family] already knew that I wanted to come here,” Pavez said. “It was kind of a goal that I had to move from Chile to study outside, so they were prepared. They were concerned about me, to not get infected with COVID here, but they were happy for me.”
Pavez said that he ultimately felt very safe on campus living in a dorm, and is happy that most students, faculty and staff frequently wash their hands and wear masks. He did voice concerns regarding large gatherings on campus, however.
Thao Pham, a junior biomedical engineering major from Vietnam, returned to in-person classes living off campus despite the pandemic because she felt the nature of her major required hands-on learning.
“Before, I was kind of really scared,” Pham said. “So after I went out for groceries at like a supermarket, I went back and [washed] my hands, [took] a shower, [did] it immediately. But right now it’s better. I feel like I’m getting less scared, and kind of familiar with that.”
She noticed that the United States was quicker to shut down the economy than Vietnam, and this had a long-term impact on many people who rely on the United States. She also said that although there are cases of COVID-19 in her home country, she suspects the United States has more cases since its home to more people.
“So for me, my country’s kind of small, it’s not really big,” Pham said. “So I think for a small country, it’s easier for controlling the pandemic.”
Pavez said that although people are taking the virus seriously, he’s noticed a difference in attitude between Americans and Chileans regarding the pandemic.
“I would say that the main difference that I noticed is that in Chile people are more afraid of the virus than here,” Pavez said. “But that doesn’t mean that they take more or less like precautions, but [in Chile] they are much more like ‘oh my god, COVID. Oh my god,’ Here is more, of course it’s like that, but not as much.”
Pham first came to URI because she liked the campus’s atmosphere, academics and sense of community. She found that the community stayed tight-knit during the pandemic as well.
Pavez agreed with Pham’s observation.
“People are so kind here,” Pavez said. “The professors, sometimes they say things that I probably won’t understand like native speaker but they understand that and are patient, so that’s good.”
When asked how the pandemic will impact the future of international students attending URI in the long-term, Ako-Adounvo said that she hopes international enrollment will rebound, and that institutions will get creative with international study.
“It’s so up-in-the-air right now with regards to the pandemic and how soon the virus will be under control, and through all of that it’s very hard to tell,” Ako-Adounvo said. “Right now we are planning how to go about and ensure that we create a safe environment and educationally enriched environment for international students and national students. We do remain hopeful that this will rebound, and we will not have to worry as much about the virus and we’ll have some sort of new normal where international students feel the U.S. is a good place to get an education.”