Student enrollment has taken a sharp drop at The University of New Haven (UNH). University officials say enrollment has decreased by about 3,000 students over the last two years.
University President Jens Frederiksen says the State Department’s tighter restrictions on student visas has caused the school to lose a lot of international graduate students.
“Right around 3,000 international graduate students, a large portion of which came out of India,” Frederiksen said.
As a result, the university’s revenue has declined by more than 16%. Frederiksen says UNH is no longer matching retirement payments to make up for the loss in funds and may take additional action.
The announcement, made in an internal university memo as first reported by the Hartford Courant, comes after recent federal policies have led to tightened requirements for student visas. Higher education advocates say the policies will harm Connecticut's economic outlook and higher education.
Frederiksen noted the student body which used to be around 9,000 students, when accounting for graduate international students, has now forced the school to look at potential next steps.
“We're looking at sort of every opportunity to be thoughtful about expense reduction, right as you settle into sort of a new steady state of 6,000 or 6,200 wherever we'll end up,” Frederiksen said.
There are a variety of reasons why international student enrollment has dropped . Student visas are now more difficult to come by, partly as a result of new federal guidelines scrutinizing the social media history of applicants. A proposed change to the student visa program would also shorten the length of time a student can stay in the country to the duration of their program, not exceeding four years.
Several international students in Connecticut sued the federal government last year after their Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records were terminated in a government database, as previously reported by Connecticut Public.
International students aren’t eligible for the types of student aid normally available to U.S. citizens and non citizens studying at UNH. Many students pay full price to attend, either with loans or outside scholarships.
International students contributed around $55 billion into the U.S. economy in 2024, according to the Institute of International Education.
Jennifer Widness, president of the Connecticut Conferences of Independent Colleges (CCIC), said the restrictions on student visas risk damaging the financial health of higher education throughout the state.
Widness who was unable to comment as a result of traveling to Washington D.C. to discuss the impacts the visa restrictions had on colleges in Connecticut with the state’s federal delegation issued a statement which said in part...
“International students are vital to the financial stability of Connecticut’s colleges and universities, contributing tuition revenue as well as significant economic activity in surrounding communities," Widness said. "Visa restrictions threaten not only tuition revenue but also jobs, research capacity, and the state’s global competitiveness. The economic ripple effects extend far beyond campus boundaries.
According to data from Open Doors provided by the Office of Higher Education, UNH was only second to Yale University in terms of international student enrollment in 2024.
Frederiksen, originally from Denmark, said he was an international student in the United States. Frederiksen echoed Widness’ concerns about the lack of visas potentially hurting the state economy.
Frederiksen noted many students from India pursue studies in information technology (IT), business analytics and data science.
“I do worry that this curtailing of international talent is going to be, I mean, it's going to be absorbed elsewhere, right,” Frederiksen said. “So, for example, Australia and Canada and Germany and others are stepping into that space, and so are the respective home countries.”
