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Vietnam Retains 8th Place Ranking Among Sending Countries

12/11/2012

According to the 2012 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released today by the Institute of International Education (IIE), the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by six percent to a record high of 764,495 in the 2011/12 academic year.  International exchanges in all 50 states contributed $22.7 billion to the U.S. economy last year. 

Vietnam retained its 8th place ranking with 15,572 students, a 4.6% increase over 2010/11 and 2% of the total number of international students in the US.  Among the top 10 places of origin, Vietnam had the third highest percentage increase after Saudi Arabia and China.  Six countries, including India, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, and Turkey, experienced declines in enrollment ranging from 1.7% to 6.2%. 

Rank Place of Origin 2010/11 2011/12 2011/12 % of Total % Change
  WORLD TOTAL 723,277 764,321 100 5.7
1 China 157,558 194,029 25.4 23.1
2 India 103,895 100,270 13.1 -3.5
3 South Korea 73,351 72,295 9.5 -1.4
4 Saudi Arabia 22,704 34,139 4.5 50.4
5 Canada 27,546 26,821 3.5 -2.6
6 Taiwan 24,818 23,250 3 -6.3
7 Japan 21,290 19,966 2.6 -6.2
8 Vietnam 14,888 15,572 2 4.6
9 Mexico 13,713 13,893 1.8 1.3
10 Turkey 12,184 11,973 1.6 -1.7

Vietnam  continues to lead Southeast Asian countries in the number of students in the US, followed by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.  In fact, nearly 34% of all students from this region are Vietnamese. 

Southeast Asia 46,020 46,063 0.1
Brunei 66 69 4.5
Cambodia 340 333 -2.1
East Timor 48 40 -16.7
Indonesia 6,942 7,131 2.7
Laos 49 43 -12.2
Malaysia 6,735 6,743 0.1
Myanmar 796 807 1.4
Philippines 3,604 3,194 -11.4
Singapore 4,316 4,505 4.4
Thailand 8,236 7,626 -7.4
Vietnam 14,888 15,572 4.6

Academic Level

The majority of Vietnamese students are undergraduates.  The 2011/12 data reflect reflect a slight decrease in undergraduate enrollment over the previous year. 

  • 72.2% undergraduate
  • 17% graduate students
  • 5.5% other
  • 5.2% OPT (Optional Practical Training)

Field of Study

The breakdown by field of study for Vietnamese students is as follows: 

  •  Business/Management:  39%
  • Other:  10.5%
  • Undeclared:  9.8%
  • Engineering:  9.6%
  • Math/Computer Science:  7.1%
  • Physical/Life Sciences:  6.8%
  • Health Professions:  4.5%
  • Social Sciences:  4.5%
  • Intensive English:  2.9%
  • Humanities:  1.3%
  • Education:  1.1%

High School Completion Programs

Washington state, which ranks 11th nationally in international student enrollment with 20,198, has 1,515 Vietnamese students.  (Vietnam ranks 3rd.)  This means that nearly 10% of all Vietnamese students in the US last year were in Washington state.  Many are enrolled in community colleges and, more specifically, high school completion programs at community colleges that allow students to kill two birds with one stone:  earn a WA high school diploma and an associate degree in two years, assuming they meet the English requirement. 

Note: 

1)  Open Doors data are collected during the fall semester of the previous academic year, meaning they are already a year old when released. 

2)  The above statistics refer to international students enrolled in regionally accredited institutions of higher education.  There are also quite a few Vietnamese students attending high schools, boarding schools, etc.  According to the last available SEVIS General Summary Quarterly Review from March 2012, there were 18,537 Vietnamese students in the US.

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Mapping international student segments with recruitment channels

31/08/2012

Reposted from DrEducation, a blog by Dr. Rahul Choudaha, Director of Research and Advisory Services at World Education Services (WES), New York—a non-profit with more than 35 years of experience in international education and research.  While Vietnam was not included in this study (i.e., the main focus was on China and India), it does have relevance for Vietnam.  I’ll discuss this in a future post. 

MAA 

International students seeking to attend an American higher education institution differ by academic preparedness and financial resources, and these differences impact their preferences and information-seeking behavior during college search, according to a new report from World Education Services (WES)–a New York-based non-profit with over 35 years of experience in international education research and credential evaluation.

The publication, Not All International Students Are the Same: Understanding Segments, Mapping Behavior, presents findings from a survey of international students in the process of applying to U.S. colleges and universities. The survey, which was administered from October 2011 to March 2012, received responses from nearly 1,600 prospective international students from 115 countries.

The report identified four distinct international student segments based on academic preparedness and financial resources:  Strivers, Strugglers, Explorers and Highfliers.

Strivers form the traditional segment of students coming to the U.S. They are highly prepared for academic work and expect to receive financial aid from their host institution. In contrast, Explorers form an emerging segment of students who can cover tuition fees but are not fully prepared for college-level coursework, indicating their need for academic support, particularly in English language training.

Highfliers are the most sought after as they are academically prepared and financially able. However, their attraction to a narrow circle of top-ranked institutions makes it difficult for lower ranked institutions to compete for them. Strugglers are less selective about their college choice, but they require additional pre- and post-enrollment assistance and have less access to financial resources.

The study found that just one-sixth of the survey respondents reported that they had used an recruitment agent during their college search. Student segments with lower academic preparedness—Explorers and Strugglers—were found to be more likely to use agent services.

Source: World Education Services

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Vietnamese Online: 35% & Rising!

23/05/2012

According to the latest Cimigo NetCitizens report, 35% of all Vietnamese are connected to the Internet with robust growth and penetration throughout the country.  This is identical with the statistics released in March 2012 by the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC). 

The report, which is available in English and Vietnamese, shows results of the largest and most comprehensive study on internet usage ever done in Vietnam and sheds light into many areas of internet usage where no well-founded knowledge was available before. It shows who is online, how long, how frequently, what activities do they do, which sites do they visit, how do they think about online shopping and how the internet effects their lives.

Since 2007, Cimigo, an independent team of marketing and brand research specialists, has published studies annually on internet usage. This report covers 12 cities in Vietnam and is based on a representative selection of more than 3,400 internet users.  The report, from which the above images were taken, is a free download on the Cimigo website (after a simple registration). 

The implications of this trend are obvious for those of us who work in education.  Foreign institutions that wish to recruit Vietnamese students must including online marketing and branding as part of their recruitment strategy.

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The Economic Impact of Vietnamese Students on the US

04/05/2012

Everyone in the (international education) business can recite by rote the long litany of tangible and intrinsic benefits that accrue from having large numbers of international students study in the US or any country for that matter.  It’s clear, however, that economic impact is becoming increasingly important in the moribund economic climate in higher education and elsewhere in American society. 

In 2010/11, the US hosted a record 723,277 international students, which amounts to 21% of all international students, according to UNESCO.  These students contributed $20.2 billion ($20,232,000,000) to the nation’s economy.  “Education is one of our most valuable exports,” said Francisco Sánchez, under secretary of commerce for international trade, who led an education trade mission last year to Vietnam and Indonesia.  There is a need, perhaps now more than ever, for more international students and all of the contributions, including financial, that they make to US society.  And there is considerable untapped potential.    

The total economic impact of the nearly 15,000 Vietnamese students in 2010/11 was $416 million using information (PDF download) from NAFSA:  Association of International Educators.  This is an extraordinary sum for a country at Vietnam’s stage of development with a GDP of just over $120 billion in 2011.  (In case you’re counting, the estimated amount spent on study in the USA by Vietnamese families last year equaled .35% of the nation’s GDP.) 

Since the above Open Doors statistics include only regionally accredited institutions of higher education and exclude other Vietnamese enrollments (e.g., nationally accredited schools, private boarding schools, most of which are in the 40-50k per year range per year), the total economic impact is considerably higher. 

MAA

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Vietnam Ranks 3rd in International Enrollment at US Community Colleges

12/03/2012

According to the 2011 Open Doors report on international academic mobility, there were 89,853 international students enrolled at America’s community colleges, a 3.2% decrease over the previous year.  (This is out of a total of 723,277 international students in the U.S. during the 2010/11 academic year.)  

Of that number, 9.9%, or 8,895 students, were Vietnamese.  This means that nearly 60% of all Vietnamese students in the US were studying at a community college, nearly all with the goal of transferring to a four-year school to complete a bachelor’s degree.   This was the same percentage as the previous year.  The only difference is that China displaced Vietnam by .2%. 

Rank Place of Origin % of Enrollment

1

 South Korea

13.4

2

 China

10.1

3

 Vietnam

9.9

4

 Japan

5.9

5

 Mexico

4.8

6

 Hong Kong

3.6

7

 Nepal

3.2

8

 India

2.6

9

 Indonesia

2.4

10

 Brazil

2.1

In my opinion, this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, given the lower cost and other reasons that explain the popularity of US community colleges in Vietnam and other countries.

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Online Survey: Your Institution & Vietnam

28/01/2012

I developed a brief (10 question) survey on SurveyMonkey for regionally accredited US colleges and universities that have incorporated, or are beginning to incorporate, Vietnam into their internationalization strategies.  This includes student recruitment and a variety of other activities, current or planned.  I intend to share the overall results with everyone who participates.  Personal information will be kept strictly confidential.

MAA

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Open Doors 2011: Vietnam Ranks 8th

14/11/2011

According to Open Doors 2011, the annual report on international academic mobility published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the Office of Global Educational Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, there are now 723,277 international students in the United States.  This represents a 4.7% increase over 2009/10 and comprises 3.5% of total higher education enrollment (20,550,000) in the US. 

Of the top ten sending countries five (5) reported decreases in the number of US-bound students, including India (-1%), Canada (-2.1%), Taiwan (-7%), Japan (-14%) and Turkey (-1.7%).  The top three (3) increases were registered by Saudi Arabia (43.6%), China (23.3%) and Vietnam (13.5%). 

1
 China 127,822 157,558 21.8 23.3
2 India 104,897 103,895 14.4 -1
3 South Korea 72,153 73,351 10.1 1.7
4 Canada 28,145 27,546 3.8 -2.1
5 Taiwan 26,685 24,818 3.4 -7
6 Saudi Arabia 15,810 22,704 3.1 43.6
7 Japan 24,842 21,290 2.9 -14.3
8 Vietnam 13,112 14,888 2.1 13.5
9 Mexico 13,256 13,713 1.9 2
10 Turkey 12,397 12,184 1.7 -1.7

 
 

Vietnam, which now ranks 8th among all places of origin between Japan (#7) and Mexico (#9), recorded an impressive 13.5% increase.  As of fall 2010, when the data were collected, there were 14,888 Vietnamese students enrolled at regionally accredited colleges and universities.  This is consistent with the SEVIS By the Numbers quarterly snapshot from December 2010, which includes ALL educational institutions and visa types:  17,116 students.  I fully expect Vietnam to join the next tier of sending countries (i.e., Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Canada) in the next five years.

The OPEN DOORS FACT SHEET: VIETNAM reveals that the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese students continue to study at the undergraduate level. In 2010/11, the breakdown was as follows:

  • 74.2% undergraduate
  • 16.3% graduate students
  • 6.0% other
  • 3.5% OPT (Optional Practical Training)

Vietnam ranks 3rd among international students enrolled in community colleges. 

Below is a list of fields of study; it comes as no surprise that the majority (41.3%) of Vietnamese students in the US are studying business/management.  This is by far the highest percentage of any of the top 25 places of origin.  The second highest percentage are studying engineering followed by math/computer science.

Fields of Study by Place of Origin

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Survey of Current & Future Vietnamese Students in the United States

06/11/2011

Old SurveyMonkey Logo

 I recently tabulated the results of an anonymous and impressionistic (i.e., unscientific) Internet survey that I conducted using SurveyMonkey.  The purpose of this brief survey was to get a general idea of the post-graduation plans of current and future Vietnamese students in the U.S.

In response to one of the key questions about what students plan to do after graduation, a simple majority (52.90%) opt for “further study” and nearly half (44%) plan to work for awhile before returning home. Only about 6% stated their intention to emigrate.

While others will no doubt decide to remain in the US (or a third country), that is not their intention now.  The point is that emigration is ultimately a personal decision and part of the global brain circulation phenomenon.

Of the 204 people who participated, the results were as follows:

Gender

  • Female: 64.70%
  • Male: 35.30%

Region  

  • North: 63.20%
  • Central: 15.70%
  • South: 21.10%

Current status

  • High School Student in Vietnam: 11.80%
  • University Student in Vietnam: 41.20%
  • Working in Vietnam: 7.80%
  • High School Student in the US: 4.90%
  • Undergraduate in the US: 26%
  • Graduate Student in the US: 8.30%

What are you studying or planning to study?  A long list of majors, including common (e.g., business administration, economics, finance, international economics, MBA, etc.) and uncommon (e.g., art, creative writing, cultural anthropology, dance, film studies, gender studies, history, linguistics, molecular biology, musicology, pharmacology, political science, psychology, public affairs, TESOL, theater, etc.)

What are your post-graduation plans (i.e., after you complete your degree program in the US)?

  • Return home: 21.60%
  • Further study: 52.90%
  • Optional Practical Training (OPT): 24%
  • Work for a few years, return home: 20%
  • Emigration 5.90%

Anything you’d like to add?  35 respondents answered this question.

If you would like me to email you the results, please provide your names and email address. This information is optional. 108 requested a copy of the results.

The distribution of the respondents was, in some cases, different from Vietnamese students in the US. For example, over 60% are from the North whereas the majority of Vietnamese studying in the US hail from southern Vietnam. In addition, the actual gender balance is about 50-50. Finally, while two-thirds of Vietnamese students are undergraduates, 42.7% of the respondents are current or future undergraduates.

MAA

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Survey for Current & Future Vietnamese Students in the US

27/03/2011

I’m conducting a brief and impressionistic (i.e., unscientific) survey is to collect some basic information about the post-graduation plans of young Vietnamese who are either currently studying in the US or are planning to do so. 

I will post the results here if I received a sufficient number of replies.  Please e-mail me at markashwill[AT]hotmail.com with any questions or comments.  

To my US colleagues – please share this with Vietnamese students enrolled at your institution and others you may know.  Thank you! 

MAA

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Regionally Accredited (US) Programs in Vietnam

23/03/2011

Attention Regionally Accredited US Colleges & Universities With Programs in Vietnam:  In recent years there has been a steady growth in the number and type of US higher education programs in Vietnam.  I have documented some of them on this blog and am now attempting to create a database of all known and active programs here offered by regionally accredited US colleges and universities.  The survey should take about five (5) minutes to complete.  I’ll send the results to each contact person and post them here.  My ultimate goal is to create a bilingual (English/Vietnamese) website that will serve as an up-to-date resource for anyone who is interested.  Thank you for contributing to this project!

MAA

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