Report: International students contributed $217.5M to R.I. economy last year

RHODE ISLAND, with 5,409 international students enrolled last year, saw $217.5 million in economic benefits, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which released a report about the effects international students have on the economy. / COURTESY
RHODE ISLAND, with 5,409 international students enrolled last year, saw $217.5 million in economic benefits, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which released a report about the effects international students have on the economy. / COURTESY

PROVIDENCE – During the last academic year, 5,409 international students in Rhode Island contributed $217.5 million to the state economy and supported 2,368 jobs, according to a report recently released by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Locally, here is a breakdown of the financial contribution generated by international students and the jobs they create:

  • Brown University, $79.5 million, supporting 1,317 jobs
  • Johnson & Wales University, $47.1 million, supporting 311 jobs
  • Rhode Island School of Design, $45.9 million, supporting 310 jobs
  • University of Rhode Island, $16.4 million, supporting 239 jobs
  • Bryant University, $16.1 million, supporting 107 jobs
  • Providence College, $5.7 million, supporting 38 jobs
  • New England Institute of Technology, $4.8 million, 31 jobs
  • Salve Regina University, $1.7 million, 11 jobs
  • Rhode Island College, $275,005, two jobs
  • Community College of Rhode Island, $240,459, two jobs

NAFSA released information earlier this week saying that approximately 1 million international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $32.8 billion and supported more than 400,000 jobs to the U.S. economy during the 2015-2016 academic year.
The nonprofit association said that this is a 7.4 percent increase in job support and creation, and a 7.5 percent increase in dollars contributed to the economy from the previous academic year. It said that for every seven international students enrolled, three U.S. jobs are created and supported by spending occurring in the higher education, accommodation, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications and health insurance sectors.

“Despite the fact that international students comprise just over 5 percent of enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities, they continue to bring billions of dollars to our nation’s economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs for the American people,” NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Marlene M. Johnson said in a statement. “If our campuses and communities are to continue to benefit from both the academic and economic benefits these students bring, we must ensure that our government policies encourage them to choose the United States as their first choice for higher education.”
NAFSA said that the number of internationally mobile students has more than doubled over the past 15 years, but the U.S. market share of international students has fallen 6 percent during that time.

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