Open Doors
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange?
Where can I find the Open Doors report?
How is the international student information obtained?
Who is counted as an international student?
Who is counted as a foreign scholar?
How is the U.S. Study Abroad Survey conducted?
What are the most recent statistics available?
Do the statistics include international students who are not studying at U.S. colleges or universities?
What information is available to the press?
What is included in the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange?
Open Doors is a comprehensive information resource on the more than half million international students in the United States and on the more than 200,000 U.S. students who sojourn abroad as part of their academic experience. The printed book provides over 100 pages of data on place of origin, sources of financial support, fields of study, host institutions, academic level, and rates of growth of the international student population in the United States, as well
as on the economic impact of international students to the host state and national economies. Open Doors makes extensive use of graphics to highlight key facts and trends. Also included in the publication are:
sections on Foreign Scholars in the U.S., Intensive English Programs, and U.S. Study Abroad.
Back to Top
Where can I find the Open Doors report?
The Open Doors report is published annually in the form of a 100+ page book. A copy of the book is sent to the person who responds to the Open Doors surveys at each campus, usually the international student advisor, institutional research office, or the registrar. It is also sent to the international designee of each IIENetwork Member Campus.
To order a copy of Open Doors, please visit IIE's online bookstore, www.iiebooks.org
Back to Top
How is the international student information obtained?
The data presented in the annual Open Doors report are obtained each year through surveys sent to about 2,800 accredited U.S. institutions, who report on the international students enrolled at their colleges and universities. Separate surveys are conducted for foreign scholars, U.S. study abroad, and intensive English programs.
The Institute of International Education has conducted an annual census of international students in the United States since its founding in 1919. The report has been published as Open Doors since 1954, and began receiving support from the United States Information Agency, now the Department of State, in the early 1970s.
Back to Top
Who is counted as an international student?
An international student is defined as anyone who is enrolled at an institution of higher education in the United States who is
not a U.S. citizen, an immigrant (permanent resident) or a refugee. These may include holders of F (student) visas, J (exchange visitor) visas, and M (vocational training) visas.
Back to Top
Who is counted as a foreign scholar?
IIE conducts a separate survey of research universities to determine the number and characteristics of foreign scholars
(non-immigrant teachers and/or researchers who are not enrolled as students) in the U.S. each year. A separate section of Open Doors reports on these foreign scholars.
Back to Top
How is the U.S. Study Abroad Survey conducted?
IIE has been conducting a survey on study abroad flows since 1985/86. For the purpose of Open Doors, study abroad is
narrowly defined as only those students who received academic credit from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education after they returned from their study abroad experience. (Students who travel and take courses without credit transfers are not reported in Open Doors, nor are students who are enrolled overseas for degrees from non-U.S. institutions.)
Surveys are sent to about 1,500 accredited colleges and universities throughout the United States, asking them to provide information on the number and characteristics of the students to whom they awarded credit for study abroad during the previous academic year, including summer.
Back to Top
What are the most recent statistics available?
Highlights from the new Open Doors publication are released each year in early November. International student statistics for the 2008/09 academic year and U.S. study abroad data for the 2007/08 academic year are available as of November 16, 2009. The printed publication, available in January 2010, can be purchased at www.iiebooks.org.
Back to Top
Do the statistics include international students who are not studying at U.S. colleges or universities?
The international student statistics include only those students enrolled at U.S. colleges or universities.
No statistics on high school or youth exchanges are provided in Open Doors.
Back to Top
What information is available to the press?
A limited number of review copies of the report are available to the press from IIE's media relations counsel, Halstead Communications. Call Deborah Gardner at (212) 734-2190 or e-mail dgardner(at)halsteadpr.com.
Special reports are available by state and leading sending institutions. IIE's President and other officers, as well as the Director of Research, are also available for interview upon request. Please address all inquiries to Halstead Communications
Back to Top
Back to Top
