Declining enrollment of international students has plagued U.S. universities, and Penn State has become part of this national trend, according to a 2005 "Open Doors" report.

More than half a million international students decided to study in the United States last year, according to the Institute of International Education report. However, this number declined 1.3 percent from the previous year.

Contributing to the national trend, Penn State has also experienced a decline of international students. For the 2004-05 academic year, Penn State experienced a 1.5 percent decline; but for 2005-06 there was only a 1 percent decline, said Negar Davis, director of International Student Services.

Penn State ranked among the top 25 host institutions in the U.S. for 2004-05 with its international enrollment reaching 3,237 students of its total 41,795 enrollment, according to the report. However, this is only 8 percent of the total population and places Penn State ninth in comparison to the other universities in the Big Ten.

Although there are students from 130 countries represented at Penn State, some Penn State representatives attribute this declining trend to the aftermath of Sept. 11 and visa-related policies.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig attributes this decrease to post-Sept. 11 travel restrictions that have been placed on international students -- a problem, he said, that may possibly continue for some time.

Davis said she believes that the decline also occurred because of a combination of increased global competition from universities overseas, other immigration-related issues and the aftermath of Sept. 11, which may have deterred students from wanting to study in the United States.

"Many countries overseas are stepping up their efforts to improve their universities in order to keep their students in their countries," Davis said.

Davis added that the restrictive visa application processes that have been implemented since Sept. 11 and other visa delays may have deterred students from wanting to go through the application process.

"The primary concern of the Chinese students is the visa application, because it is becoming more and more restrictive," Jianfeng Guo, president of the Chinese Friendship Association, said. "It is a hassle to apply for a visa to come to the U.S., and more and more Chinese students are applying to other universities in different countries."

The visa process has slightly improved in the past couple of months, but it is still restrictive, Davis said.

Javier Zuniga (senior-computer engineering), an international student from Ecuador who came to the university because of its engineering department, said he could see how the restrictions of the visa application process could cause a decline.

This will not improve unless university administrators start to implement active measures to end this decrease, Davis said.

The declining number of international students and recruitment difficulties may lead the university to implement a more focused effort overseas to improve Penn State's diversity.

"We plan on attempting to collaborate with various university administrative units to work on a recruitment plan that will promote Penn State internationally, build relations overseas and improve our marketing efforts in order to attract more international students to our university," Davis said.

Penn State is not alone in this effort to try to increase international enrollment. Penn State and other universities in the Big Ten have decided to join forces and collaborate efforts in order to tackle this problem.

"We are all in regular communication, networking together and collaborating our efforts," Davis said. "We are working as a team that is sharing and collectively trying to increase our number of international students in order to maintain the diversity on our campuses."