Dr. JoAnn Canales, chair of the AAHHE board and Dean-in-Residence at the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) said that this year’s conference was focused on building a robust pipeline.

“We still have a very long way to go,” said Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, a trade group that represents graduate deans.

In early February, the Council of Graduate Schools released a study showing a 4% decrease in international graduate applications over the past year, following a 3% decrease the year before. Late last year, the Institute for International Education reported a 6.6% decline overall in our international student population -- the first such decline in a decade.

The overall decline is primarily driven by a 6 percent decrease in applications and 2 percent decrease in first-time enrollment in master's and certificate programs, according to a report conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools, which surveyed 240 institutions in 2017 and 2018.

International student master’s applications have fallen as well, according to the Council of Graduate Schools, with a 12 percent decline from the prior year in India, and a 13 percent decline from European countries. While some attribute the international decline to unwelcoming visa and immigration policies, the U.S. decline is usually attributed to the economy.

The report, which saw 240 institutions participating in the survey, found that the number of international graduate applications from prospective students fell by four percent between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018. By comparison, the number of graduate applications declined by three percent in the same period the year before.

Applications and first-time enrolments of foreign students to postgraduate courses in US universities have fallen for the second consecutive year, a ‘troubling’ shift, according to the Council of Graduate Schools.

Data reflecting the number of international students seeking master’s and doctoral degrees from US colleges and universities has continued along a “troubling” trajectory for the second year running, with a new Council of Graduate Schools report showing a 1% decline in international graduate enrolments from fall 2017-18 and a 4% drop in applications.

Applications from Indian national students to American graduate programs fell 12% from 2017 to 2018, leading to an overall decline in international enrollment in U.S. universities, according to a new study from the Council of Graduate Schools.

Evidence is mounting that the U.S. is becoming a less attractive place for international students to study.

The latest sign: A report published Thursday by the Council of Graduate Schools, which found that applications from international students to U.S. graduate schools dropped 4% between fall 2017 and fall 2018, the second year in a row of declines. First-time graduate student enrollment is also down 1% for the second year in a row.