Enrollment not affected by Sept. 11

Early figures from the Office of International Services show that Sept. 11 appears to have had no detrimental effect on the enrollment of international students at IU. \nIn fact, Lynn Schoch, associate director of the OIS, expects the number of new foreign students to increase this fall. \n"Our numbers look like they are up considerably," Schoch said. "We are pleased that we haven't seen a decline."\nAs of Monday, the OIS had over 800 international students pass through orientation, an 11 percent increase from last year's numbers. \n"It may be that people are coming to Indiana because it seems safe," Schoch said. "But we don't know that."\nSchoch said he believes many students will arrive late, delayed by a stricter student visa process adopted by the State Department in the wake of Sept. 11. \n"It has taken longer for some to get visas than in the past," Schoch said. "Reviewers are being very cautious to make sure they are dealing with reliable documents and good information."\nHe said the State Department has created a classified list of "certain profiles" that must undergo additional security checks before a visa may be approved. \nBrooke Hensley-Marschand, counselor at the Leo R. Dowling International Center, has received e-mails from students in Kuwait, Singapore, Turkey and Malaysia, complaining of an exceptionally lengthy visa process. \nThough they have been accepted to IU, most of them won't make it out of their countries in time for classes, she said. \n"It's been tough and frustrating," she said. "Even if they applied early, many are still waiting."\nExpecting a large number of late arrivals this fall, Hensley-Marschand said IU has, for the first time, set a deadline for the arrival of foreign students. Any international student who arrives after Sept. 9 will not be able to register, she said. \nChris Foley, admissions officer for international students, said his office was aware of the increased scrutiny given to student visa applicants. He said they tried to compensate by speeding up the admissions process. \n"We worked very hard getting admissions done early in the summer, so students would have a better chance of getting a visa," Foley said. "Given 9-11 and the new procedures in place, students were also more aggressive in getting visas. They did better planning."\nThe OIS has not detected a shift in where students are coming from either. The number of new Middle Eastern students has stayed relatively stable, Schoch said.