Country experience: United States: education-related travel
14.236. Exports of education services measure foreign students’ education expenditures in the United States. Foreign students are defined as individuals enrolled in institutions of higher education in the United States who are not United States citizens, immigrants or refugees. Data on the number of students are obtained from an annual survey of about 2,700 accredited United States institutions, conducted by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Characteristics of the population used in the estimates include the geographic area of origin (residence), type of institution (public or private), enrolment status (part‐time or full‐time) and academic level of institution (two-year, four-year or university).
14.237. Estimates of average expenditures for tuition and for room and board are developed from annual surveys of most United States accredited institutions conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, Department of Education, and matched by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to the characteristics of the student population. Data on living expenses are based on estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, of low‐income level family budgets in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, reduced to a single person, and adjusted for inflation each year. Estimates of foreign students’ expenditures are made by multiplying the number of students by the average expenditure.
14.238. Imports of education services measure United States students’ expenditures abroad. Those students are defined as (a) United States residents who receive academic credit for study abroad from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States and (b) students who enrol directly with foreign institutions, including medical students, and who receive no academic credit from United States institutions. The total of United States students’ expenditures abroad is the sum of the estimates for the two groups of students.
14.239. For students who receive academic credit from United States institutions, data on the number of students are obtained from an annual survey of about 1,300 United States institutions conducted by IIE. Characteristics of the population used in the estimates include country of study, type of institution (public or private) and academic level of institution in the United States (two-year, four-year or university). Data do not include students who study abroad without receiving academic credit from a United States institution, or students enrolled for a degree overseas.
14.240. Student payments to United States colleges and universities for tuition and room and board are assumed to be forwarded to foreign institutions. Estimates of average expenditures for tuition and room and board are developed from an annual survey of most accredited United States institutions; the survey is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Average living expenses are estimated by applying a ratio of United States‐to‐foreign living costs to the low‐income‐level family budget series developed for foreign students who study in the United States. Estimates of United States students’ expenditures abroad are made by multiplying the number of students by average expenditures for tuition and room and board and for average living expenses.
14.241. For students who enrol directly in foreign institutions and receive no academic credit from United States institutions, supplemental estimates of education payments for Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, based on national data from those countries, are used to capture the expenditures of United States students.
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