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According to an article in the Aug. 24 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Daily Star, the University of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ anticipates a significant decline in student enrollment. UA’s primary spokesman claimed a smaller fall class size is intentional, “… reflecting our more thoughtful approach to balancing access with student success.â€� The decline is expected to come from fewer out-of-state and international students, but if this is the case, it will be ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ residents who are hurt most.

Fewer out-of-state and international students mean fewer revenue, jobs, and opportunities for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ residents. International students attending ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ State University, for example, contribute $700 million and support ~6,000 jobs in the state annually, and ASU remains one of the largest employers in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. UA plays a similarly important role in the state’s economy as the largest employer in the Tucson area. Out-of-state and international students make this possible by paying a much larger price tag to attend ASU and UA than in-state students.

The Daily Star article quotes multiple UA staff citing reasons for potential declines in student enrollment, including economic challenges faced by out-of-state students, the Trump administration’s travel bans and fluctuating visa policies for international students, and increased competition in higher education and skepticism around the value of higher education. Despite the social and political context undoubtedly at play, ASU does not anticipate nor intend for a similar decline in student enrollment. On Aug. 11, ASU reported a projected freshman class size of 42,900 students, a >1,000 student increase from Fall 2024, and the largest number of first-year students in ASU’s history (ASU News A). ASU also reported that 14,600 international undergraduate and graduate students will enroll this fall, only a 3% decrease from the 15,104 international students enrolled in Fall 2024 (ASU News B). ASU’s strategy to maintain and grow its out-of-state and international student enrollment primarily benefits ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ residents.

Besides generating money and jobs for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, out-of-state and international students subsidize upward economic mobility for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ residents through higher education. I experienced this firsthand. My father, a Hispanic immigrant, grew up in Yuma and graduated from UA in 1987. Born and raised in Tucson, I attended ASU, becoming the first woman in my family with a college degree and the first person in my family with a PhD. The quality and relatively low cost of attendance of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s state universities improved the lives of my family and I, and the lives of my in-state peers. Now, I teach at ASU and witness current in-state students reap the benefits of higher education subsidized by classmates who are not from ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥.

If state universities want to improve access and success for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ residents, they should intentionally recruit and enroll more out-of-state and international students, not fewer.