美國新冠感染病例居高不下 高校擔憂國際生源流失

由於美國新冠肺炎感染病例居高不下，很多高校開學計劃不明，一些高校擔心這將導致大批留學生流失，從而使得學校預算降低。

While colleges across the country are still on the fence about opening their campuses to students, most are preparing for a drop in the number of International students, according to a new study.

最新研究顯示，儘管美國各地的大學仍在猶豫是否開學，但多數大學都在爲國際學生數量下降做準備。

on the fence：保持中立；抱觀望態度

The Institute of International Education (IIE), which tracks data on college students, on Thursday released the results of a survey it conducted with 599 colleges and universities in all 50 states about their plans for the summer and fall semesters in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

美國國際教育協會對全美50個州的599所大學開展了一項調查，詢問其鑑於目前的新冠疫情，夏季和秋季的開學計劃，並在本週四（5月14日）公佈了調查報告。該協會對大學生的數據進行跟蹤調查。

Mirka Martel, the report's author, noted that 74% of respondents said they don't know if they will continue their study abroad programs in the fall but 70% said they anticipate that at least some international students won't able to come to their campus for that semester.

報告的作者米爾卡·馬特爾指出，74%的高校表示不確定秋季是否會繼續開展海外學習項目，但70%的受訪高校預計部分留學生在秋季學期開始後不會返校。

"Our analysis indicates that these institutions anticipate that approximately 16% of their international student body will not be able to come to campus in‐person in fall 2020," Martel said during a conference call with reporters.

“我們的分析表明，這些高校預計，在今年秋季學期，約有16%的國際學生無法親自到校學習，”馬特爾在電話會議上告訴記者。

The surveyed campuses taught 519,000 international students during the 2018-2019 academic year, which was approximately 47% of the US's total international student population, according to IIE. Martel noted that because of the pandemic, academic institutions had to scale back their recruitment efforts abroad.

根據該協會的數據，接受調查的高校中2018-2019學年約有51.9萬名留學生，約佔美國留學生總數的47%。馬特爾稱，由於新冠肺炎疫情，學術機構不得不減少海外招生工作。

Roughly 78% of the schools switched to virtual recruitment methods, such as online information sessions and phone calls with prospective students, and many took actions to waive certain costs, such as application fees, the report said. Martel said college administrators are concerned about their budgets as the number of international students dwindles.

大約78%的高校轉而採取虛擬招生方式，比如與意向學生的網絡會議和電話面試等。報告稱，許多高校採取行動免除申請費等某些費用。馬特爾說，隨着國際學生數量的減少，大學管理人員擔心學校的預算。

"They are thinking about internationalization moving forward and how international education may change and evolve post COVID‐19," she said.

她說：“高校正在考慮如何推動國際化，以及在新冠肺炎疫情過後國際教育將發生何種變化。”

The report added that the schools are turning to alternative options to help students who are still interested in attending their classes. About three-quarters of the respondents said they would offer students the option of deferring their enrollment to the fall of 2021.

報告還指出，這些高校正在轉向其他選擇，以幫助那些對入讀仍然感興趣的學生。約四分之三的受訪高校表示，學生可以選擇推遲至2021年秋季學期入學。

Colleges are still figuring out how many classes will be taught online and what offerings will be available in the fall.

各所高校仍在研究有多少課程將在網上教授，以及秋季學期將會有什麼課程安排。

"As a result, 52% of reported institutions indicate that they plan to offer students online enrollment in the fall, whereas 42% indicate that they will offer online instruction until the student can come to campus in‐person," the report said.

報告稱：“因此，52%的受訪高校表示，計劃在秋季爲學生提供在線入學登記。而42%的受訪高校表示，他們將提供網絡教學，直到學生能夠親自來到校園。”

【全球及美國疫情最新數據】

據美國約翰斯·霍普金斯大學實時數據顯示，截至北京時間5月15日6時30分，全球累計確診4426937例，累計死亡301370例。其中美國累計確診1413012例，死亡85581例。與前一日6時30分數據相比，美國新增確診病例24076例，新增死亡病例1790例。