Penn State Harrisburg
For decades, Dickinson College has cherished its ethos as an international campus, where students, faculty and staff learn amid the “complexity of global context.”
“International students bring their experience, their perspectives, their openness to learning and sharing their own cultural backgrounds with us,” said Associate Provost Samantha Brandauer, executive director of Dickinson’s Center for Global Study and Engagement. “The moment a student sets foot on the Dickinson campus, you’re going to be interacting with people around the world.”
As Trump administration policies erect, remove and re-erect barriers to immigration and international enrollment, central Pennsylvania colleges and universities are staying agile.
Harrisburg University isn’t seeing an enrollment slowdown since the State Department lifted a pause on visa interviews, but it’s a fluid situation.
“What I am seeing and hearing and identifying is students questioning whether to come to the U.S. right now,” said Chief Strategy Officer Ryan Riley.
And as Brandauer said, “You’re constantly Plan A, B, C and D-ing everything, so that you have a clear and kind and empathetic communication strategy, and you are getting feedback from the population themselves to understand the needs. It’s a multipronged approach where you’re managing what feels like a crisis.”
Motivated to Learn
At Dickinson, in Carlisle, international students come from all over the world, studying as single-semester exchange students or four-year degree candidates. They are, said Brandauer, “really high-achieving, really integrated across campus life.”
Dickinson’s Center for Global Study and Engagement helps international students stay in compliance with visa and immigration rules. It also advocates campus-wide for international students.
“We have an amazingly supportive and wonderful team of folks across the college who get this with us,” Brandauer said. “It’s easy to advocate for international students at Dickinson. People get it right away.”
International students often share similar challenges and needs with first-generation U.S. students, so Dickinson also considers the “universal design pieces” in academics and student life that help all students thrive, she added.
Dickinson students express a mixed bag of feelings about immigration crackdowns. Many want to simply live their lives as college students and feel like they belong. While they absorb Dickinson’s expressions of support and inclusivity, they worry about “a government that’s not sending the same signal,” Brandauer said.
At Penn State Harrisburg, “our international students are an integral part of the fabric of our campus community, as well as the surrounding communities while they attend and after graduation,” said Chancellor David M. Callejo Pérez. “They—like all of our students—provide valuable and diverse perspectives in our classrooms, our research and our communities.”
Penn State Harrisburg is “not seeing a significant decrease in new international student enrollment” and has not written additional policies to address changes coming from Washington, he said.
Penn State Global’s International Student and Scholar Advising (ISSA) office offers direct support and resources on a range of issues, from understanding legal requirements to getting a PA driver’s license.
In the mid-2010s, HU “carved out a unique space that has kept a strong pipeline of international students from over 100 countries,” said Riley. Its “Curricular Practical Training” program allows F-1 non-immigrant student visa holders to work, without waiting a year, in fields directly related to their academics.
The CPT typically accommodates two types of visa students, Riley said—those who want to see the U.S. and make friendships here, or entrepreneurs eager to take their skills back home.
“[They’re] very focused on their studies,” he said. “They’re appreciative of being here.”
Around the Town
As college administrators note, international students bring economic benefits to their communities.
In Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district, which covers the Harrisburg area, 1,706 international students contributed $73.3 million to the economy and created 345 jobs in 2023-24, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
Penn State Harrisburg’s international students contributed $44.1 million and supported 191 jobs. At Dickinson, they contributed $17.5 million to the economy and created 86 jobs.
International students’ direct financial contributions to Dickinson’s coffers are “a mixed bag,” Brandauer said. They are “not a monolith,” she noted. Some pay full tuition, while others need and receive financial support “because they contribute meaningful benefits to the community.”
HU’s international graduate students pay full tuition, enabling financial support for the undergraduate population that is more heavily U.S. citizens, school officials said.
International students are key drivers of HU’s growth in local economic impact from $106 million in 2016-17 to $274.5 million today, and they support about 200 of HU’s 600 jobs, Riley said. They are also patrons of Harrisburg International Airport, Amtrak and services around Harrisburg’s SoMa (South of Market) area.
“When you come to downtown Harrisburg when they’re here, there are 1,200 people getting cups of coffee and eating lunch and staying in hotels,” Riley said. “So, as the city itself looks for its next renaissance and opportunity to thrive, when you look at the SoMa area, it’s Harrisburg University that is keeping the economy alive because of these students.”
Bumpy Road
The U.S. remains the top choice globally for higher education, but inconsistent policies create “a tremendous amount of uncertainty and stress,” Riley said.
“The U.S. will lose students, probably this cycle and the next cycle to institutions in Canada, for sure, but also to the UK and Australia, which have maintained their consistency in their programs,” he said.
As uncertainty lingers, HU’s international student and student services offices support international students, and a new staff position connects graduate students to resources on-campus and off, for such needs as tutoring and mental health.
Dickinson’s international and legal teams are preparing their recommendations for this fall’s student cohort. As events unfold quickly under the Trump administration, they have devised a strategy to keep students informed in a timely fashion and confident of the facts.
“This is a moving target,” Brandauer said. “A lot of our messaging to students right now is helping them feel that we see this, we see you, and we are doing all kinds of things to support you.”
To help ease worries about barriers to re-entry, Dickinson offered free campus housing to students impacted by the travel ban this summer, and about 30 accepted. During the brief visa suspension, another handful of students accepted a similar offer.
The travel ban hasn’t significantly impacted Dickinson’s fall enrollment, Brandauer said. However, as other universities are starting students on their international campuses or partner institutions outside the U.S., Dickinson is having similar “what if” conversations.
Some Penn State Harrisburg students have proceeded normally through visa processing and interviews while others “have encountered some issues,” said Pérez. “We continue to support our students as they make their way through these processes and prepare to join us in the fall.”
In light of questions from the Penn State community about Trump’s executive orders, Penn State Global in April recommended that international students and scholars keep their visa statuses current and always carry copies of their documentation.
Reaping Benefits
Although disruption sows mistrust and insecurity that can cause potential international students to reconsider, most of HU’s graduate students “feel confident they’re doing the right thing,” Riley said.
“They’re making the right choices. They’re following the law,” he said. “They’re here for their experience.”
He compares international students to “seeds from around the world that are planted on American soil.”
“When they’re nurtured with opportunity at institutions of higher education, they grow into bridges, and those bridges connect the U.S. to global ideas and markets and innovation,” he said. “So if we neglect them, we’re fencing off the garden, and not only do we lose a vibrant variety, but we miss out on the fruit they bear for everyone.”
Dickinson continues to monitor Trump administration policies and, in the world’s “perma-crisis,” also works to ease the anxiety and stress borne by staff concerned about their students, Brandauer said.
“It’s just disheartening because international students and scholars bring so much to our communities, to our campuses, to higher education,” she said. “I find it disheartening that we aren’t creating an environment that is welcoming of them. Dickinson is, but we’re fighting a fight. I feel lucky to do this work in a place where there’s so much support for it. It’s part of Dickinson’s values and identity.”
As Riley puts it, HU continues “just solidifying the message to our prospective students that the United States is open, and we’re here to help you get through any questions or challenges you have.”
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