The largest campus in Minnesota’s state university system prepared a welcome for dozens of international students expected to arrive late this fall because of visa issues.
But after a wave of visa denials that officials called “astounding,” only four international students were in Mankato for a special midsemester program meant for 40 to 60.
“We were bracing for a much larger cohort,” said Will Coghill-Behrends, dean of global education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. “We were disappointed but also recognized that this was clearly out of our hands.”
The smaller-than-expected turnout illustrates how the Trump administration’s increased vetting of student visas is proving disruptive for higher learning institutions in Minnesota.
Earlier this year, the federal government terminated visas and increased social media vetting and background checks for international students, bringing delays and uncertainty.
Minnesota college leaders have worried that lower international enrollment could cost them revenue and hurt diversity on campuses. Nearly 15,000 international students attend Minnesota schools, bringing an estimated $488 million to the state.
Minnesota State Mankato had the state’s third-highest number of international students in 2024. It has about 200 fewer international students compared with the same time last year, school officials have said.
The school’s intensive midsemester program in October aimed to help late arrivals, delayed by visa backlogs, to catch up. But a series of visa denials shrunk the population of 47 students who applied and were accepted into the program.
