In North Texas, public universities could lose thousands of students — and millions of dollars — because of recent state and federal policy changes.
Though enrollment totals for the coming year won’t be final until early September, the University of Texas at Arlington said in a draft 2026 budget published by the University of Texas Board of Regents it’s projecting a 40% drop in international students – down from more than 5,500 last year.
“Based on enrollment projections, general student tuition revenue is expected to decline $13 million -$15.6 million in FY 2026 when compared to the FY 2025 budget,” the draft reads.
The University of North Texas meanwhile said the loss of international students has left a $50 million hole in the school’s budget.
Thousands of international students had their visas revoked under the Trump administration’s crackdown this spring. Though the visas were reinstated weeks later, the message – and the warning – was clear, said Fanta Aw, executive director of the Association of International Educators.
“It is an overall sentiment from international students that they're no longer welcomed in the U.S.,” Aw said.
Aw said her organization estimates the loss of international students will cost Texas universities — as well as community colleges like Dallas College — $400 million.
UT Dallas may be among the hardest hit, because the university hosts more international students than any other in Texas, according to UTD’s own International Students and Scholars Office. That amounts to at least 4,500 graduate students and more than 5,000 total when including undergraduate and graduate enrollees combined.
The university in the Regents draft budget said a decrease in the operating budget is “primarily attributed to a $28.0 million decrease in tuition and fees,” but didn’t tie it to international enrollment. KERA News has reached out to UTD for more details but has not received a response.
Aw said international student visa numbers are declining under the Trump administration for additional reasons, like fewer appointments in overseas embassies and strict social media vetting.
“They're still continuing to issue visas for tourists and others,” Aw said, “but it has diminished significantly for international students.
All this will take a toll on students and the schools they would have attended, Aw said. She predicts a brain drain of top students who stop pursuing schools in Texas or the U.S. to instead attend colleges in the UK, Japan or Germany.
That could also lead to hiring freezes or losses at north Texas and U.S. colleges and universities.
The Association of International Educators predicts the loss to U.S. schools nationwide will be roughly $7 billion.
The end of in-state tuition for students here without legal status has also led to a dip in enrollment. Texas’s decades-long policy of extending in-state tuition to students without legal status was recently declared illegal, eliminating the more affordable tuition for these students.
“The lawsuit between the United States vs Texas that focuses on in-state tuition for students not lawfully present is impacting our enrollment for 2025," Javier Flores, vice president of Enrollment Management at Texas Woman’s University, said last week during a finance meeting. He didn't cite specific numbers.
UT Arlington projects it will lose 300 undergraduates without legal status who will no longer receive in-state tuition.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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