PNW’s international student enrollment is back to pre-pandemic levels.

The university’s international population grew to 489 students this semester, the largest since 2018, while overall core student enrollment is 6,083, a two percent decline from last year. 

The growth in international student enrollment is the result of PNW efforts to restart the university’s global recruiting efforts. 

“The global pandemic hit and then things needed to be cut to save some money,” said Ryan Hayes, assistant director of international admissions. The department, which had employed 15 people, cut back to three.

“We’re trying to grow it back to pre-pandemic [levels],” he said. 

However, the smaller team is still delivering improved international student numbers.

“We have increased from 350 to [nearly] 500 international students in the last nine months,” he said. “What we have been able to achieve in such a short period of time has been phenomenal.”

Hayes said PNW’s affordable tuition and proximity to a big city make the school attractive to students around the world.

But proximity alone is not PNW’s only selling point.

”We have had great growth over the last nine months [because] we have been proactive with our outreach,” he said.

Hayes and his colleagues are prompt about responding to international inquiries and providing information about PNW. In fact, Hayes personally uses the instant messaging WhatsApp platform to connect with those students. He said it helps him communicate with students who do not often look at their emails. 

“You have to meet the students where they’re at,” Hayes said. “WhatsApp has been the most common method of communication to lure students into coming to PNW and selecting a future here at the campus.” 

The university has also made strides to help international students feel more at home in Northwest Indiana.  For example, last semester PNW introduced intramural cricket, the world’s second most popular sport behind soccer.

“We had 25 to 30 people playing Cricket,” said Hayes “A lot of sub-continent students love their cricket. … What was really cool to see was that American students who have never seen the game … would come and learn the game and get involved.”