Archimedes · from The Parliament Group

One shared picture of the international enrollment market.

Archimedes is a decision intelligence tool for the institutional leaders responsible for international student enrollment and success. It brings the market's conditions, an institution's position in it, and the choices in front of it into one place, and it names the source of every figure.

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01 · The market

Volatility is a condition of international enrollment.

International enrollment in the United States grew from 25,464 students in 1948/49 to 1,177,766 in 2024/25. It did not grow in a straight line, and individual markets moved far more sharply than the total.

International students in the US, 1948/49–2024/25

Source: Institute of International Education, Open Doors, International Student and U.S. Higher Education Enrollment, 1948/49–2024/25. Totals include students on Optional Practical Training; 2020/21–2022/23 include students studying online from outside the US.

See the figures

Same years, opposite directions

International students at US institutions from each country, counted at the October 15 census, 2017 and 2023. Source: SEVIS enrollment records.

And rarely more than now.

−35%

Change in F-1 student visas issued, March 2025 to February 2026, against the twelve months before: 252,282 against 386,264.

U.S. Department of State, monthly nonimmigrant visa issuances by nationality and visa class.

Countries whose nationals were barred from new student visas by presidential proclamation, as of September 14, 2026.

Presidential proclamations suspending F, M and J visa issuance, read from each proclamation.

78%

Share of recent international students in the US who came from countries Archimedes now rates as at risk, or whose student visas are suspended.

SEVIS enrollment records, against Archimedes' current market read.

02 · Inside the university

Inside the university, everyone is asking a question.

Each answer comes from a different place.

Archimedes gives them one picture to work from.

Provost

“Where are we going to land this fall?”

last fall's census and the admissions funnel.

enrollment at every October census since 2017, and which of your markets are under pressure now.

CFO

“Why are we behind, and what are we doing about it?”

revenue projections built on last year's mix.

new students against your comparison group, market by market, in students and tuition.

Dean

“How are we doing compared to peer programs?”

a colleague's account of a peer's program.

each field's enrollment against what the national pattern predicts for an institution your size.

SIO

“Which markets should we be investing in next year?”

agent reports and the week's headlines.

markets ranked by room to grow against your group, with visa conditions beside each.

03 · What Archimedes covers

What an institution can't control, can influence, and controls.

International enrollment has three layers. Archimedes gives each its own view, in the order a provost would want to hear about them.

What you can't control

Market Conditions

Visa issuance, entry restrictions and a dated analyst read for every market an institution recruits from, sized by that market's share of its own enrollment. It shows how much of the enrollment base sits in markets under pressure, set against comparable institutions, and what students from each market choose to study.

Exposure by market

Illustrative

What you can influence

Competitive Position

Net tuition against enrollment draw for a peer set the institution chooses, who grew fastest in each market, how the institution draws from each country and field of study against the national pattern, and where each country's students go when they choose somewhere other than the US.

Net tuition against enrollment draw

Illustrative

What you control

Operations and Strategic Response

Retention and pricing against comparable institutions, then the decisions: which markets to prioritize, where existing programs could reach new markets, and a written briefing on where to recruit, ordered the way growth is usually weighed, from what already works to what is new.

Room to grow, by market

Illustrative

04 · Why it matters

The same shock landed very differently.

In the pandemic every tier of US higher education lost international students. Within each tier, some institutions were back above 2019 levels by fall 2021 while others were still falling. Where an institution stands and how it responds is the part it controls.

35pts

separated the top and bottom quarters of regional universities by fall 2021.

Bottom quarter Median Top quarter Change in international students, fall 2019 to fall 2021

Tier

One year's tuition gap

Change in international students between the October 15, 2019 and October 15, 2021 SEVIS censuses for 953 institutions with 100 or more international students in 2019, grouped by U.S. News ranking tier (most recent edition) or as community colleges. Bottom and top quarter are the 25th and 75th percentiles within each tier. The tuition gap applies that spread to the tier's typical institution: its median 2019 international enrollment times its median net tuition per international student in fall 2019. SEVIS counts can include admitted students who never arrived.

See the figures

05 · The data

Every figure names its source.

Archimedes combines federal student and institution records with rankings, labor-market, economic and community data, and applies the analytical methods of strategy consulting to them. The result is a single view of the opportunities in front of an institution, with every figure cited.

250M+

data points, brought together and connected so each one can be read against the others.

Student enrollment recordsInstitution profilesRankingsNet tuition by market Visa issuance and wait timesEntry restrictionsGlobal student mobilityDiaspora communities Campus and metro safetyPurchasing powerJob outlook by fieldGraduate earnings STEM designationSearch demandDated market research

Sources include the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, IPEDS, U.S. News & World Report, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Homeland Security, College Scorecard, Clery Act and FBI crime reporting, UNESCO and the IMF, alongside The Parliament Group's own market research.

06 · Who builds it

Built by The Parliament Group.

The Parliament Group advises universities, pathway providers and education companies on international enrollment, program development and partnerships across the United States and Canada.

Archimedes grew out of that work: the same questions came up at institution after institution, and the answers sat in different offices, built from different sources.

parliamentsolutions.com →

What Archimedes is for

To help international offices make confident cases to their colleagues, guide scarce resources, and respond to international markets the way those markets deserve to be served.