In a move to increase its out-of-state and international student enrollment, officials at the University of Iowa are stepping up their global recruitment efforts — even in the face of criticism that the school may be losing sight of its mission.

“Our goal is to increase enrollment across the board, with both in-state as well as out-of-state and international students,” says Michael Barron, the assistant provost for enrollment services, of a UI program to increase enrollment at the 30,300-student institution by 500 in the next five years.

Barron, who also serves as director of admissions, says up to half of that number may be out-of-state or international students.

“Iowa’s in-state student market is diminishing and the number of high school students here that are graduating college-bound is declining,” Barron says.

According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, Iowa’s population slightly increased from 2000 to 2008 from 2.9 million to just over 3 million. A century ago, Iowa had the 10th largest population in the union; today it ranks 30th with a 65-and-over population of 14.8 percent — 2 percent higher than the national mark. 

Iowa’s demographic challenges are even more difficult because its African-American and Hispanic populations — significant growth sectors in other parts of the country — are at 2.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, according to the 2008 Census Bureau estimate. African-Americans represent 12.8 percent of the national population and Hispanics 15.4 percent.

Dr. Downing Thomas, UI’s dean of international programs, says the effort to expand the school’s international profile is more than just a campaign to increase enrollment.

“We see this as part of a bigger picture” he says. “We look at it in terms of how both in-state as well as international students benefit from having multiple student populations. We also think that part of educating Iowans is exposing them to people from other cultures and giving them knowledge about global systems and context.”