A 1 percent increase may not seem like much, but to educators, it represents the possible recovery of international student enrollment at U.S. graduate schools after three years of decline.

The Council of Graduate Schools recorded the increase in a report released Monday that compiled enrollment statistics for 125 colleges, including the University.

Since 2002, international graduate student enrollment rates have declined. But this year marks the first year rates have not dropped. While total enrollment of international graduate students is still down 3 percent from last year, the 1 percent increase among first-time applicants suggests the number may be on the rebound.

"This is heartening because perhaps the decline is beginning to come to a stop," said John Godfrey, assistant dean of the Rackham School of Graduate Studies.

Though the number of international graduate student applications received by the University has dropped 30 percent overall since March 2003, first-time enrollment has remained relatively steady, Godfrey said. 583 international graduate students enrolled this year, a slight decrease from last year's enrollment of 590 students.

Despite a smaller application pool, Godfrey credited the quality of applicants and the efforts of University student support programs for sustaining first-time enrollment levels.

The overall drop in international student enrollment during the past three years reflects two major factors, said Rodolfo Altamirano, director of the University's International Center. Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, international students entering the United States have faced tightened security, Altamirano said. Meanwhile, other countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have boosted their efforts to attract talented graduate students from around the world, he added.

"At the same time we are closing our doors, other countries are opening them," he said.

Beyond providing academic and research opportunities, Altamirano said, universities need to provide a welcoming atmosphere to both increase and retain the number of international graduate students.

"We need to greet them with open arms," he said. "The International Center is poised to provide them a welcoming home."

Rackham has also expanded support services for international students, including offering help with applying for visas and transitioning into the University community and culture, Godfrey said.

"Visas are the single greatest headache, " he added.

Both Godfrey and Altamirano cited the State Department's relaxation of visa requirements for students in the past year and a half as a possible cause of the slight increase in first-time enrollment.

The State Department has increased staffing, integrated office systems and streamlined communications, decreasing the overall wait time of student visa applications said Laura Tischler, spokesperson for the bureau of consular affairs at the State Department.

"We work to make the visa application process as transparent, straightforward and as accessible as possible," Tischler said.

Altamirano also said the University's reputation and recent faculty and administrator visits, including University President Mary Sue Coleman's summer trip to China, greatly aided in recruiting international graduate students.

"When students return (to their home country), they serve as role models," he said. "Alumni are a great marketing tool."

The report also found that enrollment continues to increase in engineering, science and business, while enrollment in the humanities, education and social sciences has decreased.

At the University, about 35 to 40 percent of international graduate students are in engineering, 20 percent are in an LSA program and 15 are in a business-related field, Godfrey said.

In spite of the national trend, Godfrey has noticed an increased interest in the social sciences among international graduate students at the University.

"We're finding more international students in a larger range of fields than in the past," he said.