The number of foreign students on Monterey County campuses has decreased since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, partly for national security reasons, partly because of economics.

Many students will study in other English-speaking countries where it's easier to secure a visa or cheaper to live in these post-Sept. 11 days. As their numbers decline, the students also take their tuition and living expenses with them, money that would have fed the local economy.

The Monterey Institute of International Studies has seen a 10 percent decrease in international student enrollment in its graduate degree programs over the past three years. The number of English as a Second Language students is also down from last year.

International students still make up 34 percent of the student body enrolled in graduate degree programs at MIIS. About 255 international students are attending the school this year, and each pays about $22,000 for tuition along with up to $20,000 for living expenses.

"Year in and year out, the issue continues to be money," said Steven Baker, president of MIIS. "We face constant competition with other English-speaking countries, particularly Australia."

England, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom also attract international students.

"Australia has really come in like a gangbuster in the last few years trying to attract international students," Baker said.

At MIIS, visa acquisition doesn't seem to be a major cause of the decline in international enrollment. The decrease instead seems to be based on international students' changing assessment of the value of studying in the United States, Baker said.

MIIS worked with the Immigration and Naturalization Service on training models for the current student visa system that, among other things, requires students to sit for in-person interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate in the student's country before a visa can be obtained.

"The system has on the whole been positive and the problems were exaggerated. At least our experience is that there have been problems, but they have been easily dealt with," Baker said.

CSU-Monterey Bay is the only local school to record an increase in the number of international students this year, but that could be because the school is growing in all areas, said Holly White, campus spokeswoman.

Yet numbers at the CSU-Monterey Bay remain small overall with about 30 international students expected to enroll this year, up from about 20 last year. Most of the students are undergraduates.

The school has experienced occasional immigration problems, but nothing extraordinary, White said.

"We are proactive in bringing the students here, but we don't have the same recruitment efforts many universities do. Our focus is on the county and California in general," she said.

Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell College in Salinas have both recorded lower international student enrollment.

Monterey Peninsula College's international students generally take a mix of English as a Second Language and academic course work. Their enrollment at MPC dropped from 320 in the 2001-02 school year to 265 last year.

"This year if that number is about 225 to 250, we'll be lucky," said Johnny Johnson, director of international programs at MPC. He attributes the drop in enrollment number to stricter visa requirements. "I suspect our numbers will be down because of visa delays."

International enrollment at Hartnell declined after Sept. 11, 2001.

Two years ago, the school had about 80 international students. The total dropped to about 50 last year and is expected to remain about at that level this year, said Josephine Crawford, Hartnell's international student adviser.

"In some countries it's more difficult than others to get a visa," Crawford said. "I still think international students still think the U.S. is the best place for higher education and I feel that they are going to keep coming here."