Select international students intending to arrive in the US for studies in 2021 will be eligible for interview waivers, the government has said.

The numbers of US outbound students joining study abroad programs for academic credit rose 1.6% in the 2018/19 academic year.

Deep cuts to the State Department’s educational exchange programs outlined in the White House's proposed 2018 budget would damage the US’s soft power diplomacy, education organisations have warned.

Proposed plans to introduce ‘extreme vetting’ for some would-be travellers to the US, if implemented, will also damage higher education and research collaboration, educational and scientific organisations have said.

New developments from the State Department's study abroad branch include a MOOC to help institutions to internationalise.

The USA and UK have announced a first-ever partnership to fund collaborations between HE institutions in the two countries and valuable projects within higher education in emerging economies. Sec of State John Kerry said the scheme would foster important collaborations in science, technology and engineering.