Community colleges in the United States are often seen as a cheaper alternative to universities and many students, including foreign-hailed, are now taking this study path. These institutions allow students to transfer to bigger schools and at the same time permit them to save on tuition fees. Based on statistics, because of the flexible study scheme in these colleges, about 80 percent of the students have a job while enrolled. Now regarded as an American invention, community colleges continue to become a tool in attaining education and overseas experience.

Some 100 hundred international students in Thunder Bay, Ontario have recently received a traditional Canadian holiday dinner. The take-out dinner has been given to the students so they will have a chance to experience Canadian tradition. Usually held during Christmas, international students are invited into the homes of many in the city to enjoy a meal and experience the Canadian camaraderie. However, the pandemic has put a hold on those invitations.

The Department for Education (DfE) announces the Turing scheme, which will fund about 35,000 UK students disenfranchised from the EU work/study Erasmus Programme post-Brexit. The scheme will cost the UK £100m (about $135m) in 2021-22 and will benefit students wishing to study abroad. Concerns remain about how Brexit will affect incoming international students.

Private schools or fee-charging institutions are meeting significant success in keeping their institutions free of COVID-19. New rules require international students to quarantine while all students are told to limit social interaction. However, most private and boarding schools are unable to access some COVID-19 reopening funds available to state-funded institutions due to alleged bias.

One of Australia's most senior university chiefs has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to send a clear, welcoming message to international students about when they can return to Australia. Universities reveal that their enrolments have been significantly affected by the ongoing uncertainty around travel and quarantine. As the international students are still not allowed to enter Australia, the country is in danger of losing market share to other countries such as the UK and Canada. International student education is worth $40 billion to the Australian economy and is one of its most valuable export industries.

Thousands of international students have been unable to enter New Zealand since it imposed draconian border restrictions in March. The majority of them are holders of study visas. Education experts say that the country’s border closure has been the longest and most restrictive in the world and could impact tertiary institutions financially. To address the pressing concern, the government has announced that it will allow entry to just 250 overseas postgraduate students, most of whom will arrive in the new year.

Before applying to and enrolling in a US university, prospective international students must think about getting medical insurance as the country currently does not have universal health care. Many US universities require students enrolled in their school, including international students, to have health insurance. Experts say students should contact universities about their specific policies. Health insurance policies and costs can vary from campus to campus, and some institutions offer their plans in which students must enroll but requirements depend on the visa category.

Queen’s University in eastern Ontario is urging students to not return to Kingston during the month-long, province-wide lockdown. The university has advised its students to avoid returning to the university town until after the lockdown which ends on January 23. International students and those set to move into on-campus housing are strongly encouraged to postpone travel if they could. In-person classes will be delayed except for programs like medicine, nursing, and other health training programs permitted by the government. Researchers are also urged to work from home and avoid coming to campus.

India has suspended all inbound flights from the United Kingdom from December 22 to 31, 2020 to avoid the spread of the new COVID-19 variant in the subcontinent. The decision will leave Indian students still in the UK with confirmed outbound flights uncertain of their flight status and worried about the costs of extending their stay in the UK.

Thousands of international students enticed to study in China due to its “soft power diplomacy” are now facing uncertainty and hardship. China continues to deny granting all foreign student visas as a move to curb the spread of COVID-19, but has granted visas to other foreigners. This has caused anger and disillusionment on the part of many of its international students even as 6,500 of them have put up a petition to urge China to reopen its borders to foreign students.

Japan will deny most non-residents entry into the country starting December 28 until the end of January 2021 in efforts to keep the new COVID-19 variant from spreading. Exceptions to the rule are students and business people from select Asian countries including Taiwan, China, and South Korea, who will have to undergo the same testing rules as Japanese citizens and foreign residents upon arrival.

The Shaolin Temple and Henan University sign an agreement to train select international students in kung fu to promote Chinese culture in other countries. A similar initiative to train foreign students in the martial art of wushu has led to the founding of Wushu College.

Founded in 1892, London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It officially gained full university status in 1992 and is now one of the largest universities in London with over 18,000 students from over 130 countries. LSBU has been known to provide top-quality education paired with close links to businesses in various industries. In 2016, the university was named the Entrepreneurial University of the Year. It has also been hailed as the University of the Year for Graduate Employment for two consecutive years. London South Bank University also offers a wide range of scholarships and discounts for international students, including nationality scholarships, fee-discounts for alumni, and discounts for early payment of tuition fees.