(Photo illustration by Maclean’s, photography by Ryan Fung, background illustration via iStock)
In January, the Canadian government announced that it would only grant 360,000 new study permits to international students in 2024, a 35 percent reduction from 2023. The move is part of a two-year admission cap designed to stabilize the growing number of international students in the country. In response, ILeaders of many post-secondary institutions have warned that the Canadian economy depends on skilled international students for continued growth.
Public universities, in particular, now have serious concerns about their financial viability; They rely heavily on international student fees to cover their costs. Maureen Adamson, president of Fleming College in Peterborough, Ont., says her school could see up to a 50 per cent drop in international student enrollment next semester. Here, Ella Adamson explains the likely consequences of the federal cap and why it could just be the push Canada needs to completely transform the way it runs higher education.
How did you react when Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced changes to the international student system?
It wasn’t a surprise. In the previous months, he had made several public statements in which he expressed concern about the increasing number of students, as well as fraud within the system. He knew that soon fewer international students would enroll at Fleming College. The biggest question was how the changes would be implemented.
Right now the big question is How certification letters will be assigned. Willpower government prioritize International students in more vital sectors, such as healthcare? Will allocations vary between rural colleges like Fleming and colleges located in the GTA? We still don’t have it completely clear, which generates some anxiety for all of us.
The government is not only limiting study permits: international students must also have a letter of certification from the province or territory where they hope to study. Can you describe what the application process is like now?
Previously, international students could apply to a post-secondary institution in four simple steps: they applied to the institution of their choice, the institution made them an offer, the student paid their tuition, and finally, the student applied for their visa.
Now, once a student has an offer and pays their tuition, the school must request a letter of certification from their province or territory. In our case, the Ontario Colleges and Universities Application Service, or OCAS, collects our applications and sends a list to the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, which then approves or rejects each application. Once that step is completed, OCAS generates and approves certification letters. Fleming then notifies students that they have been approved. At that time, the student can apply for a visa and Fleming must verify the authenticity of their acceptance letter with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. We have gone from four steps to 10.
It is projecting a 35 to 50 percent decline in international student enrollment at its main campus in Peterborough. What does that mean for Fleming?
Universities will compete for a smaller pool of international students. Our current international enrollment is approximately 3,800 students and we anticipate an enrollment of approximately 1,600 international students for our fall semester. But we still have no idea what the final count will be. We know we could lose $40 million in revenue.
On February 26, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities announced a nearly $1.3 billion financial support package to help post-secondary institutions adjust to the loss of international tuition revenue. This is important because the loss of international students could also affect domestic students; International tuition revenue subsidizes many domestic programs at public universities. At Fleming, we will need to examine programs that are overwhelmingly populated by international students to determine their continued viability. In some cases, those programs may not have enough domestic students enrolled to continue.
How have the new changes affected prospective international students?
As an anecdote, this The announcement has damaged Canada’s reputation.. Last year, Fleming held a large summit where community leaders discussed ways to revitalize the Peterborough region. Some international students who attended shared that they wanted to build a life here to help create a thriving community. There was a lot of excitement in the air. Now, international students are not sure they have any future in Canada. Some tell us that feel unwanted here. Others look for countries where they might be more welcome or where applications are more convenient.
We are also seeing a lot of uncertainty among our applicants. Our May admission date for the start of our spring semester is quickly approaching and we don’t know if Get our certification letters on time. so that the students get here by then.
Fleming aside, what does Canada have to lose?
The country gains a lot from the talent of international students: they add incredible value to the workforce. At Fleming, international students start working once they arrive: 75 percent of them already have a degree and many have extensive work experience. I am proud to say that my staff includes several current and former international students. There is no better qualified immigrant than one who is already educated and who comes to Canada seeking even further ratings. We have to take this into account when making political decisions.
How do you think the government should address these issues in the future?
The January announcement was a wake-up call; We need to implement a more systems-oriented approach to higher education. Canada already uses that approach in other sectors. Of course, healthcare is far from perfect, but it works as an integrated system. They can give you stitches at any hospital in the province, but if you need heart surgery they will transfer you to a center specialized in that.
To optimize higher education, the government should think along similar lines. Do Should all universities offer business courses? Do we all need to teach communication courses? Probably not. By taking a serious look at our program offerings, perhaps we can create a better balance between meeting the educational needs of the local community and creating institutions with in-demand specialties that attract talent from around the world.
To help provinces achieve this goal, we need a single point of collaboration at the federal level. We have a national health strategy and a federal ministry that sets health care policies for the provinces. There is no such animal for higher education. To tackle fraud in the system, Miller was using the tools he had at his disposal as immigration minister, but we must treat higher education as a separate area. A national commission could help us achieve this.
As you move into this policy era, what do you think about the future of Fleming and other public higher education institutions?
I am optimistic. Transitioning to a system-centric approach will bring some growing pains, but that always brings good things.
Postsecondary institutions are in the business of creating a better workforce, so it is imperative that we also create a public system better positioned for higher education. The most important thing is that we keep students at the center of all our decisions, because in the end, this is all about them.