On Wednesday, Ontario’s Auditor General revealed the extent to which Ontario universities rely on international students for income. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says this puts universities in a precarious financial position in case students decide to go elsewhere or are suddenly unable to enter the country.
In the report, he found that international student enrollment has increased in recent years. In 2019, international students generated around 1.7 billion in 2020. Lysyk found that the majority of international students come from India, accounting for 62% of the total international students in the province. This is despite the fact that international students represent only 30% of all students enrolled in public universities.
This comes at a time when domestic student enrollment has decreased by 15%, while international enrollment has grown by 342% since 2012.
In 2016, international student enrollment represented 32.4% of the total tuition revenue for St. Lawrence College. By 2021, international student enrollment represented 67.6% of total university tuition revenue; an increase of 35.2%.
The Auditor General designated St. Lawrence College as one of five Ontario universities with an international student population from India representing more than 90% of international students on campus. The Auditor General says this could be “risky” if the country suddenly stopped sending students to Canada.
The Auditor General says the change is primarily due to changing demographics in Ontario. “The decline in domestic students has been primarily due to a change in the demographics of Ontario’s population and high school graduates seeking college rather than college education,” Lysyk wrote in the report.
“We discovered that the Ministry has not developed a strategic plan for the sector that helps mitigate the risk of a sudden decline in international students and the impact it could have on the university sector, students and the government,” the report says.
In response, the Ministry says it will “review these recommendations as part of its considerations in developing an international strategy for post-secondary education.”
Universities are too reliant on private professional colleges
Ontario universities have increasingly partnered with private professional universities to offer public university programs. The program, which has been in existence since 2005, allows public universities to reach international students who want to stay in larger cities, such as Toronto and Vancouver. Public universities will retain a portion of the international tuition from private universities that facilitate course instruction.
In practice, the program provides benefits to all stakeholders. However, Ontario’s auditor general says some universities are now overly reliant on these associations.
This is because while private professional universities cannot provide work-study permits for international students, this could change. “If this immigration policy were changed to allow graduates of private professional universities to obtain these permits, there would be little reason for them to maintain their partnerships with public universities,” wrote Lysyk.
For example, Ontario’s auditor general found that if St. Lawrence College suddenly lost its partnerships with private professional universities, the university would face a deficit of $ 6.51 million next year. St. Lawrence College currently has two private partner universities: Alpha College located in Scarborough and Canadian College, located in Vancouver.
Compliance issues with private professional colleges
In 2019, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities introduced new compliance measures for colleges that have partnered with private professional colleges. The new directive says that the enrollment of private professional universities cannot exceed twice the number of international students who are present on their home campus.
If universities exceed this limit, they must inform the Ministry how they will reduce the number of international students on campus.
St. Lawrence College was listed as one of the five colleges that had more international students at private professional colleges than they were allowed to. The university was required to submit a plan to reduce the student ratio, but as of August 2021, no report had been submitted.
The Auditor General noted that St. Lawrence’s association with Vancouver-based Canadian College does not align with the principles of its Association Directive, which is to “protect and enhance Ontario’s reputation in postsecondary education and as a place to live and work. “He also said that the partnership between St. Lawrence and Canadian College” complicates. “
For example, Canadian College cannot promote that it is a partner university with St. Lawrence College in Vancouver, as St. Lawrence is not a certified university in British Columbia. However, St. Lawrence can promote the same arrangement in Ontario. The Minister of Education and skills training in British Columbia and Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship are calling for the partnership to be suspended until the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities decides how to move forward.
Provincial funding does not match the needs of universities
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, $ 62.4 million in funding was awarded to help universities manage declining revenues and rising costs caused by the pandemic between July 1, 2020, and July 30, 2020. June 2021. Factors considered included an expected decrease in revenue, ancillary fees, and services.
However, the Auditor General found that five universities, including St. Lawrence College, did not use the money allocated to them. The five universities deferred a total of $ 14.7 million. Two of the universities, Canadore College and Northern College, actually increased their surplus despite the pandemic. The Auditor General says that some of these funds could have been given to universities that had the greatest need.
The Auditor General also noted that deferred maintenance funds need to be better addressed, and the condition and state of repair should be taken into account. Among Ontario universities, the deferred maintenance and renewal need for the period 2020-2022 amounts to $ 1.1 billion.
Selected universities that responded to the report noted that dependence on international students is not a new problem, but they have no other option due to a chronic underfunding for Ontario universities. They say the 10% increase in tuition has compounded these problems. They point to the Auditor General’s conclusion that Ontario has one of the least funded university systems in Canada, at just $ 10,000 per student.
Reference-ygknews.ca