Canadian colleges and universities are bracing for significant budget cuts due to a sharp decline in international student enrollments. With caps on international student numbers, institutions like Langara College are particularly affected, facing a staggering 79% drop in applications from international students for the spring of 2025.
Key Topics Discussed
- Impact of Declining International Student Numbers
- Financial Strain on Colleges
- Tuition Fee Disparities
- Budget Cuts Across Institutions
Impact of Declining International Student Numbers
Langara College, where 37% of students hold study visas, is experiencing a “crisis” with the steep drop in international applications. Last year, Langara enrolled about 7,500 international students, primarily from India, significantly more than larger institutions like Simon Fraser University.
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Financial Strain on Colleges
The reduction in international students, who pay tuition fees four times higher than domestic students, is causing financial strain. Kwantlen Polytechnic University, with 38% of its students on study visas, exemplifies this issue. International students, coming from 150 countries, make up nearly 40% of the 533,000 students in British Columbia’s post-secondary institutions.
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Tuition Fee Disparities
The disparity in tuition fees is stark. For instance, international students at the University of British Columbia pay around $45,000 annually, nearly five times the domestic rate. At Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the international tuition fee of over $21,000 a year is 4.5 times higher than the domestic fee. Despite constituting only 11% of the student body, international students’ tuition contributed to one-third of the University of Victoria’s revenue in the 2023-24 academic year.
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Budget Cuts Across Institutions
Other institutions, including Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and Vancouver Island University, are also preparing for budget cuts due to the decline in international enrollments. This trend highlights the critical financial role that international students play in supporting Canadian higher education institutions.
By addressing these challenges, Canadian colleges and universities aim to stabilize their financial situations and continue offering quality education to both domestic and international students.
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