Increasing the tuition deposit
P.E.I. post-secondary schools are asking international students to pay more
A federal temporary cap on international student visas means P.E.I. post-secondary institutions are making tough and strategic decisions now.
Both Holland College and UPEI are asking international students who apply to pay more for their tuition deposit.
In January, a temporary cap was announced to the international student program. The cap is expected to lead to a 35 per cent decrease of study permits issued compared to 2023.
P.E.I. reached a deal with the federal government that will see the enrolment of 2,000 new international postsecondary students in 2024.
As part of the restrictions, all Canadian post-secondary institutions will require that every study permit application submitted by a prospective international student to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada include a provincial attestation letter from a Canadian province or territory.
Both UPEI and Holland College have been reviewing their processes to ensure that only candidates interested in attending the institution receive attestation letters from the province due to a limit on the number of letters the province can issue.
As a result, Holland College is increasing the tuition deposits for new international students from $1,000 to $5,000. This fee will be counted towards their tuition. However, they may be eligible for a refund, minus an administrative fee of $500, if they provide a provincial letter of attestation that has been cancelled before its expiry date or a study permit refusal letter received within 30 days of issuance. Refunds will not be given for cancellations made after Aug. 1 for the fall semester and Dec. 1 for the winter semester, regardless of the status of the study permit.
“And the idea is that you'd like to get the student to come to your school. As they pay their confirmation fee, they're more likely to come,” Sandy Macdonald, president of Holland College, told Saltwire in an interview on March 21.
“In the past, many students, probably as many as 40 per cent who apply to us, would apply to several colleges. So, they would pay a confirmation fee, and we would hold the seat for them until September. But then sometimes they decide to go to another school. So, we'd be left having a seat unfilled for the year, and we’d be out the tuition for the seat for the whole year.”
He said the college will also start recruiting students earlier than it would usually do. Last year, the college welcomed 500 new international students when there were no restrictions in place. This year, the college can admit up to 710 international students, but this number does not reflect the actual number of students who will end up attending the college due to conversion rates.
“We'll have a lot fewer than 500 students. We’ll have some classes that normally would be full that will now not be full, and maybe (we) could be forced not to have as many programs as (we) normally would run,” he said.
“The obvious effect is that you don't have as many students, so you don't have as much money to as you normally want to run your operations. Our maximum would be 710, we will be very, very, very fortunate to get half of that.”
Luis Espindola, a secondyear international student at Holland College, said he thinks the increase is an extreme change, but it's understandable.
“Obviously, the province or the college itself wants the people who want to come," he said in an interview March 21. "You also want people who can afford it. So, people who pay the $5,000, I think, if they pay, it's because they have the money. It just makes sense from an administration point.”
He said with these new measures, it will make it easier for the college to be able to provide housing and cater to the limited number of students who will be coming to the college.
“If there's no resources, it's not good to bring people because you don’t want it if people will struggle more and more. I’s not worth it.”
UPEI didn’t provide someone for an interview with Saltwire. However, in an email sent to its student union that was obtained by Saltwire, the university said its board of governors has approved the tuition deposit increase for new international undergraduate students from $1,000 to $5,000.