College’s foreign student allotment numbers stable
Government cutting international study permits hand out by half
It was a period of “extraordinary uncertainty” for Niagara College after the federal government announced it would cap international student study permits.
But with a clear set of guidelines in place and allocations numbers set, president Sean Kennedy said the college is well-positioned for the upcoming school year and beyond.
Earlier this year, the federal immigration minister announced that the government was cutting 240,000 international study permits given to Ontario post-secondary institutions by half, amid concerns the high number of students were driving up housing costs.
Each province was responsible for determining university and college study permit allotments.
Only one of Ontario’s 23 universities will see a decline, Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, but more than half of Ontario’s 24 public colleges will see a drop in their international student intake numbers.
Niagara College’s two main campuses will not see a significant decrease in international numbers. Kennedy said Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake enrolment will be stable year-over-year, estimating about 5,500 students will arrive in Niagara to begin post-secondary education.
“Our allocation, certainly for Niagara College, is one that will enable us to keep our momentum going that has really been building over the past few years,” said Kennedy. “Those clouds of uncertainty have parted and we are now able to, with greater assurance, confidently work with students that are planning on attending Niagara College and help them get ready to come to Canada.”
For Niagara College, how the Ford government allocated the permits — focusing on in-demand jobs such as skilled trades, nursing, child care and STEM — recognized the importance of colleges and their value in ensuring Ontario’s labour force
Welland and Niagara-onthe-Lake enrolment will be stable year-overyear. Estimates say about 5,500 students will arrive in Niagara
has what it needs in key sectors, said Kennedy.
“We certainly talked about the importance of ensuring that we were allocating enough seats so that we would have enough graduates down the road to help fill all of the labour force shortages,” he said.
“All of these sectors need skilled graduates and we need both domestic students and international students, graduates from those programs, to fill the huge labour force shortages that exist and are projected.”
Niagara College will see the biggest impact around its public college private partnership with the Toronto School of Management.
In addition to caps on study permits, the federal immigration department also implemented changes in eligibility for postgraduate work permits, with international students studying at a public-private institution no longer eligible.
Niagara College Toronto will see a reduction of more than 3,000 students this fall with a “significant decrease in demand for new students and subsequently for enrolments.”
“At this point, we’re really working with our partner to assess what the future looks like, but for now, it’s full-steam ahead with our campus there,” said Kennedy, adding that its May intake will continue as planned, with students having access to a full set of campus programs and services.
“But recognizing that, we need to look at decreased enrolments over the next couple of years and look at all options.”
It is estimated that between the province’s 15 private-public partnerships — where about 70,000 international students are enrolled — the loss could be about a quarter-billion dollars across the sector.
Niagara College continues to be well positioned from a budget perspective, which speaks to its careful financial planning as well as “very strong entrepreneurial spirit” and has served the institution well, said Kennedy.
Any partnership revenue from the Niagara College Toronto campus have been kept separate from its main campuses budget, so it will not affect the college from putting together a balanced fiscal plan for next year.
“But it will reduce some of the additional revenue sources over the next couple of years that we’ve derived from our partnership,” he said.
Despite all the changes and uncertainty of the past few months, Niagara College anticipates seeing record enrolments in the coming years, stemming from a rise in its domestic numbers, said Kennedy.
In recent years, Niagara College has made a “real push” to increase domestic student enrolment which has paid dividends — placing extra emphasis on marketing and recruitment, getting domestic students onto campus through high school visits and customized tours — with a “real surge of applications and confirmed students for the fall and winter semesters,” said Kennedy.
It expects a 4.5 per cent increase in domestic enrolment for the upcoming year.
“We always know from students that once they get onto campus, seeing is believing and once they’re here, they get a feel for Niagara College and many often leave they feel this is the place for them, that this feels like home,” he said.