Feds international enrolment cap raises concerns for Alberta post-secondary schools
Posted Jan 22, 2024 2:17 pm.
Last Updated Jan 23, 2024 10:13 am.
The cap on international enrolment at universities announced by the federal government Monday is raising some concern at post secondaries across Alberta.
According to political scientist Lori Williams with Mount Royal University, the move could mean budgetary challenges for post secondary schools across the province, and the country.
“Universities across the country have been pressured to take on more international students to drive more and more revenues from the students that are coming from outside of Canada in an effort to balance their budgets,” she explained. “So, if less of that money is available in the long-term than more money will have to be provided by provincial governments, by the federal government to some degree, and also by private donations.”
It’s something that Mateusz Salmassi with the University of Calgary’s Students’ Union, says could be problematic here in Alberta, because post secondary institutions across the province rely so heavily on international tuition.
He says the province has been gutting public funding to post secondaries for too long.
READ MORE: Feds announce two-year cap on international student admissions
“The Alberta government has the opportunity to stand up for Alberta, get rid of that uncertainty, and start investing again and restore that funding to post secondaries,” Salmassi said.
Both Williams and Salmassi say it’s unlikely that limiting the number of international students to Alberta, would have a significant impact on the provincial housing crisis.
“I think they’re hearing the combined questions about students coming who don’t have housing and might be competing, or struggling to get housing when they get here,” Williams explained. “Combine that with the fact that there are some organizations that are not offering legitimate educational value to the students that are coming here.
“I think it’s that combination that makes this an issue the federal government can tackle in the short-term.”
Salmassi adds that the students’ union is disappointed with the announcement by the feds, saying it fails to address something the union has been advocating for — something that would make a difference to addressing the housing crisis.
“A $3.25 million investment would provide around 75,000 more housing units for students — Canadian students and international students — that would take the pressure off the broader housing market,” he said. “The Minister of Immigration himself has talked about how international students are exploited and it’s not right to bring international students without providing the supports that they need.
“But we felt that this announcement was, in many ways, disappointing, because it wasn’t coupled with a host of supports that we’ve been calling for for quite a while.”
