Global students driving recruitment growth in Canada Recent Statistics Canada report describes the performance of international students at Canadian institutions.

A recent Statistics Canada report studies student enrolment pre-pandemic as a way to evaluate the coronavirus impact on students. Researchers used the 2018/2019 educational year as the benchmark to measure how enrolment and graduation have been affected, separately for international students. That year, over 2.1 million students were registered at Canadian universities and colleges, up 1.8 percent from the 2017 academic session. This gain was uniquely due to international student enrolment, which went up 16.2 percent. That same year, enrolment by residential students decreased by 0.5 percent.

Most of these enrolments were informal programs, only 8.4 percent were in courses outside a formal program such as extending education or individual interest.

International student enrolments more than triple inside a decade

Between 2008 and 2018 academic years, enrolments for international students got from upwards of 101,000 to more than 318,000. Canadian student enrolments in social programs grew 10.9 percent in the same period.

This resulted in the proportion of global students at Canadian post-secondary’s rising from 6.4 – 16.2 percent, and represents 57.2 percent of the whole growth in every program enrolments.

Canadian universities rely more on tuition for funding

As income from commonplace governments decrease, Canadian colleges have ordinarily depended on understudy coaching as a birthplace of gain, as indicated by a past Statistics Canada report. The portion of livelihoods from educational expenses developed 4.7 percent among 2013 and in 2018.

International students pay higher tuition fees than private students. As a result of more expensive fees and registration growth, international students provided about 40 percent of all tuition fees or $4 billion across Canadian universities in the 2018 academic session.

STEM enrolments grow, kindnesses decrease but not for international students

Education systems develop with the needs of the labor market. In a decade, there were 24.2 percent more registrations in maths, computer and information sciences. Although these programs accounted for 5 percent of all enrolments in 2018, growth in this domain was the strongest over 10 years.

In Canada’s labor market, jobs linked with the digital economy grew 37 percent, exceeding the growth scale of the total economy which was 8.6 percent between 2010 and 2017.

Although humanities accounted for 11 percent of enrolments in 2018, these programs viewed the largest decrease in enrolments. Over 10-years the entire number of students registered in these programs dropped 19.4 percent. Statistics Canada also observed that arts and humanities graduates were more likely to be overqualified in their professions than their peers.

There were differences in humanities enrolment rates when matching international and domestic students. Enrolments in humanities reduced 25.2 percent for Canadian students but raised 106.1 percent for global students. The increase in international student enrolments could be because of leads intended to attract them to study in Canada, or to respond to labor market demands in their residence country.

Growth in business, management and public administration plans lead by international students

International students drove growth in enrolments in marketing, administration and public administration programs over the 10 years leading up to 2018. The percentage of international students studying in these disciplines grew more than 200 percent, whereas Canadian student enrolment only grew about 7.7 percent.

Canadian students were more possible to work in health and related areas, with 15.2 percent of all Canadian enrolments choosing these jobs. Only 5.1 percent of all global students chose these fields in 2018.

Looking to the future

Although the long-term impact of COVID-19 on international students is years gone, Statistics Canada notes that their support is important for many reasons.

“Not exclusively does worldwide understudy educational cost income commitment to the feasibility of certain courses and projects, yet global understudies likewise create social and the social variety of grounds,” the report appeared.

International students also provide to the local economy as they study in Canada, and provide a huge pool of highly educated people who can become permanent residents and provide to the workforce.

Almost one-third of international students who got Canadian Under Graduates and almost half of the international students who graduated with Post Graduates became living residents in the 10 years after they got their first study permit.

Statistics Canada is watching these data as they come available in a post-COVID global. They will give insights into the impact the pandemic has had on student enrolments and shifts in disciplines of study.