Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island — Canadian campuses have increased their internationalizing efforts substantially since 2000 but need more federal money if they want to become major global players, according to the results of a survey released this week by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

The survey found that while internationalization has become part of the mainstream in Canadian higher education, the number of Canadian students who pursue study abroad pales in comparison to their peers in other developed countries. However, the number of foreign students on Canadian campuses has almost tripled over a decade. Three-quarters of Canadian universities now have education and training programs outside Canada, and more than two-thirds actively market educational products and services in other countries.

Other key findings of the survey include a big increase in the number of scholarships for foreign students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and a 66-percent jump in enrollments in internationally oriented degree programs.

In a report on the survey, the association warns that Canada’s international recruiting and marketing must be strengthened, to better compete not only with traditional host countries such as Australia, Britain, and the United States, but also with upstarts like the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and South Korea. —Karen Birchard