Foreign students contributed 6.5 billion Canadian dollars to the nation's economy in 2008, or about $6-billion in U.S. dollars, more than did either lumber or coal exports, a government minister told university leaders last week.
That figure, which does not include exports of educational services, illustrates why the government has placed a high priority on promoting Canada as a destination for international students.
The financial information comes from a report commissioned by Canada's department for foreign affairs and international trade, which the minister of international trade, Stockwell Day, released on Wednesday at the fall meeting of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.
The report, "Economic Impact of International Education in Canada," measured the economic impact of visa students who were in the country longer than six months and found that they spent "in excess of $6.5-billion on tuition, accommodation, and discretionary spending." It compares that figure with two traditionally key segments of Canada's wealth, exports of coal ($6.07-billion) and of coniferous lumber ($5.1-billion).
It also credited international study in Canada with creating over 83,000 jobs and generating more than $291-million in revenue.
There were 178,227 international students in Canada in 2008 according to the report. Those numbers are expected to rise this year as Canada steps up its marketing.
The department of foreign affairs and international trade now spends around $2-million to market Canada as a study destination. However, the universities would like to see the government increase that amount tenfold. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, in a prebudget submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee, suggested that an "appropriate level" of spending on recruiting international students and promoting Canada's universities to potential students abroad "would be $20-million per year for five years."
Comments
1. mbelvadi - November 02, 2009 at 09:08 am
Higher education is a very expensive service. The $6.5B figure is gross, not net. Comparing to other industries like lumber, it would seem more reasonable to compare "profit" rather than gross "sales".
Institutions need to be careful to make sure that taxpayers aren't in any way subsidizing international students unless they explicitly intend to, for instance to promote immigration. At my institution in Canada, for instance, an American from Massachusetts can be a full time undergrad more cheaply than if they attended their own home-state flagship university, UMass (when including room and board costs, and taking into account the currency exchange rate). That makes me wonder if we're just that much more efficient at controlling costs here in Canada than in the US, or if we aren't charging enough to cover the true costs.
2. vatican - November 02, 2009 at 06:03 pm
I actually welcome this news cautiously. Having spent nearly 15 years in Australia and seeing the decline in high school averages over the years in an attempt to woe international dollars, I sincerely hope that Canadian universities and the government won't lose sight of having quality education. This piece of news could be used by the federal government to reduce educational spending (as they did in Australia) and what ended up happening was that universities were forced to go overseas to attract "bums on seats". However, when managed effectively, internationalization will enrich the classroom experience especially when people share their stories and experiences.
Just a word of caution - I'm sure some stakeholders have already thought of this. I know of an Australian university that markets its Masters degree to certain markets with a lure that goes "you'll be in a better position to apply for permanent residency after graduation". While we need skilled migrants, channeling students into certain programs where there's a skill shortage will result in long-term problems for Canada. I strongly recommend the Minister of CIC and presidents of universities to consider seriously the possible consequences of this widespread marketing campaign.
3. please - November 03, 2009 at 12:18 pm
mbelvadi,
Though the cost of a university education is generally much cheaper in Canada than in the U.S., international students in Canada pay much higher tuition costs than domestic students; twice as much in my case at a mid-sized Ontario university. Compare the costs of attending university in countries around the world with those in the U.S.; either American universities are the only ones in the world "charging enough to cover the true costs" of education, or in fact universities can reduce those costs without sacrificing quality, as I believe is the case in Canada. International students do not have real access to any of the major federal or provincial (at least in Ontario) grants in Canada; we're not taking money from worthy Canadian students. We're adding twice as much money to the tuition pot, in addition to the sales described in the article.
vatican,
Care to be any more specific about the "possible consequences" and "long-term problems for Canada" advertising in "specific markets"? Could your meaning be any more obvious with your sentences so vague?
4. vatican - November 03, 2009 at 09:21 pm
I'd be happy to expand on those areas you are interested in. Rightly or wrongly, some domestic students may have the impression that seats in various courses are given over to the overseas students because they can "pay" their way into a university. I started as an international student in Australia and I was asked by domestic students whether the university accepted me because I could pay the high fees!!! Relying on students from certain countries and regions (especially India and China) because they want to do degrees that will give the better migration opportunities might fulfill their migration dream but what happens next? Will they work in the areas they studied? I don't think we often think of the costs that result from training/educating individuals when that knowledge is not utilized at all.
The overseas dollars is extremely attractive. I have also seen how some universities have set up overseas programs to attract students who could never get into the domestic campuses. This is better than daylight robbery! What happens is that we'll have graduates who are sub-standard at best.
I hope I have expanded enough to your satisfaction and I'm happy to expand some more if you'd like me to do that.
5. applygo - November 24, 2009 at 03:40 pm
Thank you for providing a link to this report and information. The OpenDoors report is great for the US market and it is hard to find much data for other countries, especially our neighbor.
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