Two Canadian provinces have introduced measures to improve post-secondary education for international students. The Ontario Government asserts that it will be working with sector partners & the federal government in order to explore ways to further crack down on bad-actor recruiters who take advantage of international students & make dubious claims of citizenship & employment.
Many of the new measures aim to ensure that provincial post-secondary institutions offer international students academic programs that meet the needs of Ontario’s labor market. The province states that it is going to review programs with high numbers of international students to ensure their quality so that students can meet local workforce demands.
In addition, an Ontario news release stated that the province will implement measures to improve the response rate to student outcome surveys, ensuring the achievement of the best academic results/outcomes.
The BC Government is also introducing measures to improve post-secondary education for international students in the province. It states that it will pause approvals for new DLIs for the next two years for new institutions. The province currently has the third-highest number of DLIs in Canada, followed by Quebec & Ontario.
DLIs are the only post-secondary institutions that can admit international students. Since education is a provincial responsibility, each province has different criteria for becoming a DLI.
Reviewing Private Programs & Institutions
Along with the measures to improve post-secondary education, Ontario is introducing a moratorium on new public college-private partnership partnerships & working to strengthen oversight mechanisms to ensure the quality of existing partnerships.
Public college-private college partnerships have been under scrutiny in recent weeks. IRCC has declared that students enrolled in programs with curriculum licensing arrangements at private colleges with a public college partnership are no longer eligible for a PGWP after graduation.
IRCC states that this is because these programs have seen significant growth in attracting international students in recent years. However, they have less oversight than public colleges & can act as a loophole regarding Post Graduation Work Permit eligibility.
British Columbia notes that it will be conducting reviews of private degree programs. Moreover, it will also enforce higher standards for assessment criteria for degree quality, demonstrated labor-market need for graduates, apt resources, & student support.
In addition, applicants enrolled in private training institutions in British Columbia will also need to meet minimum language requirements. The province states that this will ensure new international students are prepared for their educational & professional journey.
Housing For International Students
Ontario will now require that all universities & colleges guarantee that housing options are available for incoming international students.
This is in line with Canada’s federal government’s recent declaration that it will provide low-cost loans for student housing, both on & off-campus. The loans are part of the restructuring of a $40 billion apartment construction loan program, which was introduced in the Fall Economic Statement for 2023.
Sean Fraser asserted that building more student housing would help reduce the cost of housing for everyone in cities & towns with large student populations throughout the school year.
Ensuring there is sufficient housing for international students has been a major point of concern for IRCC over the last few years. In addition, the immigration minister, Marc Miller, stated that the recently introduced cap on the number of international student visas would help create a stronger, more sustainable program, & help ensure that international students have all the support they need, including housing when they arrive in Canada.