In the 2010 budget, the Ontario government announced a goal of raising the post-secondary attainment rate from 60 per cent currently to 70 per cent, with a place for every qualified Ontarian wanting to attend college or university.
At the same time, the government will also increase international student enrolment by 50 per cent.
Recently, it announced a new fund for international doctoral students providing75 scholarships, worth $40,000 each year for up to four years.
These are positive developments for Ontario’s prosperity. In our research at the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, we have identified the lower educational attainment of Ontarians, particularly at the graduate degree level, as a contributing factor to our prosperity gap. Ontarians generate less GDP per capita than our counterparts in large U.S. states – $6,900 per capita annually. Lower innovation capabilities are the prime contributor to this gap. A better-educated workforce and managerial class would help close this innovation gap.
Increased enrolment by international students is a promising opportunity for Ontario.
First, drawing in the best students globally improves the quality of our schools and our workforce. Second, success in attracting of international students is a true indicator of the quality of our schools. Third, more international students can improve the financial sustainability of our universities.
Our research indicates that, on a per capita basis, Canada attracts as many international students as the United States; we both trail leading countries like the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
Canada matches Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) undergraduate experience, with around seven per cent who are international students. Fully 21 per cent of our graduate students are international versus 16 per cent across OECD countries. In the United States, only three per cent of undergraduate students and 24 per cent of graduate students are international. The highest percentages are in United Kingdom and Switzerland with about 15 percent of undergraduates and 45 percent of graduate students.
Experts expect a dramatic increase in the number of international students in the coming years – and in the competition for them. Traditional “exporters” of students like China, Malaysia and Singapore are working at becoming host countries. Japan and South Korea are experiencing a decline in university-age students and will host more international students to sustain their post-secondary institutions. India hopes to attract foreign institutions to build facilities to keep their students at home.
The governments of Canada and Ontario, in collaboration with individual institutions, will need to step up their marketing efforts to compete for international students. Our efforts do not compare well with what countries like the United States, United Kingdom and Australia do.
Student visa requirements for graduating international students are similar across jurisdictions. Upon graduation, international students in Canada are eligible for a three-year open work permit – about on par with other countries. In the United States there is a quota for the number of its H1-B visas and the U.S. government has recently imposed some short-sighted restrictions on these visas.
The Canadian Bureau for International Education, a not-for-profit organization that promotes Canada’s international relations through education, surveys international students here in Canada. The great majority reports a satisfactory experience from studying in Canada. International students give high marks to our universities’ quality of education, prestige of the degree and the availability of the desired programs.
However, we can do more to make our campuses more welcoming. The survey indicates improvement opportunities in helping with living accommodations, showing greater sensitivity to racial issues and concern for individuals’ academic progress, and reaching out to involve them in extra-curricular activities.
Universities receive no government grants for international students. Financially, institutions benefit from recruiting international undergraduate students. Average tuition for international undergraduate students is about $4,000 to $5,000 more than what institutions receive from domestic students’ tuition and government operating grants. However, at the graduate level, institutions receive less in tuition from international students than they do from tuition and provincial government grants for domestic students. Moreover, the institutions provide significant support to attract graduate students – in the form of fellowships or teaching jobs or both.
Attracting more international students to Ontario’s universities has many benefits for our schools and our economy. However, in strict financial terms; while the institutions have the incentive to attract international undergraduate students, they do not have the incentive to attract international graduate students. If Ontario is to pursue the worthwhile objective of attracting more international students, we need to think through the financial incentives carefully.
James Milway (Ivey MBA ’75) is the executive director of the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity