Foreign students choose University of Alberta as 'Trump Factor' and recruitment take effect

International student enrolment at the University of Alberta is on the rise again and administrators attribute the trend to a years-long recruitment campaign and a new element dubbed the 'Trump Factor.'

The U of A saw 200 more foreign students enrolled in undergraduate programs this year compared to 2016, according to enrolment data that was finalized last week.

"The trend is across the board," said Britta Baron, the university's associate vice-president, international. 

"The numbers are going up very significantly."

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There are now 4,598 international students at the U of A, making up 15 per cent of the total undergraduate student body. That's up from four per cent — or 1,621 students — in 2007. 

For graduate students, Baron said it's difficult to estimate exactly how many students will apply to register by the end of this year, but she suspects the numbers will jump by 50 per cent.

'The Trump Factor'

After Donald Trump's election victory, interest from American students in Canadian universities spiked. And Baron believes the number of foreign students applying to U.S. institutions will also decline.

"The full impact of the Trump Factor is still coming in this new recruitment cycle."

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She said with more hardline policies on immigration being proposed in the U.S., Canada is getting more graduate students, including a significant jump in students from Iran.

Years of efficient recruitment campaigns have caught the attention of Chinese academics in particular, she said.

"We have phenomenal success with our recruitment efforts in China, both at the undergraduate and the graduate level."

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Akram Hammami, president of the U of A's International Students Association, thinks the university caters too much to Chinese students and doesn't have enough services for other foreign students. 

Hammami, from Tunisia, is taking his classes in secondary education in French at the university's Campus Saint-Jean. It's one reason he chose the U of A, a school he said enjoys very much. 

But many foreign students only go to the international student services (ISS) office to renew their visas or study permits, and for very few other reasons, he said.

"They're more focused on Chinese international student services because the population of the Chinese students is 80 per cent of the international student community.

"The ISS is not doing a good job to direct international students to all these resources or help them apply for these resources."

Not just about Trump

Baron thinks international students have also been drawn to Canadian institutions because they offer quality education and the tuition is still reasonable compared to the U.S., Australia, and the U.K.

Canadian cities are also viewed as being safe and having a positive reputation for multicultural policies.

Baron said more students from South Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal and particularly Iran, are applying to enrol at the U of A.