International students a boon for Fanshawe College's bottom line
International students pay about four times the tuition that domestic students do at Fanshawe
International students will make up about a quarter of those studying at Fanshawe College this fall, and a school official says without that cash domestic students would suffer.
At Fanshawe, international students pay $13,000 for tuition, more than four times that of Canadian students.
"We have had no choice but to look for alternative revenue streams in order to stay relevant and contemporary for our domestic audience," Curtis said.
Two years ago internationals made up 12 per cent of Fanshawe's student population.
"Our strategy was based on a couple of things. We are always thinking about 'how do we meet labour market needs," said Wendy Curtis, the director of the college's international services office.
Meanwhile, at Western international students make up 12 per cent of the population. First-year undergraduate tuition is just over $28,000.
"Do we bring in international students to solve a specific problem (of revenue)? The answer is no," said Janice Deakin, Western's provost and vice-president (academic).
Almost 80 countries sending students
"(International students) are paying for a quality product and they're paying a very fair market value if you compare it to Australia, to the U.S., the UK -- there's just no comparison," said Curtis.
Most international students at Fanshawe now come from India. That's constantly in flux, too.
A few years ago, international students came from 40 different countries. This September, they'll come from almost 80.
Most Fanshawe international students do one or two post-graduate one-year certificates to augment their undergraduate degrees, she said. If they study in Canada for two years, they can get a three-year work permit.
Mechanical engineering, health systems management and project management are among the most popular programs.
Provincial grants declining: officials
Fanshawe has full-time recruiters working in China, Russia, Korea and India to sell potential students on studying in London, Curtis said.
Domestic and international tuition makes up almost 40 per cent of total revenues at Fanshawe -- about half of that is from international tuition.
The college gets about 30 per cent of its total revenue from government operating grants.
That number is slightly different at Western University, which estimates 50 per cent of the operating budget comes from tuition and about 38 per cent from government grants.
Western is currently trying to diversify the programs that international students go into.
"We would like to see other academic areas benefit from increased diversity in the student body," said Deakin.
Currently Western's management program, organizational studies program, as well as computer science and engineering degrees are the most popular among international students.