Holland College says 1st-year international student numbers will be down this year

Holland College says it will take in fewer first-year international students this fall than it did in 2023, as post-secondary institutions across Canada begin a new academic year under limits on foreign enrolment the federal government announced back in January.

Changes to the student study permit process now require first-year international students to get what's called a provincial attestation letter to be eligible for a study permit, in addition to a letter of acceptance from their chosen school.

Each province is given only a certain number of letters to hand out, and those are further divided up between schools. 

P.E.I.'s allocation of letters from the federal government for this year is 2,312, but of those, the province says it's issued only about 950 letters so far on behalf of UPEI, Holland College and Collège de l'Île, the province's three post-secondary institutions.

But Holland College said it's expecting a drop in international students this year not due to the low number of letters that have gone out, but rather delays in processing study permit applications.

"I can't speak for the other institutions, but our institution is trending lower than we were trending at this time last year, and that's a direct result of delays in the system for students who apply for study permits," said Lornie Hughes, the college's executive director of student experience and registrar.

As a result, Hughes said the college will not have as many first-year international students as iy did in 2023.

Hughes said the implementation of the cap led to delays in processing applications from international students, as the necessary attestation letters weren't available until March.

"This creates quite a delay in the process for an international student. That resulted in a lot of international students either rescinding their idea to come to P.E.I. or it was just a delay in their processing time," he said. 

International students clearly make up 25 per cent of our student population, and if that number drops, it does limit the college's ability to continue to offer this suite of programs.— Lornie Hughes

He also said because the system changed mid-way through the last academic year, many international students who were applying to attend Holland College this fall had already applied for study permits before the cap was implemented, so the college hasn't needed to issue its full share of attestation letters for this year.

Hughes said the college will issue its full share of letters next year — about one-third of the provincial allocation.

UPEI numbers to be released in October

The University of Prince Edward Island is also having issues with delays, with a spokesperson citing the pause on visa applications from the end of January until the end of March.

The spokesperson said in an email to CBC News that the new rules will have an impact on UPEI, but officials won't know to what degree until the enrolment numbers are released in October.

Both Holland College and UPEI have seen international enrolment growing significantly in recent years.

Last year Holland College had about 750 international students, representing more than 25 per cent of its student body. Of those, about 500 were first-year students. International students need to apply for a study permit only once for their entire program of studies, meaning the cap on international enrolment affects only first-year numbers this fall.

UPEI had more than 2,000 international students last year, representing more than a third of its student body. Of those, 675 were first-year students.

The number of attestation letters P.E.I. has been allocated is roughly double the number of new international students the province brought in last year.

Hughes said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has told post-secondary institutions that only about 60 per cent of students who apply for study permits will be successful from now on.

This week, Hughes reiterated concerns the college has raised in the past about not being able to maintain all of its programs if international enrolment declines because of the new cap.

Across the country, international students pay significantly higher tuition than Canadian students, a measure meant to reflect the fact that domestic students and their families have been supporting post-secondary schools through taxation.

"International students clearly make up 25 per cent of our student population, and if that number drops, it does limit the college's ability to continue to offer this suite of programs," Hughes said.