International Student Decline: Schools in BC Losing Millions

Last year during the pandemic we saw that many industries faced a crisis, international travel came to a stop and the border still hasn’t been opened since. Right now travel is still restricted for essential purposes only and people are highly encouraged to stay in their own communities.

During the pandemic the number of international students in Canada decreased and that meant that schools around BC were going to lose millions in revenue.

We have seen a decrease of tens of thousands of international students around Canada through the pandemic.

Thanks to COVID-19 overall there has been more than a 30 per cent drop in international students compared to the previous year. Foreign enrollment in school has fallen 17 per cent and that means that BC schools and schools in other provinces are going to be struggling without that money coming in from students.

There is millions of dollars that schools in Canada are going to be missing out on with those numbers down.

From issues with paying bills, worries over travel rules restrictions on international travel, there are a variety of reasons why there is a decline in international students in Canada.

Fewer International Students in Canada Means Less Revenue For Schools

With vaccination efforts expanding in the country and hopes of overcoming the 3rd wave in BC and COVID-19 crisis in other regions, there is hope that we might see a normal summer or fall this year. After that things could resume with the border opening up more for travel, and those COVID-19 restrictions being eased. It might not be very long then before international student numbers start to grow again.

They’ve seen the largest declines for international students in the smallest cities, between 20 to 30 per cent for international student enrollment dropping in Canada.This could have significant implications for BC and other regions, for the schools that will be facing a cash crunch as a result of that decline.

International student enrollment rates have declined at universities around the world through the pandemic.

To deal with the decline other cost-cutting actions might be taken, like looking at outsourcing services in schools, or making potential layoffs, among other actions.

Who knows how long they might face the decline or what will be implemented to deal with it. Though some officials have already insisted that we won’t see layoffs as a result of the decline in international students in Canada.

There is billions in revenue coming in yearly from international students and that is going to be missed as this funding helps fuel a variety of programs in BC and around the country. Universities in Canada are facing a drastic drop in international enrollment but that isn’t going to last forever.

The number of international students in BC right now is below pre-pandemic levels and some districts have lost out on millions in revenue because of that drop in international student enrollment.

This lack of funding is eventually going to leak into core programing and this is at the very least highlighting the vulnerability of the current model right now.

NDP Propose $20,000 Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

Previous surveys have found that a majority of Canadians believe that students are taking too much debt on in order to pursue post-secondary education today. Is it worth the investment? Right now there are billions of dollars in student loan debt for Canadians. Altogether, it’s estimated that Canadians owe billions in student loan debt or more.

Over the years there have been different political promises made to try and help address that problem. From getting rid of interest payments, to offering free education altogether one day down the line, now the NDP have recently announced that they would cancel up to $20k in student loan debt for Canadian students. They also want student loan payments to come to a stop until the pandemic is over.

Student Loan Debt is Crushing Canadian Students

The average student in Canada is facing between $17k- $26k in debt and they have no guarantee that they will get a job that will pay that debt off. On top of that they are going to be making payments that are almost as high as mortgage payments and many are struggling to get by, especially since COVID-19 hit.

A lot of students are filled with regret over that debt after they graduate. It has been found that at least 77 percent of Canadian graduates regret the amount of debt that they took on. Having to pay off that debt and struggle with those interest payments means delaying milestones in life like getting married or getting their first home.

Traditionally, we have seen that Ontario has been saddled with the most student loan debt compared to other provinces in Canada. On average they are taking on more debt to pursue their education than people are in B.C. or other places.

More frequently we continue to hear today that just because you have an education in a certain field does not mean that you are going to get a job. Getting that higher education isn’t always going to come with that guarantee of getting higher pay or even a job at all.

How Much Does School Cost in Canada?

On average we see that students pay about $6k or more per year, depending on what school they are going to and what courses they are taking this can fluctuate. Those who are living at home are seen spending around $9k on average for the year if they are going to school. If you move away though that cost can increase rapidly, up to $20k or more per year.

Since the pandemic hit last year we saw that students and graduates alike have demanded more help from the government. They were left without jobs and financial security but still struggling to make payments. This support students were looking for included asking the government for a moratorium to be extended on student loan interest payments.

Not only this but they also wanted to leave it open so that consideration for further extensions down the road could also be considered, among other proposals.

NDP Plan for $20k Student Loan Forgiveness

Just recently, the NDP announced that they had a plan to forgive student loan debt if they are able to form the next government. This means that any Canadian student might see up to $20,000 in debt forgiven by the government. They also want there to be a multi-year grace period as well for students who graduate, at least 5 years before they would need to start making back payments again. Right now the grace period is only 6 months for students who graduate.

The $20k in student loan forgiveness for Canadian students would go to families with incomes less than or equal to $60k and the income would be based on the 5 year average that they had seen since leaving the school that they graduated from.

Right now there are many Canadian students who are still struggling with debt payments despite graduating many years ago and now many are also out of a job because of COVID-19.

As far as whether or not people would be able to see some of that debt forgiveness if they made more than $60k, it would be on a sliding scale and they’d see a reduction of 50 cents for every dollar of income over that amount.

For anyone making more than $100k they wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the forgiveness opportunity.

How much would the student loan forgiveness cost?

It would easily cost billions of dollars, it’s estimated that in the first year alone it could cost $4 billion or more. That price is expected to increase as tuition and inflation rise as well. Along with that forgiveness option they are also proposing getting rid of interest on student loans and eventually moving toward a free post-secondary education system in Canada.

One of the most popular issues that students bring up around the country is the cost of living that they face and the struggle that they maintain with their student loan debt. As COVID-19 hit and meant many families faced financial uncertainty and lost jobs etc, this meant many more students and their families were struggling now.

Where is the money coming from?

Right now there are over 868,000 borrowers in the Canada Student Loan Program and there are billions in outstanding loans. They want to find the money to go along with that plan by pursuing higher taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, also by looking to close certain tax loopholes.

UBC Grad Students Looking for Quarantine Option at School

The government previously imposed mandatory quarantine isolation for those coming to Canada with a growing list of hotels that are approved for quarantine, That list of approved venues has also increased from the original venue options that had been first initially approved for quarantine.

For those who were arriving they had to quarantine at places like Coast Vancouver Airport hotel, Abercorn Inn Vancouver Airport hotel, Quality Hotel Airport South Hill and others.

Travel is still heavily restricted for those who are traveling for non-essential purposes, though we could see this change in coming months.

There is growing pressure to open the Canadian border with the U.S. as it has been closed for almost a year now.

UBC Grad Student Society Looking for Alternative Quarantine Options

The UBC Graduate Student Society, along with other graduate student groups, recently called on the government to allow for international graduate students to be able to access an alternative quarantine plan.

The hope is that they would be able to stay at university residences rather than having to stay at those approved hotels on the quarantine list.

For some grad students the multi-day stay at one of those approved hotels could end up costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, and it is a financial cost that many cannot afford.

If they have to stay at those hotels it will just make life harder for them, as it has also been difficult for those non-students going through the costly process as well.

The student groups are also reportedly hoping that potentially down the road any change might apply to more students as well, that student residences on the UBC campus would be sufficient enough.

But as B.C. health officials have recently stated, we might see those restrictions start to ease up in the coming weeks and a ‘new normal’ start to show itself. This could mean seeing more travel options come about, a reversal in quarantine requirements, opening of the border, or more in-person gatherings etc, among other possible changes to come.