Changes in policy “concern” 80% of students in Canada

The government’s newly announced measures, including student caps, have over 90% of Canadian institutions and 80% of prospective students “concerned,” according to a recent snapshot study.

Among the more than 70 universities surveyed, 57% expressed “somewhat concern,” and 30% expressed “extreme concern,” according to AECC’s research. The government had earlier in January stated that a maximum of 360,000 study permits (bar masters, PhDs, and students from elementary and secondary schools) will be granted for the year 2024.

New students enrolling at public-private partnership colleges will also no longer be eligible for work permits after graduation as part of the reforms. Positively, more than 40% of universities anticipate that their foreign enrollment goals will either slightly exceed or remain unchanged from the previous year, according to the new data.

One or two universities, or about 4% of respondents, stated they anticipated performing noticeably better than in 2023.

In a different survey of more than 5,500 potential students, it was shown that 98.6% of them rated the importance of postgraduate work permits as either extremely or fairly important when thinking about studying in the nation.

If the PGWP term was shortened, about half (51.1%) stated they would “likely consider” altering or have already done so.

As of February 15, those who fulfill the requirements and complete master’s degrees in fewer than two years will be qualified for an extended three-year work visa following graduation under new Canadian regulations.

PGWPs for other programs stay in line with the study program’s duration, up to a maximum of three years. Regarding the government’s recent policy changes, 79.5% of prospective international students considering Canada expressed “extreme” or “somewhat” concern, which is consistent with the institutional responses.

In the past year, just 13.4% of respondents claimed to have genuinely changed their minds about their intended study destination.

The main causes of students switching their preferred study abroad destinations were worries about expensive education in other nations, better employment prospects, unfavorable policy changes for foreign students, and lengthy visa application processes.