By Samantha Ostrov, News Contributor
Nova Scotia is taking a second look at how it accommodates international students after a recent study by the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET) and the Dalhousie School of Public Administration.
The study, “The economic impact of post-secondary international students in Atlantic Canada: An expenditure analysis” released Sept. 16 says that international students in Atlantic Canada made up nearly $600 million in revenue from 2009 onward, and that they are a major source of potential immigrants. Yet the percentage of students who continue to live here after their studies remains as low as 15.6 per cent, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
The study looks at how Nova Scotia can keep its international student population and invest in the students’ contribution to the region’s labour force and—according to CAMET—its economy.
Education and living costs may be something to consider.
Maik Duering moved here from Germany in 2007 to enrol in Dalhousie’s co-op commerce program. Based on his parents’ income, he was offered no financial help from the provincial government.
“Tuition would cost too much for me as an independent international student without help from my parents,” says Duering. His situation is not uncommon. In a 2008 survey for the Nova Scotia Minister’s Post- Secondary Education Research Advisory Panel, 58.5 per cent—the highest percentage—of international student respondents listed their parents as their most important source of funding.
The CAMET report shows average annual spending by international students of up to $29,000 including education, housing, and meals. One of their top concerns was tuition, books and differential fees. Lack of scholarship assistance and opportunities to work off- campus followed close behind.
Yet financial concerns aren’t the only thing affecting the outcome of international students in Nova Scotia.
Duering wasn’t informed in his home country about his options or possible experiences in Atlantic Canada, and suggests that schools like Dalhousie should be aiming to promote themselves more internationally. One way is to have university representatives bring information abroad.
Sandra Thomas, president of the International Students’ Association at Dalhousie, says that she’s had a good experience here as an international student, but the main problem is attracting students from abroad. She moved to Canada five years ago from Malaysia, and didn’t have access to information until she enrolled in a boarding school in Hamilton, Ontario. There she heard about Dalhousie from word-of-mouth. The boarding school’s program is only open to international students and focuses on schools in provinces further west, like Ontario and BC.
Khalid Al Mughairy, a fourth-year student from Oman, had a similar experience. He had to go to the only school in Oman specifically for Western students, not Omanis, to hear about Dalhousie.
In 2005, the Nova Scotia Immigration Strategy stated that one way to attract more international students would be to create “a marketing plan and promotion materials that describe what it is like to live in Nova Scotia, displaying our cultural and ethnic diversity.” Another would be to “participate in immigration attraction missions overseas.”
Since the CAMET study was released, however, the Nova Scotia Government or Department of Education have made no announcements about new recruitment or retention strategies.
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