MANITOBAN U of M to lose millions from international student cap Loss of $7M to $9M anticipated, tuition increase not ruled out Milan Lukes, staff
Construction projects at the Fort Garry campus
The U of M anticipates to lose millions of dollars from the federal government’s intake cap on international student permit applications. “Based on the numbers that we’ve seen, which is to see a drop […] close to 600 international students, we would expect that that will be somewhere in the nature of seven to nine million dollars,” said Michael Benarroch, U of M president and vice-chancellor.
Virinder Singh, staff The start of the new fall semester ushers in new construction across the campus and the neighbouring regions. One of first projects will be the road construction on University Crescent by the City of Winnipeg.
“It’s going to be a fairly significant hit to our budget.”
“Even with positive growth in domestic enrolment, the international student drop can be expected to have a long-term impact on our institution,” said Eleanor Coopsammy, director of media relations for the university. In January, Marc Miller, Canada’s minister of immigration, announced that the federal government would approve less study permits for international students. Approximately 360,000 study permits will be approved this year which is a 35 per cent decrease from 2023. As part of the cap, international student permit applications will also require an attestation letter from a province or territory. Caps have been established for individual provinces and territories which are weighted by population. This measure is being introduced to try and prevent some institutions from taking advantage of students. The restriction also intends to ease the burden on Canada’s housing market.
News
Starting on Sept. 3, periodic lane closures are to take place on University Crescent and are expected to last until the end of November. As published by UM News, starting on or after Sept. 9, traffic will be reduced to one lane in either direction on the road from Thatcher Drive to Dysart Road.
photo / Milan Lukes / staff
A fall term enrolment report for the university indicates a 30 per cent decline in new international students compared to last year. Overall, international student enrolment has decreased by seven per cent.
“It’s unacceptable that some private institutions have taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking supports for students and charging high tuition fees, all while significantly increasing their intake of international students,” stated Miller. Miller added that “allowing bad actors to continue their operations would be a disservice to all the good institutions who pride themselves in providing a top-tier academic experience.” Benarroch said that the cap “penalized the entire system, including those that were good actors. I strongly believe that universities and many colleges have been good actors in this.” “I don’t believe the University
5 Editorial
of Manitoba has been a bad actor. I believe that we have acted responsibly, […] we want to make sure that when international students come here, that we can provide them the services and the supports that they need to be successful.” “I think that the policy, the way that it was introduced and implemented, has done a lot of damage to the post-secondary system,” said Benarroch.
an increase in tuition fees would not be necessary. “I think we would put everything on the table at this point,” stated Benarroch. “We’ve been committed to making university education affordable in this province. We want to continue to be in that place, but we do have bills that we have to pay and so we’re taking this step by step.”
When asked about the possibility of a tuition hike to make up for the loss in revenue, Benarroch stated, “it really is going to depend on how we see this move forward in the future. Tuition fees are only one of the sources.”
The enrolment restriction will be in place for two years.
Benarroch mentioned that discussions between the provincial and federal government could amount to additional institution support, such that
“The number of new study permit applications that will be accepted in 2025 will be reassessed at the end of this year,” said Miller.
10 Comment
International students pursuing graduate level studies are not included in the cap. Study permit renewals will not be affected.
Arts & 12 Culture
The construction on University Crescent is required for the installation of an underground storm sewer and will also feature improvements to drainage. During this time, transit services will continue with the exception of rerouting for special events. Temporary bus stop relocations can also be expected. A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg indicated that there will be no schedule changes to Winnipeg Transit due to the ongoing project. Road construction on Sifton Road is to continue, and at minimum, one lane of traffic is to reopen as of Sept. 9. The ABC parking lot is scheduled to reopen the same day. Starting Sept. 3, Sidney Smith Street is planned to be extended into the Southwood Circle development area — formerly the Southwood Golf Course. Access to southbound University Crescent will be restricted. ›
Cont’d p.3 / One
14 Sports
16
Health and dental plan
World of consumerism
Forget the dance floors
Painting the streets
Paris 2024 Paralympics
Details provided at recent UMSU board meeting
There is more to life than a pair of fancy shoes
Gen Z redefines nightlife
Expressing identity with colourful streets
Canadian athletes make history and fulfill dreams
September 11, 2024
SINCE 1914
VOL. 111, NO. 05