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Despite a big reduction in international students due to a new cap by Ottawa, St. Clair College said it’s managed to hold its fall enrolment numbers fairly steady by offering more popular programs.
A total of 15,761 full-time students are enrolled this year at campuses in Windsor, Chatham and the Greater Toronto Area, down two per cent from last year’s figures, the college said in a news release Thursday.
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International student enrolment dropped 11.9 per cent this fall, but domestic enrolment jumped nine per cent, the college said. The federal government is allowing fewer foreign students into Canada.
St. Clair College president Michael Silvaggi said the college was able to adjust to the reductions on international students by increasing enrolment in programs that are popular domestically.
“St. Clair College’s strength has always been in finding capacity and our ability to pivot on a very quick pace,” Silvaggi said. “We found added capacity in programs that align with those labour markets.”
Earlier this year, the Trudeau government announced a 35-per-cent reduction in study permits for international students, in part to address a growing housing affordability crisis. At the time, St. Clair College officials thought that could cost the local college upwards of $40 million.
But St. Clair has managed to make up for a loss in international students with increased enrolment in programs such as practical nursing; personal support worker; early childhood education; heating, refrigeration and air conditioning technician; and electrical techniques.
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Those enrolment increases have been a “major success,” the college said.
“When you look at early childhood education, it’s an over-subscribed program,” Silvaggi said, adding the program saw an additional 40 students.
Enrolment in St. Clair College is up 628 students over last fall, with total enrolment of domestic students hitting 7,594, “marking the first time since 2018 that domestic numbers have reached that threshold,” the college said.
Enrolment at the Chatham campus increased by 29 per cent to a total of 1,382 full-time students, driven by strong uptake in programs such as personal support workers; practical nursing; powerline technicians; police foundations; and developmental service workers.
There are 3,526 students enrolled at St. Clair’s Ace Acumen Academy based in the GTA, which did not take in new students this semester.
In total, St. Clair College has 4,641 international students. The numbers are considered to be accurate because the college has progressed beyond what it calls “Day 10,” which is the last day that students can drop out and retrieve a full tuition refund.
The federal government announced on Wednesday a further cut coming in study permits of 10 per cent, but Silvaggi said increased enrolment in popular programs should counterbalance that new reduction in foreign student enrolment.
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