UWindsor aims to diversify international student enrollment following provincial audit
The University of Windsor is aiming to diversify its international student enrollment following a financial review by the province’s auditor general.
It found the University of Windsor is significantly reliant on enrolment of international students from a small group of countries.
According to the review, “over-reliance on a few geographic regions increases the risk that external factors, such as a global economic downturn or foreign policy shift, could significantly impact a university’s financial health.”
In 2020/21, 60 per cent of international students at UWindsor were from India and 12 per cent from China.
“The university is working on diversification efforts, particularly in South America, Central America, parts of Eastern Europe, as well as in the Middle East,” said Gillian Heisz, UWindsor's vice-president of finance and operations.
“We have agents deployed all over the world in those countries promoting the university and grants that we offer.”
Heisz said the university will not change its admission standards to meet its goals around diversification.
“The best students who want to come to the university, will be the students that will be focusing,” she said. “We are hoping that the students come from a more diverse array of countries.”
However, Heisz explains the university won’t immediately see the benefits of this recruitment strategy.
“It is typical for us to not see the fruits of our labor when it comes to international student strategies for three to five years,” she said.
In addition, the auditor general says the university did not track graduating international students to see if they stayed in the region and contributed to the economy.
It suggests keeping up to date efforts could help the university adjust its program offerings and improve its recruitment efforts.
Windsor’s international undergraduate student graduation rate for 2022 was 69 per cent.
Heisz says financial concern may impact a student’s academic success. She says the university’s international students tuition guarantee is providing students with “comfort and reducing stress.”
“When a student chooses the University of Windsor, their tuition rate is guaranteed to stay the same all the way through their studies. There's no increases for inflation and increases in program,” she said.
Also in the review, the auditor general found Windsor has the third-highest debt per student ratio among 19 Ontario universities and it does not have a policy in place limiting the level of external financing.
“A big point of pressure for the university over the last several years has been a 10 per cent tuition cut as announced by the Ford government in 2018,” said Heisz.
“The students who started here in fall 2020 are actually paying lower levels of tuition than the students who started during fall 2017.”
Overall the review found the University of Windsor is currently operating in a financially-stable manner.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'