Strong domestic enrolment

Okanagan College officials are touting their programs as a "first choice" post secondary option for domestic students amid cratering foreign enrolments.

“We believe a college education is valuable and leads you to being job ready and able to contribute to the economy in awesome ways, but also have an awesome career as well,” VP of enrolment and college relations Jenn Goodwin at Okanagan College said.

She said the Minister of Immigration recently made some comments undermining the value of college programs. Prime Minister Trudeau also weighed in on why the government enacted changes that have choked off foreign enrolments and prompted a wave of cutbacks in colleges across the country.

“Far too many colleges and universities used international students to raise their bottom line … because they could charge these students tens of thousands of dollars more for the same degree,” Trudeau said in a video posted to YouTube.

Trudeau said the decision to temporarily slash the intake of foreign students over concerns about the strain on housing and other services could have happened sooner.

Regardless, people at the helm of colleges like OC are increasingly concerned about what the future holds, though Goodwin said the school has weathered a number of challenges and will survive and adapt.

Cutbacks, however, are underway. Okanagan College announced earlier this month it was cutting 11 part-time term staff in January on the heels of the change that came into effect Nov. 1, through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The post-graduation work permit program will now only allow graduates from public colleges to qualify for a permit if they have studied in fields related to occupations in which the federal government has identified labour shortages. It means only eight per cent of programs at Okanagan College will now offer graduates a road to a work permit, Goodwin said.

Further curtailments are likely coming though, contrary to a union letter indicating as many as 80 positions cut in the year ahead, Goodwin said nobody knows how deep cuts will go just yet.

In the meantime, however, Goodwin said Okanagan College has done a good job maintaining its domestic student base over the past five years to a stable head count of 15,000 to 15,800 students, with fluctuations influenced by economic conditions and the pandemic.

Health worker programs, for example, increased by 40 per cent in 10 years. Trade programs have grown by 10 per cent in four years, while some, like the Associate of Arts and Business Administration diploma programs have declined.

Goodwin said as conditions change, the college is adapting by offering flexible courses like micro-credentials.

“Oftentimes, when the economy is hot and (businesses are) looking for workers, you see more students taking a part time course load so that they can continue to work,” Goodwin said.

“Other factors that would influence that are the cost of living. So for some students, affordability is quite understandably, a challenge, and so they choose to work more hours in the week and then balance out their studies on a part time basis.”

Domestic program enrolment numbers at OC

• The Bachelor of Business Administration continues to have stable domestic enrolment, as has our Office Administration program. Together both serve over 2,000 domestic students annually.
• Health programs have grown from fewer than 500 students to almost 700 students in the last 10 years, or 40 per cent increase.
• Trades foundation programs have gown 10 per cent in the last 4 years, while apprenticeship programs hold steady.
• Computer Science Degree has grown over 40 per cent in last 10 years, from 73 to 104, while the Computer Science Diploma has grown over 50 per cent, from 61 to 92.
• Early Childhood Education Diploma grads have doubled in last ten years.
• Other areas have seen decreasing domestic enrolment over the past few years, including Associate of Arts, and Business Administration Diploma program.
• The majority of domestic students are from in the Okanagan College region.