Колледж Оканеган переходит к новому формату работы после кризиса из-за ограничений для иностранных студентов

Okanagan College moving into new normal following 'dark' period for post secondary institutions OC considering new normal Two years after the federal government’s January 2024 decision to cap international study permits sent post-secondary institutions scrambling, Okanagan College is moving from reacting to the fallout to planning for what comes next. The layoffs and program changes that followed a sharp drop in international enrolment have begun to ease. Now, the college is working out how to attract international students under the new rules, provost Samantha Lenci said. “What does the new normal look like as we go forward?” she said. Part of figuring that out will involve reconsidering what kinds of programs the college offers and how international students fit into them. “Is it shorter programming? Is it longer programming? How do we hit that international market?” she said. The stakes are high for colleges and universities across B.C., where international students have traditionally generated significantly more tuition revenue than domestic students. Statistics Canada found international students at B.C. post-secondary institutions paid an average of $39,851 in tuition during the 2025-26 school year, compared with $6,862 for domestic students. International students accounted for about 20 per cent of post-secondary students in B.C., according to a June report by BC Policy Solutions researcher and policy analyst Veronique Sioufi. The report found 19 of the province's 25 public post-secondary institutions forecast at least one year of operating losses over the next three years. It cited a B.C. government estimate that the institutions face an annual revenue shortfall of approximately $300 million. Ottawa said the international student changes were intended to ease pressure on housing, health care and other public services. In 2024 it reduced new international student approvals by 35 per cent compared with 2023 levels, followed by a further 10 per cent reduction in 2025. At its peak, international enrolment at Okanagan College was about 2,000 students out of a total student population of roughly 19,000, Lenci said. The college is now sitting at just over 17,000 students, although final enrolment figures for the fall semester will not be known until late September. Lenci did not provide a current figure for international enrolment. While so much of recent focus has been on changes affecting international students, Lenci said post-secondary institutions are also facing shifting demand from Canadian students. Lenci said domestic enrolment has been declining for years as students reconsider when, and how, they pursue further education. “Students want different programs. Students don't necessarily think, 'OK, as soon as I'm done high school, I'm going into post-secondary',” she said. That is prompting Okanagan College to examine how it delivers education, including programs aimed at people looking to upgrade or retrain while continuing to work. “How do we provide different kinds of programming for upskilling and reskilling?” Lenci said. In turn, the college has seen growth from domestic students in some areas, particularly trades and health programs, she said. Lenci acknowledged the upheaval caused by the federal changes was difficult. “It was, two years ago, a very dark story on how are we going to adapt to this,” she said. But from the worst of times there have been lessons and changes that have become "part of the story of who OC is," she said. She credited the people working at the college with adapting to the changes and developing new approaches to programming and delivery. Whether that means layoff and program curtailments will come to an end seems unlikely — if nothing else, the story of OC is that change is inevitable. But she cautioned that further changes are inevitable. "We're lucky at OC. We have the people, we have the talent. We have the reputation to start out differently than we were two years ago,” she said. “We have taken that challenge and turned it around and made sure that we are looking to the future and not looking behind.” More Kelowna News