Sault College expects 'unprecedented' number of international students this fall

Sault College is anticipating an uptick in international students for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Colin Kirkwood, vice president academics & research, says the college is expecting an enrolment about 360 international students - up from 260 international students last year.

“We have an expectation that this fall, we will see an unprecedented number of international students, and that’s the result of several years of strategic planning,” Kirkwood said.

If the projected increase in international students should become reality this fall, the college stands to bring in an additional $1.5 million in tuition fee revenue.

Kirkwood attributes some of the forecasted rise in international students to the college’s international recruiters, who travel to different countries in order to establish relationships with recruiters there to recruit students.

China and India make up much of the college’s efforts to recruit students from abroad with further efforts being made in Mexico, Brazil and Africa.

The college has also been making recent efforts to recruit in Vietnam and the Philippines.

The school’s marketing department, Kirkwood says, has been assisting the international recruiting team with recruiting materials tailored specifically for the countries the school is looking to recruit students from.

“The international recruiting team has been doing a fantastic job,” said Kirkwood. “They’ve been on the road for the last two to three years, building these relationships, and you can see from the numbers their efforts are really paying off for us.”

International students will also have a meeting ground and resource centre, as a new international student centre is slated to open its doors in time for the beginning of the upcoming academic year.

“The international student centre is going to be located pretty much in the centre of campus, and it will be adjacent to many other student services that are available for both domestic and international students,” Kirkwood said. “It will be an area for international students to congregate and for them to feel very welcome here at Sault College.”

The international student centre will be housed in the new iE3 (Institute for Environment, Education and Entrepreneurship) building.