UBC Okanagan 'belt-tightening' in response to plummeting international student enrollment

[Castanet News]

UBC Okanagan is tightening its belt as international student enrollment continues to plummet. At the university’s senate meeting last month, UBCO president...

[TimmyE]

This is going to be another Trudeau legacy.

[mizuno]

UBC is building the high rise on Doyle? Solo? Or partnered? Suspect that is a significant budget.

[jdurech]

Only if they started belt tightening before spending millions on non-functional registration software that should have cost $50,000. Seems like priorities are not aligned with investing into education.

[workingclasshero]

BC tax payers paid for the University, we should make it easier for BC students to attend by lowering entrance requirements a bit and not just give international students with high marks preference,

[thekid3_16]

BC tax payers paid for the University, we should make it easier for BC students to attend by lowering entrance requirements a bit and not just give international students with high marks preference,

Are you aware that international students pay roughly four times the tuition fees that Canadian students do? It seems your suggestion is to raise taxes to subsidize local students to compensate for the reduced revenue from fewer international students. I’m just curious about your proposal, as the funding has to come from somewhere.

[workingclasshero]

why are we over building our Universities to accommodate international students that abuse our immigration system to stay in Canada and bring their aged relatives here to clog our health system
lower entrance requirements to allow more Canadian students

[kelbear25]

UBC is building the high rise on Doyle? Solo? Or partnered? Suspect that is a significant budget.

Funded and built by UBC Properties trust which is a separate entity and not funded by tuition

[polelady]

The pig trough is a busy spot these last few days and years... most colleges making new programs to grab this international coin... and the top level guys and gals get big paychecks to prove it.... lol
The writing is on the wall.. folks and for sure the students from India are not welcome , so consider the end result... less students,, means less income and that means cut staff and budgets NOW..

Re:At the end of the fiscal year ending in March 2024, the school projected a $16 million deficit due in part to decreased international student tuition and inflation. That forced UBCO to dip heavily into reserve funds, using $15.9 million of its $64.5 million reserve it started with back in April 2023.

The reserve slush fund of 64.5 million wow in ONE year.. has to go... and staff alone with it... !!!

[pdevries9]

It was/is housing...

Students arrived and no where to live.
A huge struggle between others already here and international students arriving
As pointed out, with deep pockets, so generally paid LOTS (too much?) for 10 months of housing
Greed by... not just UBC
And raising housing for everyone.

Seems education systems, charging $48k per year, might have considered securing reasonable housing for their nearly 1,000,000 golden geese

Glad to see UBC using reserves... not changing programs

[workingclasshero]

UBCO trust builds the building and leases them to the BC goc

[Neongiraffekitty-1]

Meanwhile they're building new housing for the students and high rises downtown. Quit complaining UBCO!

[cassie321]

BC tax payers paid for the University, we should make it easier for BC students to attend by lowering entrance requirements a bit and not just give international students with high marks preference,

Foreign students do not have high marks, they have a lot of money. They are not interested in the best and brightest, but the richest.

[cassie321]

Oh boo hoo.
Maybe some of these administrators can be cut. No more ordering white leather furniture sets for their offices.
The admin pays sessional PhD professors peanuts and nickel and dime them on things like vacation pay --oh for your holidays you can take every Wednesday off for the next two months, true story--while they live it up on very high salaries for their qualifications.

[Mrmarvingardens]

Gosh...foreign students big business?
It wasn't long ago that UBCO and others were cackling that foreign students were not favoured over locals.
University of Waterloo, Ont., charges 50 thousand a year to International students. Locals pay eight thousand.
It would be interesting to know what UBCO , Thompson Rivers, UBC etc., charge internationals.
Locally, 43 storey buildings, much devoted to acommodation, a new apartment building next to the college.
Sure seems like big business,