Laurentian University using international student tuition to subsidize costs

Laurentian University is using tuition dollars from international students to subsidize eight per cent of its operating budget, CBC News has learned.

New Ontario data shows universities increasingly rely on foreign dollars to operate

Marina von Stackelberg CBC News Posted: Jul 13, 2017 5:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 13, 2017

Second year international student Elyas Al-Sulaiman, from Saudi Arabia, is studying at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont. He is here on a scholarship provided by his country's government, so isn't paying out of pocket. The average international tuition at Laurentian is $22,000 per year. (Marina von Stackelberg)

International tuitionfeesmake up 20 per cent of all revenue Laurentian Universitymakes from students,despite only having 600 foreignstudents, CBC News has learned.

Laurentianis using international student tuition dollars to subsidize eight per cent of its operating budget.

On average, a Canadian undergraduate student will pay$6,500 peryear in tuition at the Sudbury, Ont. university.

In comparison, Laurentian chargesinternational students more than three times that price$22,000 a year.

New numbers obtained by CBC show universities across the province are increasingly relying on international students to pay their bills, as provincial operating fundshaveessentially been frozen for the past decade.

Ontario universities 'using international students as cash cows,' critics say

Not a 'cash grab'

The high international student fees are needed because Ontario only subsidizes Laurentian's 9,000 Canadian students, according to Laurentian University'sVP Academic and Provost, PierreZundel.

VP Academic and Provost Pierre Zundel says he thinks international students are important to the northern schools because they help fill spaces caused by region's declining population. (Marina von Stackelberg/CBC)

It's up to the universityto foot the bill for its 600 foreign students.

"We don't have to actually bearthe full cost of providing Canadian students with their education. That's not the case for international students," he said.

"International students also come with costs," he said.

"They are students who need some cultural acclimatization when they get here. We have to provide them supports since they are coming from a different kind of environment," saidZundel.

"So it's not a big sort of cash grab at all."

International tuition 'way too expensive'

JessicaKienansatu, a secondyear Laurentian University student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, saidshe spends a lot of time stressing about getting good grades.

She said it's because sheknows her chemical engineering program is costing her parents a lot.

"I thought [tuition here]was way too expensive," Kienansatu said.

"In some other countries, it's a bit expensive for international students, but it's notthis expensive."

"We have the same teachers," she said."I don't see why we have to pay that much to get the exact same thing."

"[One person will pay]$600 for a course, and you will have to pay more than $2,000 for the exact same course."

Click here to hear from the university and international students.

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