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How do universities and colleges decide who to admit? Given the earnings advantage of a post-secondary degree both\u00a0globally<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0in Canada<\/a>, this is an important social mobility question.<\/p>\n While the\u00a0answer varies<\/a>\u00a0from one institution to the next, most focus on education criteria like\u00a0exam scores and grades<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Canada\u2019s new\u00a0intake cap on study permit applications<\/a>\u00a0puts increased pressure on Canadian institutions to also consider immigration criteria when admitting international undergraduate students.<\/p>\n This is just the latest example of\u00a0immigration\u2019s growing influence<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0societal roles of Canadian universities and colleges<\/a>. Yet those who value public higher education need to vigilantly monitor the implications of such shifts.<\/p>\n This includes the expanding role of for-profit educational technology (EdTech) companies in the\u00a0privatization and commercialization of higher education<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before the cap, international applicants\u2019 immigration-related factors, such as citizenship, were considered indirectly. For example, Canada\u2019s federal\u00a0international education strategies<\/a>\u00a0emphasized the importance of diversifying international student source countries to minimize financial risk.<\/p>\n However, EdTech companies now market services which rank individual applicants\u2019 purported likelihood of study permit approval.\u00a0According to an international education trade magazine<\/a>, several institutions in Ontario use such services.<\/p>\n This challenges the fundamental principles of post-secondary education access and could impact\u00a0the diversity of Canadian campuses<\/a>.<\/p>\n I research the\u00a0recruitment of international students as immigrants<\/a>. Higher education\u2019s strategic international enrolment efforts play a big role in the initial selection process.\u00a0Technology-enabled recruitment and immigration support platforms<\/a>\u00a0have become\u00a0increasingly influential over the past decade, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Often referred to as \u201cagent aggregators<\/a>,\u201d these platforms use a range of technologies, sometimes including artificial intelligence, to promise profit \u2014 for both themselves and their post-secondary institution clients \u2014 by improving international student recruitment and retention.<\/p>\n These platforms are part of a growth in third parties involved in international student recruitment that remains\u00a0largely unregulated<\/a>.<\/p>\n Until recently, schools first evaluated international post-secondary applicants\u2019 education credentials to decide whether to issue an acceptance letter. Only after this step, when applying to the federal government for a study permit, were immigration credentials assessed.<\/p>\n In other words, institutions admitted international students, then the federal government admitted them to Canada.<\/p>\n Given\u00a0provincial governments\u2019 gradual<\/a>\u00a0disinvestment from public higher education<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0increasing reliance<\/a>\u00a0on international student tuition<\/a>, schools issued more and more acceptance letters to international students.<\/p>\n \u201cUnsustainable<\/a>\u201d growth, especially at colleges, eventually made life difficult for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which processed a record\u00a0863,197 new study permit applications in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n In January 2024, the federal government responded by instituting a\u00a0Provincial Attestation Letter<\/a>\u00a0(PAL) system.<\/p>\n Now, most new undergraduate study permit applications (with some\u00a0exceptions<\/a>\u00a0require not just an admission letter, but also a PAL.<\/p>\n Because provinces get a limited number of PALs to distribute, colleges and universities are, for the first time,\u00a0forced to limit international undergraduate admission letters<\/a>. Understandably, schools want to convert as many of those letters into fee-paying international students as possible.<\/p>\n Predicting which admitted students will ultimately accept an offer\u00a0was already complex<\/a>\u00a0before the PAL system. However, since study permit\u00a0application<\/em>\u00a0spots are now limited, an international applicant\u2019s likelihood of receiving study permit approval now matters in a new way. Every admission letter issued to a student whose study permit is refused represents lost revenue.<\/p>\n Ensuring a strong yield is now especially important for\u00a0colleges<\/a>\u00a0relying heavily on international students<\/a>, particularly those with a record of\u00a0admitting international student cohorts with low study permit approval rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Getting a study permit is difficult for some students.<\/p>\n Recent approval rates hover\u00a0between 50 to 60 per cent<\/a>, with wide (and\u00a0arguably racist<\/a>) variances based on\u00a0country and region of origin<\/a>. In 2021, new study permit applicants from Canada\u2019s top three source countries had very different approval rates:\u00a0China (84 per cent), India (60 per cent) and Nigeria (34 per cent)<\/a>.<\/p>\nCompanies marketing application services<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Tech platforms increasingly influential<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Admission patterns shifting<\/strong><\/h4>\n
New \u2018provincial attestation letter\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Study permits and equity<\/strong><\/h4>\n