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Universities brace for return of Chinese students as Beijing orders them back to Canada

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The Canadian Press

Nono Shen

Posted February 11, 2023 • 4 min read

Join the Conversation Immigration data suggests that tens of thousands of Chinese students in Canada may have returned to China during the pandemic. But now Canadian universities and officials say they are preparing to welcome them back after the Chinese government ordered students who were taking online classes at foreign universities to return to overseas campuses. People walk past a sign at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016. Photo by JONATHAN HAYWARD/THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — When Vancouver’s Justin Wong was studying online for his master of arts degree at Trinity Western University during the pandemic, he had to get up at 4 a.m. to collaborate with his classmates.

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It’s because they were in China.

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“A lot of my classmates were from China and thought they could save a lot of money by not living in Canada,” Wong, who graduated last year, said in an interview in Mandarin.

Immigration data suggests tens of thousands of Chinese students in Canada may have returned to China during the pandemic.

But now Canadian universities and officials say they are preparing to welcome more after the Chinese government ordered students taking online courses at foreign universities to return abroad.

China’s Ministry of Education said in a Jan. 28 policy that students studying online in China should return to foreign campuses this spring semester or their qualifications would not be recognized in the Chinese labor market.

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The China Academic Exchange Service Center, which advocates foreign degrees, “will no longer provide degree services” to students using overseas distance education, the statement said.

The verdict took effect immediately for the term which began in early January. The center then granted an exemption to students who could not get flights or visas in time for their classes.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the number of Chinese students with permits in Canada fell by more than 30,000, or 19%, during the pandemic, from 173,365 in 2019 to 141,085 in 2021. The number in British Columbia fell 22% to 33,355.

While Canadian universities and government officials have been unable to specify the number of online students affected by the new Chinese policy, an education adviser puts the number in the thousands.

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Max Meng, CEO of Guangson Education, a BC-based education and immigration company, said 2020 will be a peak for online learning abroad among Chinese students.

“As part of recent (e-learning) policies, combined with the feeling of openness in the post-pandemic era, Metro Vancouver is expected to see another influx of thousands of people from China coming here” , Meng said.

He said his company received 30% more advice requests from China than a year ago.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University spokesman David Connop Price said 45% of the “places” or courses Chinese students are enrolled in are fully online at BC University.

However, this number did not represent the percentage of students, since a person could be enrolled in several courses and it was not known if an online student was in China, Canada or elsewhere.

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Carole St. Laurent, international vice president of Kwantlen, said that before the pandemic, 15-20% of KPU students were from China, but that number dropped to around 10% during the pandemic. The university says nearly 20,000 students take classes each year.

St. Laurent said 531 Chinese students are enrolled in their fall program.

“With this new policy announcement (from China), we’ll see those numbers start to go up again,” St. Laurent said.

She said the school started offering online classes during the pandemic, but students studying remotely in a foreign country might miss some opportunities.

“Although many students think there might be a small cost saving if they study at home, they really miss meeting their fellow students here and experiencing Canadian culture when studying at home.”

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Cyndi McLeod, CEO of Global University Systems Canada, the parent company of British Columbia-based University Canada West, said she recognizes the challenges faced by some Chinese students, especially those enrolled in an overseas program. but who do not have the authorized financial means to come here.

“Maybe if there was a grace period that could be put in place for these students. Hopefully a university in China can give them credit back so they don’t lose their whole degree,” McLeod said of the students unable to return.

British Columbia’s Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills said of the China policy that it “will work closely with institutions to understand how they can best support international students from China during this period “.

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The ministry said it had no data on Chinese students studying remotely.

“As one of Canada’s leading international student destinations, we welcome students from all over China and the world to begin or continue their studies in British Columbia,” he added.

Mark Tanner, managing director of Shanghai-based marketing firm China Skinny, which measures Chinese consumer sentiment for customers, said the government directive was “a symbolic gesture” to show that China is “really back again.” opened”.

This is a positive signal for countries with large numbers of Chinese students like Canada, he said.

“In addition to the direct benefits to education providers, tourism businesses often benefit from visiting friends and relatives of students. When students and their families develop an affinity with Canada, foreign investment often follows, provided the government supports it,” Tanner said.

McLeod of Global University Systems Canada called the China policy a “positive sign” for Canadian educational institutions.

She said they have about 130 Chinese students on campus and hope to increase that number with China being their priority market in 2023.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 11, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial support of Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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