International Student Affordability, Employment, and Housing in Alberta

“Alberta is a province that will welcome you with open arms, regardless of your background. I came here on my own, and I was able to create a place that I love filled with people I care for, a place I can call my home. As an international student, if I had to improve one part of my experience it would be to not be afraid to try out the things I am interested in. There are so many opportunities and clubs which I found interested, but always held back on participating in, but once I did I made great friends and had fun experiences.”

Lucas Ocampo, 4th year Haskayne School of Business Student at the University of Calgary – Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina

“As an international student, I have a great deal of knowledge about the disadvantages that we face here at the U of A. One of the main issues that many international students have to overcome is the issue of housing. Because the cost of residence is so high, we’ve often resorted to living off campus to be able to afford a home. With that, there comes an additional problem; in order to be able to sustain ourselves, we must often work two jobs to be able to pay all our bills. I, myself, worked two jobs with a total of forty hours a week on top of being a full-time student, president of two student groups and VP international of my faculty association. With the yearly increase of tuition fees for international students, it makes it difficult to balance work, social life and engagements in leadership roles. What other student aren’t aware of is that there is a cap on the number of bursaries available to us. Because tuition costs 3.7 times more for us, what would usually cover a semester for a domestic student would only cover 2 classes for an international student. This difference makes us predisposed to failure, not only academically but also when it comes to social engagement and leadership positions. Aside from this financial disadvantage, many international students rely solely on food banks around the city. This is difficult seeing as the majority of food banks only provide canned food, which limits international students’ access to fresh food, and therefore a healthy diet. Conclusively, all of the aforementioned issues add up and have a negative effect on mental well-being, financial status, and academic standing.”

Akrem Hamami, 4th year International Student from the University of Alberta – Originally from Tunisia

“As an international student, I have been very involved in the campus community, since the day I first stepped on this campus. Soon in my first year I started getting involved in case competitions and have represented HSB and University of Calgary in several national competitions. What I still regret is not getting more involved with the international community. All of the activities that I do are mostly taken up by Canadian students, which makes me miss out on experiencing new cultures and meeting people from all over the world. Not only would this help expand my professional network but I would also have friends all around the world to show me around when I am travelling, immersing me in the local culture.”

Nik Golob, 3rd year Haskayne School of Business student at the University of Calgary – Originally from Ljubljana, Slovenia

“The contribution of international students to the demography of Alberta has been shown in the report to be positive. The contributions to the province’s economy are also good. It would be wrong to ignore these positive developments. In the long run, it will be beneficial to both the students and the Canadian provinces to provide the needed support to promote mutual development. The province should set a precedent for other provinces to follow by regulating fees for International Students. Every bold decision comes with its challenges but the only way to solve those challenges that arise is if we boldly take this step.”

Darren Armah, International Student & Third Year Political Science Major at the University of Lethbridge”

Preventing Student Exploitation in Post-Secondary Education

International undergraduates studying in Alberta are subject to high-cost tuition, limited employment opportunities, and precarious housing. These students are enmeshed within an intricate policy web linking federal, provincial, and institutional jurisdictions, leading to a diffusion of responsibility among policy-makers. This leaves these undergraduates without serious action taken to address the issues they face. Alberta has seen large growth in the number of international students attending universities in the province, but that influx has been exploited rather than nourished.

CAUS encourages you to read the stories of international students and support our recommendations to encourage more of the worlds brightest to join us in Alberta.

• Immediately freeze tuition for international undergraduate students and regulate any future increases to the Consumer Price Index;
• Restore provincial post-secondary education funding to 1992-1993 levels and adjust tuition to the Consumer Price Index each year thereafter;
• Bring international differential fees under provincial regulation, and tie future increase to the Consumer Price Index;
• Open access for international students to financial assistance programs;
• Strengthen communications between universities and prospective students on housing options and accurate cost of living estimates;
• Create a provincial strategy between employers, universities, and the province to hire more international undergraduates in meaningful positions to keep them living in Alberta for years to come;
• Review the current International Graduate Category ineligible occupations list under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program to open more pathways to careers and citizenship.