Positive relationship between domestic, international student enrolment trends: Study

Youjin Choi and Feng Hou of Statistics Canada recently published a study examining the relationship between domestic students’ enrolments and the large influx of international students that occurred between 2010 and 2019. Drawing on data from the Postsecondary Student Information System, Choi and Hou summarize how domestic and international student enrolments changed over the course of the decade. The share of domestic students enrolments has decreased in both BHASE (by 9.3%) and STEM fields (by 13.9%) over time, while the number and percentage of international students has steadily risen. The researchers found a positive correlation between the growth in domestic and international student enrolments in select BHASE and STEM programs. The authors state that this positive relationship is consistent with the notion of cross-subsidization, where the tuition fees collected from international students result in the creation of more resources or subsidize the cost of study for domestic students, enabling more domestic students to attend.