Understanding Implications and Considerations for International Students at a Canadian University

Increasing student mobility and thereby attracting students from other countries is one among many strategies employed in the effort to internationalize higher education (Knight, 2012). The motivations of the host country and institution for recruiting international students are often many, varied, and at times conflicting. It has been argued that these efforts are increasingly driven by economic considerations, but academic, social/cultural, ethical, and political reasons are not uncommon either (Kreber, 2009). Arguments in favor of attracting international students therefore range from seeking to include a global perspective into courses and programs of study to increasing diversity on campus and in the wider local community, to wanting to help the home country innovate and develop, and to the hope of enhancing intercultural understanding among graduates and society. An additional motivation for international student recruitment, especially at graduate and doctoral levels, is to secure the required brain power to strengthen one’s own country’s economic, social, and cultural development, as well as its competitiveness in a global knowledge economy, through research (Conference Board of Canada, 2018). The economic rationale obviously features strongly at this level. In a relatively sparsely populated region such as Cape Breton (Canada), which over many years has experienced a steady decline in domestic students and a slowly diversifying economy (following the decline of a formerly booming industry based in coal and steel), attracting international students is often seen as a beacon of hope for a more prosperous future. In a context where government funding of public universities is based on student enrollment, where gradual increases in annual transfer payments to universities have not kept pace with inflation, and where tuition fees make up a substantial proportion of an institution’s annual budget, many universities see the recruitment of more students—including international students—as imperative, not just for development but often for sheer survival. In this article, we report on a small study grounded in survey and interview data collected from international students and their instructors at Cape Breton University (CBU), a small, primarily undergraduate institution in Atlantic Canada that doubled its enrollment over the past five years, largely through the recruitment of international students. Our focus is on students from India, who make up the largest proportion of international students at Canadian postsecondary institutions such as CBU. The article is organized into four sections. We begin by reporting some pertinent statistics on international students in Canada and providing an overview of Cape Breton University and its region, both of which are relevant for the subsequent discussion. We then introduce the study’s design, followed by its major findings. Here, we focus on international students’ academic needs and challenges, pedagogical approaches employed by instructors, and attempts to internationalize curricula and assessment practices. We also report on the extent to which international students feel integrated with their international and domestic peers both inside and outside the classroom. We conclude with recommendations for instructors and institutions on how to best support international students and refine higher education programming and policy for all students.