In BC, just like most of Canada, international fees are not regulated. This means institutions can increase international student fees by as much as they want annually. Domestic student fees are regulated at a cap of 2% annually under the BC government’s Tuition Fee Limit Policy. This raises the question of Fairness. International Students come to Canada to access higher education; unfortunately, international fees are not regulated therefor making it hard for students to budget through their studies because of the uncertainty of tuition fee increases among other expenses such as rising cost of living and academic materials.

Did you know…?

As public funding for our institutions decrease year after year, our schools depend on international student fees to make up the shortfall in their budgets. This is unfair for international students because there is no regulation on how much institutions are allowed to raise the fees, or how early of a notice they need to give students.

Douglas we will see a projected 7.94% increase in international student fees by 2022 from 2018, this equates to a $25.7 million dollar increase in the annual budget. Whereas in that time ministry funding will have only gone up by 5.02% which equates to only a $5.6 million dollar increase in the annual budget.

International students add value to Douglas College as they create a diverse campus environment. They enrich learning environment with cultural perspectives creating a multicultural society on campus. Bringing people from around the world provides for unique cross-cultural experiences for students and communities.

For more information on our Fairness for International Students campaign, check out our webpage here.

Add Your Voice to Our ‘International Students of DC’ Project

Together, our voices stronger. And when we speak together, we are heard.

We are initiating a new project ‘International Students of DC’ and encourage you to share your stories and perspective with us and the Douglas College community.

We invite you to participate and with your stories:

  • Why you chose to come study in Canada?
  • What was your journey getting here to Canada?
  • How has your experience in Canada and Douglas been so far?
  • What were your expectations of studying in Canada? Has your experience met those expectations?
  • What are your goals and plans for studying in Canada?
  • What are the best parts (so far) about studying in Canada?
  • What are challenges that you have had to face?
  • What do you wish others understand about your experience as an international student?

By sharing your stories, we hope to help others understand who our wonderful international student community are and the importance and significance of your effort to attain a post-secondary education in a foreign country.

If you are interested in participating in our project, please sign up and we will get in touch with you soon!