A recent article in the Globe and Mail newspaper highlights how some Canadian institutions, facing budgetary constraints, have [...]]]> The US Congress has been investigating the unethical recruitment of students by many private for-profit institutions. In Canada, the spotlight is now being shone on the international student recruitment practices of our public universities and colleges.

A recent article in the Globe and Mail newspaper highlights how some Canadian institutions, facing budgetary constraints, have outsourced international student recruitment to private agencies. Foremost among these is Aoji Education Group, a Beijing-based company that says it sends 10,000 Chinese students a year to Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US.

Universities and colleges pay Aoji a commission equal to 10% of the tuition fees charged a student. That creates a built-in incentive for headhunters to sign up as many students as they can find, even if they don’t fully meet admission requirements. The result is that parents are often sold a bill of goods, thinking their children are bound for a university classroom when in fact they end up in non-credit English-language courses. Some families have spent as much as $20,000 without having 1 university-level credit to show for it.

A former Aoji employee put it bluntly: “The students think they’re signing a deal with the university. They’re not. They’re signing a deal with an entrepreneur who signed a deal with the university.”

A final footnote to this: Aoji is now recruiting for Fraser International College and the International College of Manitoba, the Navitas-run private colleges affiliated with Simon Fraser University and the University of Manitoba.

The vote is a blow to SGI’s ambition to establish a greater presence in Canada, but a victory for faculty [...]]]> After a nearly 4 hour debate on a proposed joint venture with Study Group International, the University of Windsor Senate voted against the plan to create a private, for-profit pathways program for international students.

The vote is a blow to SGI’s ambition to establish a greater presence in Canada, but a victory for faculty and students who campaigned against what they called the “outsourcing” of education.

However, despite the rejection by Senate, the SGI proposal isn’t dead yet. The vote this week was on establishing a joint venture with the school of business. Voting on three other motions involving SGI deals with the faculties of computer science, science, and arts and social science were postponed until March.

According to reports, if the deal is approved by the university’s senate in February, ISG’s international study centre would open its doors as early as [...]]]> Canada’s University of Windsor is considering a joint venture proposal with Study Group International (SGI) that would see the company establish a for-profit college on campus for international students.

According to reports, if the deal is approved by the university’s senate in February, ISG’s international study centre would open its doors as early as this September.

A handful of Canadian universities have similar joint venture arrangements with Navitas, but the Windsor deal is the first in the country for SGI, and it’s raised concerns amongst teaching staff.

In an op-ed published in the Windsor Star, professor James Winter says the deal will compromise the quality and reputation of the university. He cautions that the desire of the university to tap into potential new revenue streams “must not lead us to abandon academic integrity.”

The University of Windsor faculty union is also speaking out and campaigning against the joint venture. Any information or experiences colleagues have had with SGI that might be helpful for the union’s campaign would be greatly welcomed.