Domestic enrolment hits record high at U of G as international enrolment slows

As domestic enrolment hits a record high at the University of Guelph, international enrolment is trending downward. 

During the Wednesday meeting, the board of governors were told enrolment is at a record high, with 25,325 undergraduate students as of Nov. 1. 

The vast majority of those students – 24,278, or 93 per cent –  are from Ontario. 

“That’s really great in terms of serving the province, serving our region,” said provost and VP academic Bill Rosehart during the meeting.

“Demand for programs this year going into next year is at a record high. (There has been an) increase across the university sector, but we’re beating that average.”

But it’s also a constraint on tuition revenue growth. 

“That has a really challenging impact on the financial side of it,” he said. For instance it’s difficult to grow programs in demand for domestic students when the dollars per student are so low. 

“That’s one of the things that's sort of unique to Guelph. Less international students play into our funding per student,” he said. 

AVP of institutional research and planning Brad Minaker also noted more students are listing the university as their first choice than in previous years. 

Interim president and vice-chancellor Rene Van Acker said while domestically the university is ahead of the whole sector, “it’s disappointing when the province’s support of domestic students is not growing.

“More Ontario students want to come to the university, but growth for those spots is not being supported provincially.” 

Adding to the financial burden is the decline of international student enrolment after after the province introduced new measures including a mandatory housing guarantee and a moratorium on public-private college partnerships. Around the same time, the federal government introduced a temporary cap on incoming international students. 

This put a dent on the university’s plans to increase international enrolment, abruptly halting talks with private recruitment company Navitas in February. 

Enrolment has been declining since 2022, when there were 1,161 international undergraduate students. There were 1,143 the following year, and the count for this year sits at 1,047. 

Meanwhile, international graduate students reached an enrolment high last year, with 881 students. But that number went down to 773 this year. 

Part of the problem is housing: there’s just not enough of it.

While the university expects domestic enrolment to continue to grow, Rosehart said housing “will continue to be a challenge” until the new residence buildings are built and in use, including a new eight-storey residence at the corner of College Avenue and Gordon Street.

In the meantime, the board said the school is being clear about the situation with students when it comes to residence.

Registrar Lisa Latif said they are being strategic and clear in communicating offers with students to avoid last year’s confusion: if students get an offer before March 1 and apply for residence by April 15, they will be guaranteed housing. If an offer comes in after that, they will be placed in the lottery.