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Note: This message is presented as it was originally shared with the college community and may no longer reflect the most current information. For the latest updates and details, please visit Camosun’s Future.

Special CamNews��

We expect that many of you have been following announcements and news articles about Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changes in supporting immigration pathways for post-secondary students, and may have questions about what it all means for 91�������� and students. We would love to say we have all of the answers but we are continuing to work through the complexity of the layers of changes coming out of the federal government.��

Over the past several months, Camosun has been participating in formal discussions taking place between the IRCC, provincial and national post-secondary sector organizations, and stakeholder colleges and universities. We want to better understand the evolving policies and technical changes to the International Student Program (ISP) and study permits for international students.��

As changes continue to be announced by the IRCC, the immigration landscape for international students in Canadian colleges has become one of confusion and apprehension for students, and the staff and faculty who support them.��

Eligible education programs for international college students��

The move by the federal government to “better align” graduate study permits with “labour market needs” means that international students attending Canadian colleges will no longer be automatically eligible for a post graduation work permit. Instead, international college students will need to qualify in one of the IRCC’s list of priority areas of study. Each program or instructional area offered by Canadian post-secondary institutions is currently assigned a national Classification of Instruction Program (CIP) code that has historically been used by Statistics Canada to track trends in program enrolment in Canada.��

IRCC has identified 966 of these CIP codes as work permit eligible educational instructional areas that colleges may offer. These codes fall into five categories: agriculture and agri-food; health care; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and trade and transportation. Unfortunately, the list misses most common college programming including many programs that are in high demand occupations – such as early learning and care, dental assisting and dental hygiene, cybersecurity, and health care assistant to name a few.��

Previously, international college graduates had automatic access to post graduation work permits (PGWP) that lasted as long as three years regardless of their area of study. The new rules around identified priority areas applies to all colleges and to all credentials offered by colleges, including certificates, diplomas, degrees, and any graduate level programming. However, university graduates will still be able to apply for open work permits of up to three years without any program conditions.��

The field-of-study CIP requirement will apply to any college students who submit their study permit applications on or after Nov. 1, 2024. All existing students and new students who have submitted applications prior to November will be exempted under the existing PGWP rules and not impacted by the changes if not changing programs or institutions.��

What can we do?��

At this time, we have none of the technical information necessary to advise prospective students or develop clear institutional response plans as we prepare for the rapidly approaching 2025 academic year. As members of the college sector, all Canadian public colleges have been asked to inform and apply pressure on provincial and national government representatives. Other sector partners such as health, technology, education and child care, professional bodies, local chambers of commerce, etc., should also be informed. These groups will also be significantly impacted if proposed policies are permitted to disadvantage college graduates who are needed to support the workforce of the future.��

The use of an outdated and narrowly defined CIP code model to focus on a short list of federal employment priorities, fails to identify or represent the rich and varied employment pathways of programs. Nor does this approach consider provincial or local areas of demand or priority. Likewise, the specific targeting of colleges and college-based programming ignores the vital role that colleges play in our communities.��

As a short-term measure, while we await further information, the Camosun International team has temporarily suspended all planned overseas recruitment trips. We do not want to provide wrong or misleading information to parents, students or recruitment partners.��

Adapt and thrive��

We remain hopeful that technical details will be shared in early November and that the IRCC hears and responds to the pleas from the college sector to revise their plans.��

Once we have better information, we will be reaching out to schools and departments to share what we know and to support programming and capacity planning decisions that align with the new rules. This may mean shifting recruitment efforts and capacity into new areas or expansion/new programming in some identified high demand areas.��

We are very appreciative of the ongoing work of the Camosun International team and all of the schools, centres, and service areas who care for students in so many ways. While current IRCC policy changes are certain to create significant impacts across the Canadian college system, we believe that Camosun is in a better position than others in the system due to the quality of our programs and instruction, student retention rates, student diversity, and the ongoing work to keep relationships with overseas partners strong. In the end, we trust that Camosun will adapt and thrive as we have through many challenges.��

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