A survey conducted by the aecc found that of the more than 70 universities questioned, 57% were “somewhat concerned” and 30% were “very concerned”.
In early January, authorities announced that total study permits, including lawyers, PhDs and primary and secondary students, would be capped at 360,000 in 2024.
Additionally, as part of this measure, new students enrolling at public-private partnerships will no longer be eligible for post-graduation work permits.
But a more positive finding presented in the new study is that more than four in ten universities expect their international enrollment targets to be slightly higher or similar to last year.
About 4% of respondents (representing one or two institutions) said they expect to perform significantly better than they did in 2023.
A separate survey of more than 5,500 prospective students found that 98.6% of them considered graduate work permits to be very or moderately important when considering studying in the country.
Nearly half (51.1%) said they were “considering” a change if their PGWP duration was shortened or had already changed their preferred study abroad destination.
Under Canada's new measures, individuals who meet eligibility criteria and graduated with a master's degree in less than two years will be eligible for a longer three-year post-graduation work permit starting February 15.
The PGWP for other programs continues to be adjusted to the length of the study program, up to a maximum of three years.
Similar to institutional responses, 79.5% of prospective international students consider Canada “very” or “somewhat concerned” about the government’s recent policy changes.
However, only 13.4% said they had actually changed their mind about their preferred study abroad destination in the past 12 months.
Among the top reasons students change their study abroad destination preferences were concerns about high tuition fees in other countries, better job opportunities, negative policy changes toward international students, and slow visa processing times.