THUNDER BAY – Already serving as the destination for 70 per cent of university-bound high school students from Northwestern Ontario, Lakehead University has been increasing efforts to attract students away from home in an attempt to stabilize regional demographic challenges.
With a total enrolment of about 8,500 students last year, international students represented close to 16 per cent of the university’s population as the number of prospective post-secondary students coming out of high school in the region stagnates or declines.
Lakehead University president Moira McPherson said while other parts of the province are starting to recover over the next couple of years, the situation in the region isn’t expected to get better as quickly.
“In Northwestern Ontario, that doesn’t happen for quite a bit of time. I’d say it’s five to six years before we start to see an increase in that number,” McPherson told Thunder Bay city council on Monday night during an annual state of the university presentation.
“What it means in order for us to continue to thrive as a comprehensive university and to serve the communities, which is really a huge part of our mandate as well, is we have to constantly, constantly be looking at our enrolment and what our opportunities are.”
In less than a decade, the number of international students at the university has grown by nine times, with more than 1,500 expected from nearly 80 different countries during this school year after having under 200 just eight years ago. McPherson said the goal is to eventually eclipse 2,000 international students.
Nine per cent of all undergraduate students were from abroad, while 49 per cent of graduate students came from outside the country.
The university has also launched a new partnership to bring younger international students to Thunder Bay
Lakehead, in collaboration with the Maple Leaf Education Systems, introducing a private high school for Chinese students from grades 10 through 12. The school, which is the third for Maple Leaf in Canada, began earlier this month with 33 students arriving while studying and living on campus in the Avila Centre.
David Barnett, the university’s provost and vice-president academic, said working with Maple Leaf, a highly regarded education provider in China, presented a great opportunity for Lakehead.
The aim of the initiative is to both to retain those younger high school students, as well as increase the international profile of the university within China, Barnett said.
“We certainly hope to attract some of those students to stay on and to continue their studies at Lakehead University,” Barnett said.
“We have many, many outstanding programs across our 10 faculties here they could continue on in if they choose to do so here. The broader reputation they have within China, of being associated with Maple Leaf Schools, immediately impacts our recognition within the larger country.”
Lakehead has also focusing on domestic recruitment outside of the region, with 56 per cent of students at the Thunder Bay campus last year coming from outside Northwestern Ontario. McPherson said 30 per cent of the university’s domestic students hail from the Greater Toronto Area region.
With an estimated economic impact of nearly $1 billion in Northwestern Ontario, Thunder Bay mayor Bill Mauro recognized the significance of the university.
“The importance of Lakehead University to the city and to the region is paramount to any future success we’re going to have and opportunities to grow,” Mauro said.
