For various reasons – the demand for updated new skills, the role of AI and other technology in the workplace and the impact of international student caps on enrollment – post secondary education is in transition and dealing with speedbumps.
The “policy changes” surround the early 2024 foreign students cap, the federal government’s response to two concerning factors: an uncontrolled surge in international student enrolment, as well as the fact that many of those students were enrolled in lower-quality private education institutions.
In effect, the existing system created opportunities for abuse while also threatening Canada’s reputation as a high-quality destination for international students.
The bottom line about the policy change is that 550,000 international student permits were issued in 2022, a 75 per cent increase from five years prior. The 2024 cap put a two-year limit of 360,000 study permits per year, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2022 levels. The revised total would bring the number of foreign students entering Canada back to about 2018 levels.
The academic changes are meeting the needs and demands of warp speed changing workplaces – a complex and tricky evolution.
“As SAIT programs and courses evolve and define how we teach, who we teach and what we teach, a recent area of focus is the SAIT Capability Framework,” says Janet Segato, SAIT’s associate vice president of Academic. “Along with Industry relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes, the focus on capabilities of creativity, critical thinking, connection, curiosity and citizenship ensure SAIT graduates are prepared to engage and thrive in an ever-changing work environment.”
SAIT continues to prioritize industry relevant graduates and introduce new programming aligned with Calgary’s economic growth. She cites examples such as the first graduates in new SAIT programming areas like Optician Diploma, Early Childhood Education Diploma, Electrical Trades and Technology Diploma, Pre-Health Sciences, Gas Turbine Technician, Digital Media Production, Butcher, Chef and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems.
“AI is disrupting industries and the workplace,” Segato says. “SAIT regularly connects with industry on how artificial intelligence is impacting industry and roles and considering how to ensure graduates leave SAIT with an understanding of AI and curious to keep learning and growing.
“One of the biggest areas of program change is engaging students in curiosity and critical thinking so they can continue to learn and develop their skills after they graduate given the rapid impact of change across multiple sectors that AI is influencing.”
Calgary’s Bow Valley College (BVC) is a major educational hub for health and wellness. While it offers programs in business, technology and arts, health care is one of BVC’s largest and fastest-growing focus areas, with dedicated initiatives to train professionals for Alberta’s health care sector.
“We continue to be the largest user of virtual reality simulators for health care in the country,” explains Mehdi Sheikhzadeh, vice president, Academic, “which helps replace clinical hours, and better prepares Practical Nursing students for clinical placements.”
Enrollment is a vital aspect of BVC’s dynamic, and the up-to-date training of students is key.
While an upgraded Health focus is a key priority, BVC is also responding to the Alberta workplace’s importance of graduates with AI skills, and has taken the internationally recognized AI trustworthy pledge and continues to incorporate rapidly developing AI tools into its daily workflows and processes.
Sheikhzadeh points out BVC programs and courses, especially the health simulators, “include hyper-realistic AI mannequins that are able to adapt in real time to student inputs, further creating the sense of working with a real patient. This means our health care graduates have a chance to gain real experience in a safe environment, which leaves them better prepared for the real world.”
The University of Calgary takes a deliberate and strategic approach to program development, aligning academic offerings with emerging fields and industry needs.
Recent innovations have focused on areas such as energy, data science and quantum computing, alongside new programs such as the Masters of Finance, launching this fall, which prepares students for careers in capital markets and financial technology.
“Mount Royal University (MRU) has been responding to the rise of AI by adopting Responsible AI principles while balancing innovation with accountability,” says Phil Warsaba, vice-president, Students, “and we created a Framework for Responsible Artificial Intelligence, focused more on possibilities than on policing, inviting responsible use to develop human capabilities while simultaneously managing risk.”
The realities of Calgary’s post-secondary training and education is that – despite the positive, exciting and altruistic focus on meaningful, relevant and innovative programs and courses – it is also a challenging big business. And the federal foreign student caps have a serious effect on revenue streams and budgets.
Understandably, despite the challenges, most colleges and universities are reluctant to judge, criticize or blame the federal policy. The formal and off-the-record reaction is cautiously concerned, as post-secondary schools are sounding the alarm about severe financial shortfalls, steep drops in applications and prompting discussions about possible domestic tuition hikes.
The cause and effect (and the pushback) are straightforward. Because international students pay significantly higher tuition, losing that valuable revenue creates limited options about moving forward: boosting domestic enrollment in order to balance budgets.
The federal international student cap has severely impacted Alberta’s post-secondary institutions. Despite Alberta being allocated more permits than it uses, foreign applications have plunged, triggering multimillion-dollar financial shortfalls, potential domestic tuition hikes, and program cuts at smaller and specialized campuses.
The pushback is simple: because international students pay significantly higher tuition, losing that valuable revenue stream has left institutions struggling to boost domestic enrollment and balance their budgets.
At the University of Calgary (UC), the recent federal caps on study permits have a measurable impact on international enrolments. UC has experienced approximately a 16 per cent decline in international student enrolments in Fall 2025, compared to Fall 2024, with decreases observed across all programs.
Where possible, juggling, re-focusing and doing whatever it takes to boost domestic enrollment seems to be making a difference and offsetting revenue shortfalls.
“MRU has long been committed to sustainable growth,” Warsaba points out, “and international enrolment comprises approximately three per cent of the student population. Starting in 2023-24, we planned for a potential reduction in international students as a result of the changes introduced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and we adjusted the three-year MRU budget accordingly.
“While ongoing changes to the federal International Student Program continue to have sector-wide impacts, MRU’s intentional and sustainable approach to international enrolment has helped to minimize disruption.”
BVC is also focusing on domestic enrollment. “Federal policy changes have had an impact on all post-secondary institutions across the province and the country,” Mehdi Sheikhzadeh admits. “Overall, our international student enrollment is down about 15 per cent, overall revenue is forecast to increase by five per cent this year.”
While the foreign student cap is taking a toll on post-secondary institutions, SAIT’s dynamic focus on domestic enrollment, and thanks to the Alberta’s recent skilled trades crunch and interest in trades, SAIT’s reputation for apprentice programs, is a positive double whammy.
“Of course, like other schools and colleges, SAIT has been impacted by the recent policy changes, leading to a decline in international student enrolment. Though our international student numbers are softer, we continue to welcome learners from around the world.”
Comparing 2023 and 2026, in June 2023 enrollment in credit programs (degrees, diplomas, certificates) was 17,056 and 5,688 in apprentice programs. In June 2026, enrollment in credit programs was 17,167 and 9,205 in apprentice programs.”
Despite the restrictive student cap, the focus on domestic enrollment and readying students for demands of the workplace are paying off.