The University of Windsor hopes by joining a new campaign promoting international exchange programs, it can boost the number of domestic students that study abroad for a semester.
Right now, the Canadian Bureau of International Education says just 3.1% of full-time undergraduate students in Canada receive part of their education abroad. For full-time college students, the percentage is even lower at just 2.5%.
Ryan Flannagan, associate vice president of student experience at the University of Windsor, says typically between 80 and 90 students travel to another country to complete their studies. He would be happy if it were 110 or 120 students, an increase of 30% over the next two years. The same number of students from other countries choose to come to Windsor to complete their studies.
"Potentially, they learn a new language. It builds their resiliency," he says. "When they graduate, and they've got that experience in their back pocket that is invaluable to them when they go into the workforce -- because employers really desire that international experience."
The school has agreements with more than 90 other institutions globally and Arianne Rodriguez Saltron, who is a student of international relations, calls her decision to study at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile the best decision she has ever made.
"Living in Chile definitely improved my Spanish fluency," she says.
The bureau says other countries do much better encouraging students to include travel during their academic careers. It points to the Generation Study Abroad Campaign in the U.S. and the European Union's Erasmus Program.
Flannagan says the challenge is to approach students in their first year about studies in their third year. That way they can come up with a financial plan to support their living expenses. Tuition is paid to the University of Windsor, so it can be a much more affordable option than applying as a foreign student.
"You just pay for your lodgings and your food," he says. "If you're going to an American university or a British university as an international student you could pay triple, quadruple the amount of tuition."
The bureau is also inviting colleges, polytechnics, and K-12 school boards to become champions for international education.
