
About 3,500 international students are signed up to attend Thompson Rivers University this year.
Vice President of Finance Matt Milovick says that is up from last year and it might be the maximum that they can handle. “It’s more complicated than simply a number because we have to factor the international numbers against domestic student enrollments and how those move. So right now we don’t have an answer. We want to see how 3500 plays out, how our domestic enrollment comes in and then we’re going to go from there. And we’ve got some working groups on campus that are looking at that very issue.”
He says although those international numbers are on the rise, not much has changed when it comes to Canadian attendance. “Domestic enrollment right now, when I looked at the numbers last, is flat. We’re hoping it will move the dial on that between now and when school starts. So domestic is flat. International again is up. And international, pretty much across the province, the province is full. I think every institution has taken the max number of students.”
Milovick says it might be at the cap for the number international students TRU can handle, but it will assess the situation throughout the year. “It’s more complicated than simply a number because we have to factor the international numbers against domestic student enrollments and how those move. So right now we don’t have an answer. We want to see how 3500 plays out, how our domestic enrollment comes in and then we’re going to go from there. And we’ve got some working groups on campus that are looking at that very issue.
Milovick says there is also a three per cent tuition increase to international fees this year, but despite that, TRU remains one of the cheaper universities in BC.