Abstract
It can be difficult to decipher the extent to which Canadian university internationalization efforts have been corralled to actualize mostly through non-native English speaking (NNES) foreign student recruitment. Although international surveys often report that an overwhelming majority of foreign students endorse Canada as a study destination and are satisfied with their Canadian study experience, the voices of students who experience a different reality are often overlooked. This chapter begins with an overview of internationalization values. The author then reviews the ways in which neoliberal ideology reshapes higher education as a good and places NNES foreign students as consumers in competition. Next, the foreign student recruitment is aligned with the internationalization rationales of generating revenue and migrating skills to benefit Canada's national economy. The reported realities of NNES foreign students are shared, followed by questions to springboard dialogue on identifying and mitigating gaps for NNES foreign student university study on Canadian campuses.
TopIntroduction
The economic benefits gained nationally by Canadian higher education internationalization implemented through foreign student recruitment cannot be denied. At the root of foreign student recruitment at Canadian universities are economic priorities driven by neoliberal ideology (Corradetti, 2011; Horkheimer, 1972; Sherman & Webb, 2005). Canadian higher education institutions have received increased autonomy in setting differential tuition fees propelling them toward securing their position in the transnational education market (Larsen & Vincent-Lancrin, 2002) while reinforcing the position of English-medium, western universities as agents for reproducing relations of power (Kim, 2012). The principles of neoliberalism have legitimized the commodification, commercialization of higher education and the deregulation of differential tuition. Neoliberal forces fuel national economic interests and are expressed in a market-driven narrative of higher education as a sellable good. This supports universities to capitalize on and place foreign student recruitment as a crucial and leading activity demonstrating the inclusion of an international dimension on their campuses.
For foreign students, a Canadian university credential is perceived as, and in some cases is, a major boost to access Canadian employment. University education should not be reduced to training for and entry to the Canadian labour market. However, given the current neoliberal era within which universities operate and that so many foreign students pursue Canadian university education as a first step toward achieving a long-term goal to enter the national labour force, Canadian higher education has become theoretically and pragmatically coordinated with generating revenue and migrating skills’ into the Canadian labour landscape. This chapter focuses on neoliberal infiltration in the reshaping of Canadian universities to becoming increasingly more devoted to recruitment than investigating in mechanisms that can help strengthen overall student integration. Neoliberal ideology is tied to economic goals and in turn, frames internationalization implemented through foreign student recruitment; specifically, non-native English speaking (NNES) foreign students. Institution members need to turn their attention inward and toward understanding NNES student experiences on their campuses to begin addressing claims that higher education institutions do not care about the quality of education service provided to international students (Maru, 2018).
Chapter Organization and Design
This chapter is organized by first identifying how three principles of neoliberal ideology: commodification; commercialization; and market deregulation has reworked the higher education model from being a public to a for-profit good. Second, publication from leading national organizations such as the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada (AUCC), the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and the government of Canada's Global Affairs, is included to contextualize the role higher education internationalization plays in Canada’s international education strategy. In this contextualization, attention is placed on increased higher education institutional dependence on implementing internationalization through foreign student recruitment; lack of metrics to define and track evidence-based markers of quality internationalization; and reported perceptions of foreign students on their Canadian schooling experience. Third, this chapter draws upon research findings highlighting a range of foreign students’ experienced challenges.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Differential Tuition: Unregulated international tuition fees set by institutions for undergraduate and graduate programs.
Higher Education Commercialization: Transformation of education into a business enterprise model grounded in large investments in institutional branding and marketing.
Non-Native English Speaking (NNES): Foreign students whose first language is not English.
Internationalization: Incorporating international and intercultural dimensions to facilitate meaningful postsecondary education experiences.
Cultural Capital: Experiences, networks and integration that promote social mobility and may play a role in attaining economic opportunities.
Higher Education Commodification: Increased institutional competition for students and dependence on private funds.