Tuition deposits going up $4K for international students at UPEI and Holland College

Holland College and UPEI are increasing tuition deposits for international students after the federal government's decision to cut the number of study permits it gives out. 

Both schools say they're raising that up-front cost from $1,000 to $5,000. 

After Ottawa announced enrolment restrictions in January, P.E.I. found out it could bring in up to 2,000 new students across all schools. Those spots were divided betwen UPEI with 1,185, Holland college at 710, and 105 at the French-language College de l'Île.

Each spot comes with an attestation letter. Similar to an acceptance letter, if an international student's application to a school is approved they give a tuition deposit and then get a letter. And they need that letter before applying for a permit to study in Canada. 

Greg Keefe, interim president at UPEI, said because of the limited number of spaces, they're deciding carefully who gets a letter. 

"We're doing what we can on our end, to make the adjustments, to ensure that folks that receive an attestation letter from UPEI are very serious about coming to our campus," said Keefe.

The school is doing what it can to make sure students offered a letter are committed, he said.

"They need to pay that [deposit] prior to receiving the attestation letter." Give the increase in fees, hs said, "What we're trying to address is folks that would use one of these very precious attestation letters that we now have and then either not apply for a visa ... or study permit, and go to a different institution."

Keefe said UPEI last year offered letters to 3,200 students and of those, roughly 675 received a permit and actually enrolled.  

It's a similar story at Holland College: 1,400 offers were sent out and about 450 attended.  

"The cap really limits our ability to send out offers for students to attend the college," said Lornie Hughes, registrar at Holland College.

"The goal is to ensure that the students who have been offered a seat and are going to confirm that seat have full intentions of coming to Holland College in the fall."

For new international students who do attend UPEI or Holland College, the deposit is put toward their tuition. If, for some reason, they are unable to get a study permit, 90 per cent of their deposit will be refunded. 

Hughes said potential Holland College students who choose not to attend can also get the 90 per cent refund within three weeks of receiving an attestation letter.