The commissions paid by the College of New Caledonia to private overseas recruiting agents have grown more than a hundredfold over the last 10 years.
According to information obtained by The Citizen through freedom of information requests, the college's spending on commissions to overseas third-party recruiting agents rose from $7,662 in 2007-2008 to $804,106 in 2017-2018.
The amount spent on commissions has accelerated particularly in the last two years. The amount paid in commissions rose from $281,923 in 2015-16 to $422,818 in 2016-17 to $804,106 over the last school year.
The numbers are an indication of the importance the college has placed on attracting students from overseas, as enrolment from domestic students has shrunk. Since 2013, the head count of domestic students has shrunk from 8,870 to 6,969, while the head count of international students has risen from 390 to 925. The biggest country of origin for CNC's international student population has been India.
Third-party recruiting agents receive a commission from the college for each student who is recruited, usually a percentage of the first year tuition. The agents play an important intermediary role for post-secondary institutions looking to attract international students. The market in student recruitment is an industry worth billions globally.
The investment in overseas agents has paid off, according to administrators at CNC.
"We've seen a huge increase in international student numbers. The agencies increased proportionally with that increase in students across the province for all the institutions," said Chad Thompson, acting vice-president academic at CNC.
International students pay tuition rates at levels between three and four times that of domestic students at CNC, due in no small part to the fact that provincial government funds do not subsidize the instruction of these students.
According to CNC records, revenue derived from international students rose by 110 per cent between 2013-2014 and 2017-18, from $2.4 million to $5.2 million.
But, according to budgetary records presented to the CNC board, expenses for programs and student services catering to international students, such as academic counselling or ESL training, also rose 140 per cent during the same time period, from $2.1 million to $5.2 million.
Thompson said the college relied on an international network of agents in order to compete with other private and public post-secondary institutions in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada. The majority of B.C.'s 125,000 international students have traditionally been concentrated in the Lower Mainland.
"Students naturally won't be aware of all of the colleges, all of the teaching universities, the institutes and the research universities within British Columbia and there's no way that CNC, for example, would be able to make those connections throughout any of the countries where we draw students. So the agent relationship becomes a very important one in being able to reach out to potential students who otherwise would not be aware of the college," Thompson said.
Anne Harris, operations manager of international education at CNC, said the college relies on several tiers of contracted agents. CNC has a first tier of contracted agents, who have a good knowledge of Canadian post-secondary institutions and who maintain a close relationship with college staff. These agents then recommend, vet and train other agents in-country. In some countries, the college also works with companies who vet agents.
"None of this would happen if we didn't build relationships with our agents, with our potential students, with our potential students' families and so on," Harris said.
But elsewhere, some international students have complained of unethical conduct by international third-party agents. A Vancouver Sun investigation of international recruiters found that the practice of charging agent fees in countries like India was common, even though agents also earn thousands in commission from the Canadian-based universities and colleges. One student spoke of an agent in India who withheld critical documents unless they were paid a bribe, while another paid an Albanian agent $15,000 to obtain visitor and study permits.
A 2013 report commissioned by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada found that while most institutions trusted the accuracy of information provided by overseas agents, many admitted that oversight of agents was difficult.
"Institutions whose enrolment depends on students referred by agents may be reluctant to confront agent misconduct for fear of having them refer students elsewhere. Even for institutions with a "no tolerance" standard, providing effective oversight poses a logistical challenge and may make it harder to be aware of incidents of agent misconduct," the report said.
Harris said agents that work with CNC are contractually required to behave in an ethical manner. While CNC contracts do not restrict the fees charged to prospective students by agents, both Harris and Thompson said agents are required to adhere to strict ethical standards. These standards include providing prospective students with accurate information about CNC's programs, arrival dates, times and ensuring sensitive information is kept confidential.
"We have very well developed student complaint procedures. We encourage students, if they think they have been treated inappropriately to take advantage of those procedures," Thompson said. "I will say, I've never been aware of a complaint of an agent's conduct."
