16th National Education Marketing Roundtable
Minutes
Federal/Provincial Consultations with Stakeholders on the Education Brand for Canada (am session)
16th National Education Marketing Roundtable (pm session)
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada,
Robertson Boardroom, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Co-Chair: Chris Greenshields, Director
International Education and Youth Division, DFAIT
Co-Chair: Darcy Rollins, Director
Manitoba International Education Branch, Federal-Provincial and International Relations
08:30 - 09:00
Coffee and muffins in the Skelton Lobby
09:00 - 09:10
Welcoming remarks
Chris Greenshields and Darcy Rollins
Chris Greenshiels/Co-Chair provided a brief summary of activities since the last meeting, including the launch of many programs such as ELAP, the release of the report on the Economic Impact of International Education by Minister of International Trade, the Hon. Stockwell Day and recent Signature events.
09:10 - 09:30
Edu-Canada Activities update
Jean-Philippe Tachdjian
Jean-Philippe Tachdjian gave a presentation on events/activities which took place over the past year (see attached Power Point presentation). The presentation touched on Brand use policy, the Brand roll-out exercise, Signature events, promotion activities in priority markets, EduCanada Pro and current challenges, including developments within the CECN network, Brand eligibility for Languages Canada and other organizations/institutions, and the lack of resources to meet expectations and needs of clients. Plans for the future include developing measurement tools and a better reporting mechanism, greater collaboration with stakeholders, more outsourcing of logistical work, and the creation of Edu-Canada offices abroad. Halfway through Edu-Canada’s life cycle, we have created high expectations. Can we meet them with existing resources?
Questions and Answers
Q: Paul Brennan/ACCC asked whether the creation of regional offices abroad would mean the decentralizing of missions or the creation of new offices.
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT responded that the positions are being transferred from HQ to missions abroad but that the officers would be located in the missions with responsibility for education promotion, scholarships, Canadian studies and youth mobility programs.
Q: Karen McBride/CBIE – How would the creation of regional hubs work with existing education officers at missions?
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian responded that they will they will work in collaboration with the Missions and increase their effectiveness; the creation of new offices will not replace positions abroad but would move HQ responsibilities out into the field – part of the DFAIT Transformation Agenda.
09:30 – 09:45
Report on the Economic Impact of International Education in Canada
Jean-Philippe Tachdjian
Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT gave a Power Point presentation on the recent report commissioned by DFAIT on the Economic Impact of International Education in Canada (see attached). The report, released by Minister Day on October 28, cites that in 2008, international students contributed $6.5 billion to the Canadian economy, contributed over $291 million in government revenue and created economic activity that sustained 83,000 jobs.
The value of international students to Canada now surpasses the exports of coniferous lumber ($5.1 B) and even coal ($6.07 B).
Questions and Answers
Q: Geoff Best/CAPSI asked which sectors are growing and which are growing fastest? Will we have access to that information?
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT responded that all sectors are growing but some are growing faster than others; all is contained in the report.
Q: Rob White/AUCC asked whether the Guhr report will be summarized?
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT responded that Daniel Guhur will be offering a presentation later this morning and that the Executive Summary of the report is in everyone’s welcome kits.
Q: Rob White/AUCC – Did the Guhr report help you arrive at a decision on how to move forward?
A: Chris Greenshields/DFAIT – We’ll take that up later this morning.
Q: Karen McBride/CBIE - How will the report be used internally; how can stakeholders make use of it?
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT – All government programs must be evaluated; Edu-Canada is undergoing an evaluation now. We had no baseline prior to this to measure success. Now we hope to do this every few years to measure our work, our success.
A: Chris Greenshields/DFAIT - We need to work on the statistics available. CIC and Languages Canada did a good job; I encourage all of your organizations to keep stats and to share them.
A: Darcy Rollins/Manitoba – CMEC is rolling out a new process of standardizing data collection in the education sector; no timeline for the international indicators but project is over a 3 year term.
09:45 - 10:10
Update on Signature Events
Stéphanie Mercure and John Manning
Stéphanie Mercure/DFAIT and John Manning/Ontario gave an overview of recent Signature events in a Power Point presentation (see attached). Events included NAFSA 2009 in Los Angeles, CA, which attracted over 7,500 participants and the design of a Canada pavilion that garnered much positive attention, EAIE in Madrid, Spain in September which saw the participation of Quebec universities (CREPUQ) in the Canada pavilion, and NACAC in Baltimore, MD with 34 participating Canadian institutions.
In 2010, participation is planned in the following events: AAAS (Feb. 2010 in San Diego in collaboration with the Research Granting Councils), APAIE, CONAHEC, NAFSA, EAIE, NACAC and the Americas Conference on International Education in October 2010 in Calgary.
Signature events slated for Canada in the coming years include NAFSA 2011, APAIE 2012and AAAS 2012 (all in Vancouver) and NACAC 2013 in Toronto.
Questions and Answers
Q: Mike Rosson/EduNova – At events, when contact information of visitors to the pavilion is captured, is there a database where this information is kept and is it available to stakeholders?
A: Stephanie Mercure/DFAIT – NACAC was the first event where data was captured in a database. It is available to all stakeholders.
10:10 -10:30
Health Break
10:30 -11:00
Update on the roll-out of the Brand to institutions and associations
Rena Elbaze and Geneviève Gougeon
Please see the attached Power Point presentation which provides detailed information on the Brand roll-out, Brand training sessions, operational details concerning Brand use and eligibility, the benefits and responsibilities associated with use of the Brand, and the Extranet website.
Q: Laurier Thibault/RCCFC – Can we view the available posters on the Extranet website and make requests for specific ones?
A: Geneviève Gougeon – Yes, institutions must print the materials but Rena will provide the electronic files.
Q: Robert White/AUCC - Have you got the access and exposure to the institutions that you need for successful dissemination of information about the branding activities?
A: Geneviève Gougeon - Provinces were responsible for inviting people to the training sessions.
Q: Robert White/AUCC - Has training been well attended?
A: Rena Elbaze/CMEC – Training attendance was about 80% and well received. In our message to institutions inviting them to the training session it was made clear that institutions must attend in order to receive Brand use authorization. We are working on offering additional training dates. Only potentially eligible institutions were contacted and invited to attend the training sessions.
Jean-Philippe Tachdjian - The reason for the eligibility list is to identify associations who are eligible. Associations will be authorized to use the Brand based on their membership.
Darcy Rollins - Questions from institutions should be directed to Rena. The Extranet site will be live within a couple of weeks, at which time an email will be sent out to all stakeholders.
11:00-12:00
Report on Best Practices on Managing the Delivery of Canadian Education Marketing
Daniel Guhr, Illuminate Consulting
All large destination countries for international students have experienced growth, but at different rates. The report contains data on postsecondary education only as there weren’t enough stats available for other levels of education. There has been increased competition in recent years with emerging competitor countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia attracting students away from traditional markets.
Daniel Guhr presented a comparison of other countries’ education marketing strategies/enrolments (Australia, France, Germany, the UK and the U.S).
The report recommends the creation of an international education marketing agency owned by the Canadian government. The agency should be small, agile and performance-oriented; expert-driven; ready to grow and evolve and uniquely Canadian. Compromises will be essential by all parties and provinces if the organization is to succeed.
While the Canadian government should provide core funding for operational purposes and some programs, additional revenue streams such as a visa permit fee are deemed essential. The report suggests an initial funding effort of CAD $22m annually.
The report concludes with three specific recommendations: 1) The need for expert marketing and market analysis training amongst Canadian stakeholders. 2) Focusing on increasingly popular online promotion models. 3) A comprehensive and integrated scholarship strategy.
Chris Greenshields/DFAIT- The report suggests huge steps forward. These things will not happen quickly and not without a lot of discussion. When the Department commissioned this report, we didn’t expect certain recommendations. We are interested in the issues, attributes and practices of other countries but understand that it is important to have a coherent, pan-Canadian approach.
Questions and Answers
Q: Garry Wood/New Brunswick – The K-12 sector now represents 20% of international students in Canada yet the report suggests that only a small amount of resources be dedicated to this sector. Do K-12 schools have to pay for the study-permit levy?
A: Daniel Guhr- If you want stakeholder participation you need to match incoming students with payment mechanisms. The model must be transparent and clearly understood. More visas means a rising costs for CIC. The K-12 and languages sectors have performed well without much help up to this point. The agency cannot do everything and I do not recommend that it focuses on K-12 at this time.
12:00 -13:00
Light lunch served in the Skelton Lobby
Chair: Chris Greenshields, Director, International Education and Youth Division, DFAIT
Vice-Chair: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian, Deputy Director, Edu-Canada, DFAIT
13:00-13:05
Welcoming remarks
Chris Greenshields
Chris Greenshields made welcoming remarks to the afternoon session. We have a heavily charged agenda, including a presentation by CIC and UNESCO representatives.
13:05-14:45 Immigration Update
Jorge Aceytuno, Deputy Director for International Students, CIC
Jorge Aceytuno/CIC provided an update on major CIC initiatives as contained in the attached power point presentation. He announced the release of a DVD Digital Library containing facts and figures on international students in Canada, including detailed breakdowns by gender, province, source country, yearly status, transition to permanent status, etc. The DVD was developed further to requests by provinces and education stakeholders. A copy of the DVD was made available to everyone.
Countries with lower approval rates are due to applicants not meeting one or more legal requirements. There are high approval rates for most countries, except India, however, CIC now being more proactive with stakeholders to improve approval rate (ie. working with ACCC on pilot project to improve the quality of applications). China’s approval rate has improved. Processing time remains an area of concerns but the mission in working on new ways to improve.
Questions and Answers
Q: Peter Halpin/AAU – What’s the data on international students who apply to community colleges in Canada? What’s the trend?
A: Jorge Aceytuno/CIC – In our system, it’s difficult to separate public community colleges from private institutions; we are working on that. Community colleges tend to have lower approval rates than universities. It’s possible to turn this around if work is put in to improve the application process – pilot project in India now.
A: Paul Brennan/ACCC – There is difficulty in data gathering because of the variety of students who fit different types, ie. vocational, trade, diploma, certificate, etc. We think the numbers have increased but it would be nice if data collection could differentiate between the different categories.
Gary Taljit/CIC indicated that the markets in China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia were steadily growing. Approval rates for Brazil and Saudi Arabia are higher than India and China, with Saudi Arabia seeing a 150% increase in study permits in 2008.
CIC also provided an update on the India Student Partners Program (SPP), Upfront Medical Procedures in China, the Electronic Notification System, Mexico (Update after Visa Imposition) and Biometrics initiative – See attached Power Point presentation.
Q: Bruce Wilson/OCIC indicated that the ACCC or CIC needed to better explain the SPP. There’s no reason why students cannot apply to colleges outside of the SPP project.
Q: Jean-Philippe Tachdijian/DFAIT – A lot of the best practices developed in India can be applied elsewhere. What about Vietnam, China, etc? Can best practices be applied in other countries?
A: Gary Taljit/CIC – The SPP is not yet a broad-based study but we can definitely adopt best practices in other jurisdictions. We have no plans yet but if it can be done we will look into it.
A: Jorge Aceytuno/CIC - It’s a gradual process but information will be shared with other markets subject to the availability of resources.
Q: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT advised that the visa imposition in Mexico had a negative impact particularly given the closure of the CEC office. Agents in that country felt that they were hit twice. With very little resources – human and financial, especially at the mission, how do we reverse the situation in Mexico?
Q: Daniel Lavoie/Languages Canada - We would have liked to know in advance of the visa imposition. July was a bad month to implement since it’s the busiest time of the year.
A: Jorge Aceytuno/CIC – We tried to communicate the information to all stakeholders as soon as we knew.
14:45-15:30
Global Student Mobility Trends in Higher Education
Albert Motivans, Head, Education Indicators and Data Analysis, UNESCO Institute for Statistics
See the attached Power Point presentation. The data shows how Canada competes in the global market. The number of international students is steadily growing; East Asia is most dramatically grown. There were three million mobile students in 2007. 2% of world students are mobile students. Some countries are almost totally dependent on education abroad. When UNESCO captures data, it only includes students who are studying in another country for a minimum of one year. Canada is now in 7th position with 2.5% of the world’s global students.
15:30-15:45
Health Break
15:45-16:00
Survey of Canadian Schools Abroad
Rebecca Barnes, DFAIT
See attached Power Point presentation which provides information on institutions using curriculum from one of Canada’s provinces. DFAIT is launching a page on the DFAIT website that lists all such schools for Canadian parents moving abroad or foreign parents interested in Canadian education. There are now 65 schools in 16 countries, including 41 located in China. All of the overseas schools are English language schools. Only Quebec and Newfoundland do not have accredited international schools at this time. Ontario and British Columbia have the highest percentage of international students and have the most overseas accredited schools.
Questions and Answers
Q: Shona Perry-Maidment/CHEC - How are overseas schools developed or initiated?
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT - All are private schools. Usually, they contact the local Embassy which directs them to contact one of the provinces. To be a Canadian school you have to be accredited by one of the provincial governments. A moratorium on Ontario schools is still on. Other provinces have taken advantage and are much more active in promotion – ie. BC, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. There is a definite lack of francophone schools. The schools are a good pathway for Canadian post-secondary recruitment and a great way to internationalize. We also encourage Canadian K-12 schools and school boards to set up exchange agreements.
Comment: Bruce Wilson/OCIC – About 15% of our college students come from these overseas schools.
Comment: Mike Rosson/EduNova - It is a useful tool in recruitment to have the contact information for the overseas schools.
A: Jean-Philippe Tachdjian/DFAIT – The website is set up mainly for Canadians abroad who are looking to send their kids to a Canadian school, but it could be used for other purposes such as facilitating recruitment.
16:00-16:30
Roundtable of participants
Tom Tunney/WUSC: We are a membership based organization which supports the internationalization of college and university campuses through sending students abroad. We also sponsor refugee students coming to Canada and facilitate links annual university and college tours (this year Sri Lanka).
Paul Brennan/ACCC – We have conducted a new study to establish a baseline of internationalization and recruitment in colleges and off-shore campuses and joint diplomas. We need to discuss scholarships and mobility of Canadian students going overseas; what are we doing to encourage Canadians to internationalize?
Chris Greenshields/DFAIT – (In answer to P. Brennan’s comment) It is not a mandate of this group since our focus is marketing, but we are ready to discuss the challenges we face in getting Canadians to apply for scholarships.
Anne Burns/NACC - We continue to support the CETAC and other quality assurance initiatives; online instructor development continues to prosper.
Debbie Burns/CETAC - We launched the new standards and governance model; implemented a quality assurance process so that private career colleges can get access to government initiatives ie. Brand and off-campus work permits. Discussions at the inter-provincial level continue for permission for CETAC accredited institutions to use the Brand
Mike Rosson/ EduNova – We are happy to hear that Middle East Education Initiative (MEEI) went well; it was a good collaboration and we look forward to working together again.
Shona Perry-Maidment/CHEC – Three successful tours this year (India, Middle East in February and South America in March); good support from members and Embassies.
Barry Tonge/Alberta– Three primary arenas of work – global education, attracting international students, and capacity development.
Robert White/AUCC – The AUCC completed a strategic review of international activities and is now remodelling to focus on providing research. We continue to remain quite active internationally. A successful event last week when Minister Day released the Economic Impact Study.
John MacLeod/Nova Scotia– We have a desire to increase the number of K-12 schools abroad as there are a high number of students who attend schools abroad and study in Nova Scotia.
Maureen Smiley/IPSEA – The focus of public schools in British Columbia is to internationally brand BC along with the Canadian brand. In answer to the suggestion made earlier regarding exchanges with Canadian schools abroad, we did quite a lot of that previously but British Columbia changed the requirements to graduate making exchange opportunities very difficult.
Rena Elbaze/CMEC Brand Manager - I am available to discuss the Brand (uses and policy) with all.
Bruce Wilson/OCIC– Will share the marketing info gained here with Ontario public colleges.
Daniel Lavoie/Languages Canada – 160 language programs in Canada; we must remember the difficulties faced by international students to adapt and to reach the necessary level of academic English or French.
16:30
Closing remarks
Jean-Philippe Tachdjian, DFAIT
Thank you for coming. The next NEMR will likely be held in early May. At that time, we can discuss the Brand roll-out and AUCC/ACCC Report on campuses abroad. If you have other topics/presentations please let us know.
