St. Clair College is reporting a big increase in the enrolment of domestic students this Fall, but international student enrolment is a different story.
The overall domestic enrolment for this Fall semester is 7,594, according to St. Clair, or 628 more students than last Fall. The college said that's a nine per cent increase and marks the first time since 2018 that domestic enrolment numbers have reached that level.
College officials said the largest enrolment increases are for in-demand professions such as Practical Nursing, Personal Support Worker, Early Childhood Education, Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician, and Electrical Techniques.
The college also said the Chatham Campus saw a 29 per cent jump in domestic enrolment, with a total of 1,382 full-time students currently studying at that campus.
The big increase in Chatham was driven by Personal Support Worker, Practical Nursing, Powerline Technician, Police Foundations, and Developmental Service Worker programs, according to St. Clair officials.
"As usual, the St. Clair College family, through their collaborative efforts, did an exceptional job in attracting students to the College by means of open houses, campus tours, and visits to high schools in our area and throughout the province during the preceding year,” St. Clair College President Michael Silvaggi said. “Our academic and service teams also made adjustments to allow us to expand intake in many high-demand programs with substantial post-graduation job prospects."
St. Clair College said the Windsor and Chatham campuses have 12,235 full-time students currently studying there.
However, the college noted the total number of full-time students enrolled at its three campuses in Windsor and Chatham and one in the Greater Toronto Area, dropped by around two per cent compared to last year's Fall figures to a total of 15,761 mainly due to low enrolment in the Toronto area.
The institution reported a 11.9 per cent decrease in the number of international students studying at St. Clair College this Fall, mainly because Ace Acumen Academy based in the Greater Toronto Area didn't take any new students this semester.
"The area’s traditionally low birth-rate is now being offset, it appears, by the substantial migration of new citizens to our region from other parts of Ontario and Canada,” said Silvaggi. "Despite the recent announcements of federal restrictions on immigration, our international student enrolment remained very stable. Thanks to having many service supports in place for these global visitors, our visa allocations were largely untouched."
St. Clair also noted that 4,641 or 38 per cent of its student population in Windsor and Chatham are international students, while 3,526 students are enrolled at Ace Acumen Academy.