Source: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance via Academica
“We need to start shifting our focus from the benefits [international] students bring, to ways that we can help them succeed while they are attending our institutions,” writes Colin Aitchison for the OUSA. Aitchison critiques the ways that current discussions about international students talk about the “benefits” these students bring to Canadian universities, such as “unique perspectives in class discussions” or “a significant economic impact.” While these benefits are real, the author writes, they also draw attention away from the significant barriers that international students face at Canadian institutions. Aitchison outlines several ways that institutions can shift the focus of this discussion by better supporting international students.