BCIT is experiencing a dramatic increase in international student registrations in our Part-time Studies courses. While we welcome the diverse experiences and perspectives international students bring to our campus and classrooms, with that change comes both opportunity and challenges. We are hearing—from both students and instructors—that the lack of balance between domestic and international students impacts the student experience, particularly where English language proficiency in the classroom widely varies. In these cases, instructors struggle to meet the needs of all students, and student grades and satisfaction may be impacted during group work and other class interactions.

BCIT is committed to providing exceptional learning environments and communities, and part of that is ensuring we provide a balance of seats between domestic and international students. Reserving seats for domestic students allows us to address some of these challenges and ensure balanced learning experiences for all our students. This balance supports BCIT’s mandate to ensure a skills-ready workforce for the key sectors in BC’s economy and communities.