Lambton College is applauding the Ontario government’s move to once again allow provincial colleges to partner with private schools.

Lambton has partnered since 2006 with Toronto’s Cestar College and Mississauga’s Queen’s College, allowing those campuses to teach Lambton programming and graduate students with Lambton credentials.

A moratorium introduced under the previous Liberal government would have required those partnerships to end, cutting off new enrolment after this fall.

But a reversal under the Progressive Conservatives, announced Nov. 12 at Loyalist College, one of the six colleges in Ontario with private partners, means those relationships can continue, said Lambton president and CEO Judy Morris.

Enrolment at private colleges is capped, but more colleges in the Greater Toronto Area could increase local labour supply, she said.

The private-public partnerships enable graduates to apply, under the federal Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, for work permits up to three years. Those who graduate from private schools untethered to public colleges cannot apply.

A government review of the partnership model is planned in two years’ time, Morris said.

“It’s kind of like a balanced approach and they just want to make sure that quality is No. 1.”

A Globe and Mail report in 2018 revealed concerns about the partnership agreement that led to the moratorium.

While the partnership agreement increased enrolment, there were risks amid the government’s inability to monitor the quality of the student experience at the private-branch campuses, the Globe reported, based on a paper to the provincial government the Globe obtained under freedom of information legislation.

Those risks included whether academic standards were being met, whether students were satisfied with the program, and whether the private-branch colleges were providing support services.

“The potential risks should be a deep concern for government,” the report says.

Cambrian, Canadore, Northern and St. Clair are the other Ontario colleges with partnership agreements.

Private colleges receive most of the fees paid by international students, with a percentage as low as 10 to 15 per cent going to the public colleges, the Globe reported.

At Lambton’s two private-branch campuses, enrolment is 5,700, Morris said.

Total enrolment in Sarnia is 3,705.

International enrolment, Morris said, is making up the difference from declining domestic enrolment.

International enrolment hit 1,258 at Lambton College this year, up from 93 international students enrolled in 2009.

Domestic enrolment, meanwhile, was down about 500 over the same time period to 2,447 this year, Morris said.

More international students also give the college a “global footprint,” Morris said, noting Lambton has had similar private-public partnerships with institutions in China since the 1990s.

“They increase our reputation. They allow us to have a diverse population,” she said, noting having more international students in Sarnia is a learning opportunity for domestic students to see “diversity in action.”

International students have to go through rigorous screening, and their influx here could help with a looming skills gap, Morris said, noting relatively flat population growth in Sarnia-Lambton in recent years.

“So we are getting really highly qualified people in our programs and, as a result, we’ll have great people who will make wonderful employees and be great immigrants to this area,” she said.

tkula@postmedia.com