Thompson Rivers University expects to officially welcome 400 new students from around the world tomorrow at an Orientation luncheon hosted by TRU World, the international arm of the university.
These new arrivals will bring the total number of international students attending TRU to more than 1,100 from 65 different countries, an increase of nearly seven per cent over last fall.
This also represents a 36 per cent increase in enrollments since 2005, and an ever-increasing impact on the economic well-being and cultural diversity of the community as a whole.
In 2005, an Economic Impact study based on 809 full-time international students attributed $41.6 million in annual impact in the Kamloops economy from the university’s international activities. The study also showed that international activities were responsible for approximately $70 million in impact from construction activity on the TRU campus and the funding of 66.7 full-time faculty positions.
“TRU maintains and develops its international program in a highly competitive market through substantial physical and fiscal investment,” said TRU President Roger Barnsley. “TRU employs agents around the world, as well as supports internal staff in recruiting and networking assignments in over sixty countries. It is through these activities that TRU is able to attract over 1,100 of the best international students to our Kamloops campus.”
Current international activities at TRU are now estimated to have an economic impact of $50 million a year. As a separate revenue and expense budget component of the university, TRU World’s efforts to attract students to Kamloops in the competitive international marketplace are expected to generate at least $16.5 million in gross revenues for the university’s budget this year, or approximately 14 per cent of the total annual budget revenues.
All international marketing activities are cost-recovery, and TRU World has continued to expand the scope of those activities in an effort to diversify the international student population, and to create new international opportunities for Canadian students and faculty through internationalization, study abroad, field schools and program delivery in other counties.
“We are delighted to be recognized by the Saudi Arabian government as one of the select international destinations for their students. We are experiencing additional growth in many of our key existing markets, including China, Chile, Russia, India and Germany, ” said Cyndi McLeod, Associate vice-president TRU World.
Since 2002, in China, 429 students have graduated from the joint BBA degree program offered with Tianjin University Technology and 150 students have graduated with BBA degrees from the Shanghai Institute of Technology. TRU also has a major accreditation agreement with the Canadian Institute for International Studies in India. Over 150 students are registered for TRU diplomas and degrees.
In addition, memorandums of understanding have been signed for joint agreements with institutions in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysian.
Contact:
- Cyndi McLeod, AVP TRU World, (p) 250-828-5162
