Crandall Welcomes the World

Dannie Brown, DBA, Dean of International Academic Programs

Crandall’s international recruitment strategy began in a somewhat serendipitous fashion as the result of a phone call to President Bruce Fawcett from a Moncton area man who had connections with a university in India.

This and other conversations led to a subsequent trip to India by Crandall University officials, which resulted in the signing of an articulation agreement. With that, Crandall University was on its way to welcoming the world to study at Crandall.

Realizing this could be a fruitful strategy that could see many international students choose Canada, and more specifically, Crandall University, at which to study, University officials decided that they needed someone to lead this new venture, so in the summer of 2018 I returned to Crandall to become the first Dean of International Academic Programs following some years of teaching in other universities where I had the joy of teaching many international students.

For many years now universities in Canada have been recruiting students from all around the world to study in Canada. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, as of December 31, 2018, Canada had 435,415 international students registered at the post-secondary level. This surpasses the goal the government of Canada had set for itself. This increase in international students who pay a premium for their tuition (anywhere from $14,000 to $60,000 annually) in Canada has resulted in many benefits:

1. It has boosted the revenues of post-secondary institutions that continue to operate through declining government funding—to as much as 30 percent for some universities’ total revenues.

2. It has also allowed domestic students to continue to benefit from a high quality education that many feared was in a state of decline.

3. It has also helped to maintain faculty in departments that, prior to the international student influx, were in danger of cuts.

4. And finally, it fits into the plans of all levels of government that wish to increase the number of immigrants to our area; partly because one-fifth of the current workforce will retire within the next decade or so.

Students who complete one year of study at a recognized Canadian post-secondary institution are eligible to apply for a one-year Post-Graduation Work Permit; while students who complete two years of study at a recognized Canadian post-secondary institution are eligible to apply for a three-year Post-Graduation Work Permit. Many students choose studying in Canada as a pathway to immigration. According to a 2018 CBIE survey, some 60 percent of international students plan to apply for their permanent residency status.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, Crandall University had students on campus who were born in 25 different countries around the globe. Approximately five percent of our student population is described as a “visa” student—a student requiring a “Study Visa” to attend Crandall University. We have visa students studying in a number of our programs currently; the majority of whom are registered in the Master of Organizational Management, a one-year program. We anticipate about 50 additional visa students in the Fall of 2019 and another 25 visa students in January 2020. We are in the process of hiring an additional full-time faculty member for the International Academic Programs for September, and another for January 2020.

Our current visa students have already enriched the educational experience at Crandall and are telling us that they are so happy to be at Crandall. Max from Mexico says, “People here are very friendly. That’s what I like about Crandall.” Gayatri from India says, “I love Moncton, the weather, and my professors; everyone here is like my second family.” Shahin from Iran says, “Everyone at Crandall cares about you. Living on campus is very comfortable. You can make a lot of friends here. You’ll not feel homesick here. There are a lot of opportunities here.”

Family members have already arrived to be with the students and some have made plans to visit in the near future. These visa students are also doing their own personal recruiting back “home”, inviting friends and family to also study at Crandall.

As Crandall University celebrates its 70th anniversary this Fall, we will continue to open our doors to people who want to improve their lives through education and relationship. We will continue to show hospitality as prescribed in the Bible, all in an effort to transform lives. Your support for these efforts has been critical for Crandall’s success in the past and will continue to be critical as we step out to welcome the world.