As the 2025 academic year gets underway, universities across North America are grappling with a dramatic drop in international student enrollment—a shift that’s sending shockwaves through campus communities, budgets, and local economies alike. The causes are many, but at the heart of it all are new government policies that have tightened the flow of international students, leaving schools scrambling to adjust and staff facing the brunt of the fallout.
In Canada, the effects have been swift and severe. According to Global News, the federal government’s 2024 cap on international student visas—enacted in response to mounting pressure on housing, healthcare, and other public services—has left British Columbia’s colleges and universities reeling. Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), for example, expects just 2,360 international students this fall, a staggering 60% drop from last year. That number isn’t just a statistic—it’s a $5 million to $10 million hole in the university’s 2025-26 budget, and it’s forcing tough decisions about jobs and programs.
“We anticipate that between early retirements and departments and the dry-up of contract work, this might represent 10-20 per cent of the entire faculty workforce,” said Mark Diotte, president of the Kwantlen Faculty Association, in a statement to Global News. He added that while layoff mitigation measures like early retirement and job sharing have helped reduce the number of cuts, the school still expects to lose about 40 to 45 full-time positions.
Langara College, another major institution in the province, is facing equally daunting numbers. The college projects 2,400 fewer students than two years ago, shrinking its overall student body by 20%. The financial impact? A $13 million deficit this year, with the pressure on to deliver a balanced budget in 2026. President Dr. Paula Burns told CityNews, “To adjust to lower enrollment, we’ve had no choice but to move forward with the difficult process of reducing our total employees.” Notices have already gone out to 69 staff members whose classes will be cut next year, but the full extent of layoffs remains uncertain.
The pain isn’t limited to faculty. Brent Calvert, President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC, told CityNews that Langara has already laid off 70 staff and about 150 contract faculty earlier in 2025. Another 80 regular faculty layoffs are planned for April 2026, bringing the total to just over 300 people—about 25% of Langara’s faculty workforce. “What’s been happening is that post-secondary has been operating on the international student fees for quite a few years, and it’s masked some of the problems with post-secondary public funding that have been taking place,” Calvert explained. “So now that that is gone, that has been exposed.”
The situation is compounded by the federal cap on international study permits, set at 437,000 for 2025. Alex Khadempour, Director at CICS Immigration Consulting Inc., noted, “We have definitely seen a decrease in the number of applicants coming in, but we’ve also seen an increase in rejection of applications. An application that would easily have been approved a year ago is not necessarily being approved this year.”
Frustration is mounting among educators, who feel caught in the crossfire of federal and provincial policy. Diotte pointed out that while Ontario’s government stepped up with $1.3 billion in stabilization funding, British Columbia’s government has been silent, despite having $4 billion in contingency funding. “What we’ve really been seeing is the federal government pointing fingers towards the provincial government and the provincial government pointing fingers at the federal government, when what we need to see is all levels of government getting together with faculty and unions and administration and finding a sustainable pathway forward,” he said.
B.C. Post-Secondary Education Minister Jessie Sunner acknowledged the challenges, blaming “abrupt policy shifts” from Ottawa and a lack of consultation, but stopped short of pledging new funding. “We know that KPU and Langara are taking steps to improve their financial situations. Our ministry will continue to work closely with these institutions as they seek to return to more stable financial footing, and with all post-secondary institutions as they work to manage their operations and budgets through these financially challenging times,” Sunner said in a statement.
South of the border, U.S. universities are facing similar headwinds. At the University at Buffalo, classes began this week with about 750 fewer international students than expected—a 15% decline—according to NPR. The drop is especially pronounced in graduate programs and STEM fields, and it’s not unique to Buffalo. Arizona State University, as well as universities in Texas, Missouri, Illinois, and Massachusetts, are all reporting declines. The Association of International Educators (NASFA) estimates a nationwide drop of about 150,000 new international students this fall, resulting in a 15% overall decline.
That’s not just an academic problem. International students contributed about $43 billion to the U.S. economy last year, and the current downturn could cost local economies up to $7 billion in spending and more than 60,000 jobs, NASFA warns. “The loss of international students will lead to a significant downturn in innovation,” said Fanta Aw, who leads the association. “This will affect communities large and small.”
The causes in the U.S. echo those in Canada: increased scrutiny and delays in the student visa process, with the Trump administration temporarily pausing and then revamping interviews. Many students couldn’t get appointments at embassies or consulates in time for the start of the semester. “For me, the main thing is that I got here,” said Daria Tofan, a freshman from Romania at the University at Buffalo, who only received her visa a week before orientation. Others weren’t so lucky—some are deferring to the spring, while many from India, for example, are transferring to the U.K. instead.
Despite the drop, some U.S. university leaders are quick to defend the value of international students. “What they bring to the university is this incredibly rich, diverse cultural experience for students who may not have ever been outside of New York state,” said Scott Webber, provost at the University at Buffalo. “They really bring a different flavor to campus.” He also pushed back on claims that international students take spots from domestic applicants. “I would assure you that our international students do not take spots, you know, for other students who are qualified to attend and would be successful here.”
President Trump’s messaging has been mixed—while he’s cited security concerns and revoked thousands of student visas, he’s also recently signaled support for increasing Chinese student enrollment, acknowledging the critical role international students play in sustaining U.S. higher education.
As the academic year unfolds, the future remains uncertain for both institutions and the communities they serve. For now, the stories of students like Shivika Singh, who made it from New Delhi to Buffalo, and the hundreds of faculty facing layoffs in Canada, offer a human face to the policy shifts reshaping higher education across borders. The ripple effects, both economic and cultural, will be felt far beyond the campus gates for years to come.
