Canada’s CBC news is reporting that dozens of international students in Canada claim they were misled by dodgy education agents about their chances of remaining in Canada on a work permit following the completion of their two year diploma studies.

Migrant rights group, Migrante Alberta, says the number of affected international students – who were enrolled at Solomon College – could be as high as 80.

Many of the duped international students are now facing the prospect of being force to leave the country.

The students enrolled at the private college believing that they could apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) when they finished studying.

The catch is that only students studying at ‘Designated Learning Institutions’ are eligible to apply for a PGWP, and very few private colleges qualify.

The PGWP is a federal government program, but the provincial governments designate which institutions and programs are eligible.

Eligible programs include degree, diploma, and certificate programs at publicly-funded post-secondary institutions, and Ministry-approved degree programs at private institutions. There are currently no ministry-approved degree programs at private institutions that are eligible for the program.

Edeline’s story

As usual what is at best unprofessional, and at worst dishonest, conduct by dodgy education agents has a very real human impact on international students.

Edeline Agoncillo from the Philippines enrolled in a hospitality management program at Solomon College based on the advice of an agent, who also said that she would easily get a PGWP after two years.

She had to take out loans against property that she and her parents owned in the Philippines to meet the tuition and consultant’s fees.

“I gave my agent my full trust” she said.

It now seems clear that she is not eligible to apply for a PGWP.

How did this happen?

When pressed for comment by CBC, Solomon College’s program manager, Ben Lau, said

We never promise anything, but we told them we have students getting the post-graduate work permit before. But it’s not our authority to say yes or no, so I always refer them to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada and ask them to check whether they’re eligible or not.

Ok, thanks Ben, but even if we accept that, it doesn’t address the issue of what Solomon College’s education agents are telling students.

Clear advice from an education institution on all aspects of the study experience is always critical, but may be too little too late if international students in Canada have already been misled by dodgy education agents.

So a key question here is, what education agent management systems and processes did the college have in place to ensure that its education agents were properly advising prospective international students?

More specifically:

  • How did the college ensure that its education agents had up-to-date information on the college, and clear messaging on future migration and work outcomes?
  • Did the college assess the performance of its education agents by regularly seeking feedback from enrolled students?
  • What action did the college take if it became aware of dodgy education agents?

Any educational institution implementing even the most basic elements of best practice education agent management would have clear answers to those questions.

And if there were clear answers, it is hard to see how 80 students could now be making similar complaints without a red flag being raised much earlier.

What’s the cost?

As Edeline’s story illustrates, the most serious cost here is the impact on affected international students in Canada and their families.

The decision to study overseas is one of the biggest in a young person’s life. When it goes wrong due to bad advice from dodgy education agents, the adverse affects on their life will usually be significant and long lasting.

Clearly there is also a significant cost for any institution that is associated with dodgy education agents.

To take the current example, Solomon College has received adverse media coverage in Canada, and it’s now got a small army of angry students who will presumably tell their networks to steer clear.

What’s the impact of all that? One lost enrollment? Ten? More?

It’s hard to quantify, but it’s there.

Protect your brand and students from dishonest or unprofessional education agents

A single dishonest or unprofessional education agent can destroy the lives and dreams of international students and do huge damage to your brand in your target international markets.

Until now it’s been very difficult for institutions to check on education agent integrity either before entering into an agreement, or during the business relationship.

AgentBee’s business intelligence solution – AgentBee: Scout – solves that problem.

You get:

  • Education Agent alerts – we monitor the web for information on dishonest education agents, and make sure that you get it immediately in order to protect your students and your brand.
  • Run your agent checks – Use our database of historical education alerts to run checks against your current agents and new education agent applications.
  • Compare notes with industry colleagues – Use our secure – educational institutions only – network to seek and share information on education agents with colleagues in the industry.

 

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