Loyalist woos Indian students

Trudie Lake and Charanjit Lubana plan their trip to India for the orientation of the new Applied Health Administration program Loyalist College is offering Indian medical students. Students will do one semester through continuing education, then spend four semesters at Loyalist College. Photo by Jennifer Bowman

By Jennifer Bowman

Loyalist College’s halls are going to become more multicultural next fall when nursing students from India come to get a Canadian education.

Starting at the end of May, medical graduates in India will have the opportunity to upgrade their education through Loyalist College. It’s all part of making Loyalist more multicultural.

“We’re really interested in globalizing our campus. Loyalist College is a rural college. We would like to have our campus reflect more of Canada’s population representation,” said Catherine O’Rourke, director, of student success services.

The first semester of the program will be offered through distance education at three colleges in India. They will spend the following four semesters at Loyalist, in the Applied Health Administration program.

Upon graduation they will have a three-year working visa and be able to work in many areas, including nursing, medical offices, hospital ward clerks, reception, and as personal support workers.

“It becomes a whole package. It becomes a way to find an education, a good job, and stay in Canada,” said Trudie Lake, manager of the school of continuing education at Loyalist.

One of the reasons India was chosen for the program was because of a pre-existing relationship between Loyalist and the high commission in India. The program is expected to work well there because Indians go through school in English, eliminating the need for any extra English courses in Canada. Their nursing and midwifery programs also use the same textbooks as Canadians.

“The unique part about this program is they get one semester on the ground in India first,” said Lake. “Then we know what the quality of student is going to be and the Canadian visa is approved before they come to Canada.”

The work visa may raise concerns for Canadians looking for medical jobs, but the increase in medical students isn’t expected to threaten jobs for other Canadians, said O’Rourke.

As the population ages, demand for health services continues to expand, said O’Rourke. It will also benefit the growing population of Indians in many centres to have someone who understands their language and culture.

Students may return to India to upgrade their medical administration system when they are finished.

“Their record keeping is not nearly technically as advanced as it is in Canada,” said O’Rourke. “So there is a pent-up demand in India to integrate some of the new technologies into their medical record keeping, so that would be a really exciting opportunity to advance that in India, should those students choose to return home.”

The new program is a model that may be used in many different ways in the future. Loyalist is contemplating similar programs in China and Vietnam, and also following the model for a business program. The program has gained interest with the Canadian Consul.

“They asked specifically for us to share this terrific model with our partner colleges,” said Lake. “It’s such a good way to ensure they’re [the international students] going to come to your college. But we don’t think we’ll do that until we’re sure of our success first.”

The program also has some monetary gains for the college. Indian students won’t be subsidized by the college, and will have to pay the full price of about $20,000 for two years.

“For continuing education it’s a wonderful revenue generator at a time when the ministry is not able to increase our pocket of funding for students. This helps the college as well,” said Lake.

The program is targeting young women, mostly between the ages of 19 and 23, though some men have shown interest as well.

“They are mostly middle class families, not wealthy families, but they want to come to Canada just for education, just for better lifestyles, and for better opportunities,” said Charanjit Lubana, the mentor, facilitator, and coordinator of the program.

Lubana foresees some difficult adjustments for the students, but is prepared to help them from what she went through when she came to Canada in 2006 and went to Loyalist.

“I can support my people, and I can give them right direction,” said Lubana. “What we suffered, what we had faith, I will limit or minimize their struggle.”

Lake and Lubana are flying to India for the program’s orientation on May 20. The first students will arrive at Loyalist in September.