University of Toronto President Meric Gertler clarified recent comments he made to the BBC about tuition hikes for international students.
Although his comments suggested that increased tuition leads to increased demand, Gertler’s interview with The Varsity revealed that that was not the reason for the hike. Covering the costs of additional services such as counselling and information centres, funding scholarships, and putting the institution in line with its peers were all factors in deciding how to price international student tuition.
While the University of Washington and University of Michigan’s international student populations are 16.2% and 14% respectively, 21.3% of U of T’s students are international, according to their 2017-2018 numbers.
However, Gertler also noted that the percentage of international students is not in line with the percentage of international citizens of Toronto and the university has tried to recruit students from overseas — adding that students benefit from their international peers.