NBCC program cancellations disrupt plans of international students

At their home in a South American country, a married couple had just finished sending out invitation cards to friends and family.

It was their going away party, and New Brunswick was their destination.

The couple had upended their lives as they prepared to move to a new continent for the husband's education at New Brunswick Community College in Moncton. 

But that evening, the husband received an email. The couple's plans had all fallen apart.

NBCC was announcing the cancellation of his program, which had been scheduled to start on Jan. 8. The college offered him a choice: take a full refund, or defer his program to fall 2024 or winter 2025. 

A decision was required by Dec. 1, just 11 days after the college announced the cancellations.

"They expect us to 'reconstruct' our life again at our home country to wait another nine months?" the man said in an email to CBC News. 

CBC News has agreed not to reveal the man's name or other identifying details to protect him from repercussions.

NBCC had told him he was accepted, registered him in a program, gave him the paperwork he needed to get a student visa, then cancelled the program.

He and his wife had quit their jobs, sold their house, car and furniture. They also put a $2,000 security deposit on an apartment in Moncton and spent another $2,000 for their non-refundable flight tickets.

The short notice, the man said, "leaves less than three weeks between the notice and the date of departure. We were literally just finishing packing our stuff to sit and wait for our flight."

Charray Owen, a spokesperson for NBCC, refused several interview requests from CBC News to speak with the president, Mary Butler, and instead referred to the original news release announcing the closures.

The release, put out on Nov. 20, said that NBCC had made the "difficult decision" to cancel eight programs starting in January. The release cited a need to reduce enrolment and said trades and health care were not among the cancelled programs.

But NBCC still hasn't said publicly which programs were cut or how many students were affected. Owen did not answer these questions when asked directly.

CBC News has identified three of the eight affected programs: administrative professional; electrical and electronics engineering technician, and client service and sales.

"We're currently focused on communicating with impacted applicants and ensuring they're supported through this transition," Owen said in an email statement.

The college has campuses in Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John, Miramichi, Saint Andrews and Woodstock.

A lengthy process

In Canada, international students who have already been accepted to a university or college and have received a study permit from the government cannot simply change schools.

They must restart the whole school application process and, once approved, reapply to the government for a whole new study permit.

"If your application for a study permit has been approved and you change your [school], you must submit a new study permit application with a new letter of acceptance," the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship website says.

"You must also pay all the fees for the new application."

A study permit costs $150, which is on top of fees the student has already paid to apply to the school itself. At NBCC, the international student application fee is $100.

In addition, international students from certain countries must also pay to have biometric tests done, which cost $85 a person or $170 for a family.

Fighting back

The man from South America first heard of the cancellation on Nov. 20.

"We recognize the significance of this decision and the impact it may have on your educational plans," the email from the registrar's office read.

He said he wrote back "about the complicated situation and asking for any other options." But the support NBCC had promised for "this transition" didn't arrive.

He got a response a week after he wrote that he described as a "copy/paste" email that he's heard other international students had also received.

"We appreciate the situation has challenges; however, the difficult decision to cancel programs means that we are not in a position to accommodate every applicant," the email read.

"The decision is final," it goes on to say, before asking once again whether the student wants a deferral or a refund.

The man said he is not sure how he will decide.

If the couple stay in their country, they will have to find new jobs and a new home and car and wait nine months just to sell it all again, he said.

"And who knows if they will cancel everything again!" he said in the email.

More students affected

CBC News has verified similar stories with three other international students in similar situations. 

A man from another South American country said he was only notified of the NBCC cancellations 15 days before he was set to travel to New Brunswick. 

He said he quit his job and spent his savings on official documents, immigration counselling, and English language exams, which he said amounted to $3,000, or six months of his salary. He said he chose NBCC because it was the cheapest option for him.

Now he's deciding whether to take the refund and start the process of applying for a Canadian education all over again, or defer to September, which "might be too difficult because currently I don't have job and here in my country getting a job is not easy," he said in a text message.

Even in his situation, he said, he feels lucky because he's single and does not have a family impacted by NBCC's decision.

But still, he said, he struggles with depression now because of the decision.

He called coming to Canada his "life project" and said he has been planning the journey for two years.

"I have lost a lot of time," he said in the text message.

"It is not fair."