A working group investigating a possible partnership between Carleton and Navitas will recommend the university not form the partnership at an Oct. 28 Senate meeting, according to university officials.
Navitas is a private, for-profit Australian company that establishes colleges for international students on university campuses. One of their goals is to increase international enrolment in their partnered universities.
“Despite many positive points . . . the recommendation will be not to proceed with Navitas,” Carleton president Roseann Runte said via email.
The report, compiled by the Working Group on International Recruitment, found the Navitas model “is not the right approach” for the school, as Carleton “continues to be successful in recruiting [and retaining] international students,” said university provost and vice-president (academic) Peter Ricketts in an email.
The group was tasked to look into a potential partnership between Carleton and the organization in October 2010. Individuals visited the two Canadian Navitas programs at Simon Fraser University and the University of Manitoba and examined their impact at those institutions, Ricketts said.
Navitas was found to be successful in increasing enrolment and revenue from international students, but Ricketts said Carleton wants “to have as much control as possible over the programs into which [they] are recruiting,” which they wouldn’t necessarily have with Navitas.
The group’s report offered eight recommendations for improving Carleton’s international student recruitment processes. In addition to the rejection of a Navitas partnership, the report suggested targeting students for certain programs to increase diversity among the international student body. The expansion of Carleton’s Foundation Program, which offers academic and transitional support for international students, was also noted as a priority.
The Senate will discuss the report at their Oct. 28 meeting. Senior academic administrators will then consider each recommendation over the next month, Ricketts said.
A final decision will be made at the following Senate meeting on Nov. 25, he said.
The possibility of a Carleton-Navitas partnership sparked heated debate last year. Some expressed concern about the implications for Carleton, a public institution, of such a close partnership with a private company. The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) was among those opposed to the agreement.
In an open letter, they said the partnership would negatively impact both existing students and faculty. CUASA claimed that Navitas prioritizes revenue at the expense of quality of education and threatens the job security of university instructors.
They also alleged that Navitas students would have easier access to better resources and would take priority over regular Carleton students.
Concerns raised by CUASA differed from those raised by the working group, which found both students and faculty in the program to be well-prepared and treated fairly, Ricketts said. Ricketts didn’t comment on the impact a Navitas partnership would have on the larger student body.
CUASA and Navitas couldn’t be reached for comment.
— with files from Jane Gerster
