Canada Expands Permanent Residency Program for International Students

Postnedia news reports that the Government of Canada will expand the Canada Experience Class to 7,000 people in 2012. The program allows international students studying in Canada to apply for permanent residency more quickly. Students will not be required to return to their home country to apply for permanent resident status.

This is a clever move that helps Canada recruit and retain highly skilled international students. So why is the number only 7,000 and not 70,000?

Read the Postmedia article here.

USA Processes a Record Number of Travel Visas from China

The U.S. Mission to China adjudicated more than one million U.S. visas for Chinese students, tourists, and businesspeople during FY 2011, a 34 per cent increase from FY 2010, U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke recently announced in a press release by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. This number consists of the contributions by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, as well as the U.S. Consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, and Chengdu, the press release points out.

Ambassador Gary Locke commented on the US-China relationship:

“The U.S.-China relationship is profoundly important, and welcoming Chinese visitors to the United States strengthens our cultural and commercial ties.  I am very pleased at the success we have had in significantly reducing wait times for visa appointments this year.”

This is fantastic news and we hope that our Chinese guests will enjoy their visit to America.

TOEFL Serves 25 million Students Worldwide

Education Testing Service (ETS), the administrators of the TOEFL test, announced that over 25 million students worldwide have used the test to "achieve their education goals." That means they have used the test to establish their English proficiency as part of their application process to schools in the United States and Canada.

We confirm these numbers as TestDEN.com's traffic has been steadily growing over the past 12 months and we have had sky-high interest in our online practice course.

Foreign Students Worth $18.8B to USA

The 2009-2010 economic impact statement from international education compiled by the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA) was released last week. The numbers are big. International students are worth a lot to the US economy, $18.8B conservatively using NAFSA's methodology.

Here is how the total breaks down for the current academic year:

• 690,923 international students
• Spent $13.1B on tuition expenses
• Spent $12.5B in living expenses
• Received US student aid of $7.2B
• and spent $448M in dependents living expenses
• NET CONTRIBUTION BY FOREIGN STUDENTS: $18,776,000,000

Facing a budget deficit of $1.42 trillion and a trade deficit of $375B, how soon before the Obama administration opens the education door wide open?

ACT360 Moves to Gastown

ACT360 is moving back to downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada. Our new address in the Dominion Building in Gastown, effective December 1, 2010:

Suite 1116
207 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 1H7

Love the 270 degree view!