SARNIA
Lambton College Commends Province's Commitment to Protecting Students and Integrity of Post-Secondary Programming

A recent announcement by the Ontario Government introducing new measures aimed at safeguarding students and enhancing the integrity of the province's postsecondary education system is being applauded by Lambton College.  

Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities, announced the new measures on Friday, highlighting the urgent need to address critical issues faced by international students. Dunlop introduced a comprehensive suite of actions designed to protect students while ensuring that post-secondary program offerings continue to align with the province's labour market demands.

"The challenges stemming from the recent spike in students coming to Canada, including predatory practices by bad-actor recruiters, misinformation regarding citizenship and permanent residency, false promises of guaranteed employment, and inadequate housing for students, require immediate attention and collaborative action," stated Dunlop.

As a long-time leader in international education, Lambton College is acutely aware of the imperative to address ethical recruitment practices in the international student enrolment process and strongly backs provincial efforts to protect and support students. 

Ensuring transparency, fairness, and the protection of students has long been a priority at Lambton. The College has worked tirelessly to develop and refine strategies that uphold the highest ethical standards in recruitment. This commitment can be clearly evidenced by the high success of Lambton's visa approval rate, reported as one of the highest in the country for the past four years.

In 2018, Lambton also pioneered one of the earliest and most successful systems to combat fraudulent admissions by verifying Letters of Acceptance (LOAs). Recruitment efforts are also bolstered by a carefully selected network of trained education agents.

As part of a multi-year strategy to offer settlement, integration and community support services for international students, Lambton has also added additional housing supports across all campuses to help students secure safe living accommodations. 

Recognizing that the impact of student housing extends to the community, Lambton has implemented specialized housing staff at all study locations to assist new and current students with all housing-related issues. Ongoing collaboration and donations towards both the Peel Multicultural Council (PMC) in Mississauga and the North York Housing Authority (NYHA) has also helped to provide additional housing support in these communities.

Rob Kardas, President & CEO of Lambton College, says it's the responsibility of Ontario's colleges to be proactive in actioning solution-based strategies to address areas of concern.

"As a College, we have an obligation to be part of the solution to provide extra measures to protect, support and keep our students safe - this a cornerstone of our quality assurance approach at Lambton, where every aspect of the student experience is valued and supported," he said. "We look forward to continued collaboration with Minister Dunlop and other community leaders to address these important priorities. As we work together, we are confident that these measures will further enhance the quality and integrity of postsecondary education in Ontario."