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VANCOUVER, B.C.-- Vancouver Community College is shifting its approach to international education by putting a greater focus on attracting international students to career programs, and closing its international ESL programming.

VCC will wrap up international ESL classes at its Alberni Street campus when the term ends on June 23; that facility will close June 30, and operations will move to VCC's other campuses.

Roughly 180 students are affected, and VCC will be working with them individually to help develop transition plans that could include moving to other VCC English-language programs, taking a refund or transferring to another ESL school.

No VCC international ESL students will lose their tuition.

All other VCC ESL programming -- including language skills, university preparation, workplace communications and the summer ESL program -- continues as usual; international students in those courses are not affected.

"International students are increasingly drawn to the kind of specialized hands-on training that VCC's career programs offer," says VCC president Dale Dorn. "We have seen tremendous growth in this area -- and we will be refocusing our approach to bring even more international students into our career programming."

High operating costs and declining enrolment mean international ESL is no longer a financially viable program for the college. International ESL tuition revenue is simply insufficient to cover VCC's costs in delivering the courses.

Over recent years VCC's international ESL enrolment has dropped steadily -- it's down 54 per cent since 2002 -- as student demand has changed and competition has intensified, both locally and internationally.

International student interest in VCC's career training, in contrast, has grown dramatically in that time; since 2002, the number of international students joining the college's career programs has jumped 275 per cent; in the last year alone, for instance, there was a 38 per cent increase over the previous year's enrolment.

"We're enthusiastic about the considerable opportunities ahead, although we regret the closing of our international ESL programming," says Donna Hooker, director of the VCC International department.

"It's highly rewarding to prepare international students with education and job skills for the global community, then see them move into employment," says Hooker. "We look forward to collaborating with our marketing network toward this mandate."

Employees at VCC's Alberni Street campus are expected to move to other college ESL programs and service areas.

VCC expects to save as much as $1.5 million a year in rent and operating costs; that money will be redirected to support other college programming.