The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) said it met its enrolment target for the 2016-17 school year.
On the first day of classes, 20,234 undergraduate and graduate students were registered for fall classes, an increase of 2.6 per cent from the previous year.
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Of those, 2,244 were self-declared aboriginal students, up 8.4 per cent.
“Attracting and retaining motivated aboriginal and international students is a priority for us,” said Patti McDougall, the vice-provost of teaching and learning at the university.
“Our new Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre is a safe and welcoming place that respects the diversity of all people, and will play a large role in the success of our diverse student body.”
There were 2,193 international student enrolled, down 1.2 per cent from last year.
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Despite the slight decrease in international students, McDougall said the Saskatoon campus is one of the top two institutions in the country with the “highest percentage of international graduate students.”
The U of S is currently completing work on a new vision, mission and values statement, which will be used to work on a new enrolment plan for the coming years.
“Together we will decide how big and how diverse we want to be,” McDougall said.
“We’ll also decide such things as what percentage of our total student body should be made up of undergraduate and graduate students.”
McDougall said development of the new plan will include stakeholders from within the campus community.