A closer look at the U of M’s new businesspartner

More on the “global education provider”

Magally Zelaya, staff

On Nov. 26, 2007 the Australian corporation Navitas signed a “recognition and educational services agreement” with the University of Manitoba to establish the International College of Manitoba, a pre-university program for international students set to launch in fall 2008.
Navitas, a “global education provider,” is a for-profit private company founded in Perth, Australia in 1994 by Rod Jones, an educational administrator, and Devon Larson, a teacher, in response to the high failure rates of international students in Australia.
The company, which was formerly called IBT Education Ltd., specializes in pre-university and pathway colleges, English language training courses, workforce and training, and student recruitment, according to the company’s 2007 financial reports.
In fiscal 2007, the company reported a 25.1 per cent rise in consolidated revenue to $282.7 million due to expanding operations.
Navitas is a publicly traded company and shares were selling at $2.00 AUD at time of press.
As part of their annual financial report, it was reported that co-founder and chief executive officer, Rod Jones, earned a total of $915,148 in fiscal 2007.
Navitas has 18 pre-university and pathway institutes around the globe.
“We’re covering a range of different countries around the world,” said Jones.
He listed 11 colleges in Australia, two in the United Kingdom, two in Canada, and others in Kenya, Zambia, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
Jones said Navitas has just announced two new colleges in the United Kingdom and are waiting for McMaster University’s senate to approve an agreement. The contract with McMaster is expected to be signed on March 6, 2008, according to a Navitas press release.
Navitas has a high success rate, with 80-90 per cent of their students completing the first year of their university degree and continuing on to a second. “I would say 80 per cent is very much the low side,” said Jones. “Our average across most of our colleges would be about 90 per cent.”
The success rate of international students at the U of M is 60-65 per cent. Jones attributes Navitas’ high rate of success to the company’s ability to focus on a small group.
“[The universities] would be dealing with a wide range of courses and wide range of students; what we’re doing is focusing in on a small group who need extra help and support.
“We structure the program up so it’s small classes, extra teaching hours, and it’s geared around an interactive style of teaching which means that the lecturer very quickly becomes aware of what the issues are with the students,” said Jones.
When asked why Navitas chose to partner with the U of M, Jones said, “Our aim is to, if you like, locate a college in the main provinces if that’s what people want, ” said Jones.
Navitas started their expansion into Canada in 2006 with the establishment of the Fraser International College at Simon Fraser University.
“In moving to Canada, we saw that the problems in Canada were exactly the same the problems that existed anywhere else,” said Jones.
Canadian expansion is part of the company’s growth plans as stated in their 2007 financial report, “IBT continues to pursue growth opportunities in Asia, Canada and the United Kingdom with negotiations well advanced in some cases.”
The report further stated that, “IBT is committed to a sustainable growth strategy that maximizes returns for its shareholders.” Jones, however, said that the educational needs of international students have always come before the company’s business interests.
At the U of M, the administration maintains that the contract is not an affiliation, but details of the contract — confirmed to be of a five-year length by Jones — have yet to be released.
Jones added, “We have a very close, strong relationship with universities geared around delivering to students what they need to the benefit of the student and the university.”
Though the amount is not known, it has been confirmed by Robert Kerr, the U of M’s vice-president (academic) and provost, that the university will be compensated for the two classrooms and one office that they will provide to the company.
“What they have said is that we, obviously, will be compensated for the use of our facilities, so we will get a proportion of the revenue and then we will disperse that within the university, “ said Kerr, who facilitated the deal with Navitas.
At SFU it is reported that the university will recieve $10 million in the fifth year of their contract with Navitas, according to reports from their student newspaper, the Peak.
In addition, Navitas will provide recruitment services to the U of M.