Student Spending
Brandon University is a magnet for young people and students, and attracts more than 3,000 students to study, live and work in Brandon. Full-time student spending contributes an estimated $36 million every year to the economies of both Brandon and Manitoba.
In 2014–15, the Brandon University student body of full-time, part-time and PENT [1] students comprised 3022 students. It has grown significantly since then. The breakdown for 2014–15 is as follows:
Table 3. Student Numbers at Brandon University for 2014/2015 (Regular session as of Nov 1, 2015)
Headcount for Regular sessions
International Students
| Full-time Undergraduate | Part-time Undergraduate | Full-time Graduate | Part-time Graduate | Full-time Total | Part-time Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 48 | 15 | 5 | 110 | 53 |
Canadian Students
| Full-time Undergraduate | Part-time Undergraduate | Full-time Graduate | Part-time Graduate | Full-time PENT | Full-time Total | Part-time Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1884 | 684 | 100 | 181 | 50 | 1994 | 865 |
Total Student Enrolment
| Full-time Students | Part-time Students | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2104 | 918 | 3022 |
For Brandon University student enrolments, approximately 87% of students are from Manitoba, 8% of students are from out of province and 5% are international. Of the Manitoba students, 26% or 691 students graduated from Brandon School Division high schools, 74% are from outside of Brandon but within Manitoba. The spending for full-time students is calculated in Table 4.
Table 4. Student Spending for 2014/2015
Student Spending for 2014/2015
Student spending forms an important component of the economic impact of Brandon University. Although many Brandon University students live at home, others stay in the residence (278) or rent accommodation off campus. The Sudmant Method uses a counterfactual argument for calculating student spending, meaning university students have to go somewhere for their education, if they chose a location other than Brandon University this spending would be lost. Therefore, using the Sudmant Method, all full-time students are used in the calculation of student spending.
| Total Full-time Students | 2,104 |
| Monthly Living Expenses | 1,645.50 |
| Academic Months | 8 |
| Total Annual Spending $M | 27.7 |
| Less Student Scholarships, Bursaries & Awards $M | 1.3 |
| Less Residence Payments $M | 2.4 |
| Total Direct (Resident Room & Board) $M | 24.0 |
| Multiplier 1.5× | |
| Total Student Spending Impact $M | 36.0 |
Note: Monthly living expenses for students were provided by the Brandon University Students’ Union
Part-time students are not included in the student impact analysis using this method. The rationale used for excluding them is the absence of a local university would result in at least some students not attending any university, and part-time students are a conservative proxy for this effect (after University of Calgary 2013). Approximately 30 percent of the students at Brandon University are categorized as part-time, so the impact analysis using the Sudmant Method tends to undervalue student spending for universities with a large part-time student population.
The estimated full-time student spending impact for the 2014/2015 fiscal year is $36.0M for both Brandon and Manitoba (the majority of students will stay within commuting distance of Brandon University).