Education Quality Assurance in British Columbia

This paper examines the development of British Columbia’s Education Quality Assurance (EQA) designation as a case study of the growing interconnection between higher education and immigration policy in Canada. Situating the analysis within a multi-scalar political economy and agenda-setting framework, it argues that globalization and declining public funding have driven Canadian provinces to increasingly rely on international students as a source of revenue and economic growth. The paper briefly traces the historical evolution of international education policy in British Columbia, highlighting shifts from humanitarian and cultural objectives toward market-oriented strategies emphasizing recruitment and retention. It then analyzes the creation and transformation of the EQA as a provincial “quality brand,” demonstrating how federal immigration policy—particularly regulations governing international student entry—reshaped provincial authority and effectively made participation in EQA necessary for institutions seeking access to international students. The study concludes that, rather than primarily serving educational quality, the EQA reinforces the commodification of higher education by embedding market logics and international student tuition as central funding mechanisms, reflecting broader neoliberal pressures on public postsecondary systems.