While overall student enrolment at the College of New Caledonia has dropped this fall, a record influx of international students has created more study opportunities for homegrown students at the College of New Caledonia.

The additional tuition fees charged to foreign students has allowed the college to open up more seats to Canadian citizens in its university transfer programs.

"One of the best things about the increase in international students is the benefits it is having on domestic students," said Catherine Wishart, CNC's vice-president of community and student services.

"CNC offered 18 sections of university transfer courses in the spring which were completely funded by international students and, fortunately, 178 seats were also made available for domestic students. Without the international students, we simply could not afford that many inter-session courses."

Overall, there are 170 fewer full-time students at CNC enrolled in fall semester programs, a7.5 per cent drop from the previous year. The college now has 2,208 full-time equivalent students, down from 2,387 in the fall of 2011.

Wishart attributed the drop to an improving regional economy and record-high employment levels in the Prince George area, combined with demographic drop in high school enrollments, which is Canada-wide.