Partner spotlight: See how TRUE North and Flywire unite to guide the international K-12 student journey in Canada

More than 30,000 international students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) came to study at Canadian public schools during the 2021-2022 academic year, according to CAPS-i. Representing 131 different geographies, led by China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Mexico, they joined a growing number of students from Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe.

On their way to Canada, many of these international families are introduced to TRUE North. Based in Kelowna, British Columbia, this cloud-based Student Information System is deeply tailored to the unique needs of the K-12 international student experience. This is why TRUE North is used by more than 100 public school districts to manage the various parts of the international K-12 education process across Canada, where international students can gain acceptance to attend public schools.

From admissions to payment, when it comes to international education, there are many moving parts. TRUE North helps bring these parts together to allow both schools and families to securely track and manage their international education experience.

A key element of the international student experience is easing and ensuring payment processes. With annual tuition fees typically ranging from $8,500 to $15,000 or more, these are considered high-value payments that can bring stress for families in making sure they are processed accurately, securely and on time. Recognizing the importance of this piece of the journey, TRUE North partnered with Flywire in 2018 to integrate its platform to directly link payments functionality to the various steps of the application and enrollment process. The end result provides real-time, secure and online payment processing functionality for families while automating the receivables processes to drive operational efficiency for the schools.

“At TRUE North we are committed to helping international students who want to study in Canada. Our Flywire integration simplifies the complexities of international payments and adds value for international students, agencies and schools,” said Blair Hope, co-founder of TRUE North, along with Jason Schaad.

By allowing students and families to pay in their currency and payment method of choice, Flywire’s global payment platform automatically handles currency exchange and the secure transfer of funds from more than 240 countries and territories to ensure each school receives payment in Canadian dollars.

Schools that use TRUE North appreciate Flywire for its out-of-the-box integration, easy on-boarding process and most of all, around-the-clock multilingual support. This turnkey integration often surprises schools, who are wowed by how tightly linked payment processing is in the TRUE North system. Both front-end and back-end users benefit from easily accessing up-to-date balance and payment status in real time.

“The TRUE North/Flywire integration proved to be seamless and the level of client service is simply second to none. We greatly appreciate the real-time payment notifications and user-friendly client dashboard. In addition, we have found the refund process to be smooth and efficient,” said Shannon White of SD6 Rocky Mountain, a school district in southeastern British Columbia with 18 schools serving Golden to Kimberley. “We highly recommend Flywire and are very happy.”

The decision to study abroad is one of the biggest a family will make – especially with younger students. From managing applications and acceptance to the tuition process, easing the student journey is an incredibly essential piece of getting the international student experience right.

“TRUE North is truly best-in-class, and takes very seriously the important job of easing the entire process of applying, gaining acceptance and attending school in Canada for families of international students, just as we do for payments. It’s been a great fit for Flywire, and we’re looking forward to driving even more value for international student families and Canadian K-12 schools, together,” said Chris Sabiston, Director, Canada, Flywire.