Due to the cap on international student numbers, the college has suspended admissions to some programs.

Thunder Bay - Confederation College has suspended new student admissions for some programs while continuing to develop strategies in response to the federal government's cap on international student numbers.

Due to the cap, six programs have stopped accepting new students for the winter semester, including five programs in the School of Aviation, Engineering Technology and Trades, and one program in the School of Business, Hospitality and Media Arts.

Admissions for the spring/summer semester have also been suspended for four programs in the School of Business, Hospitality and Media Arts, and one program in the School of Aviation, Engineering Technology and Trades.

Studies for those already enrolled in these programs will continue as usual.

The federal cap has led to a decline in enrollment at colleges and universities across the country, with first-year university enrollment downnearly 40% last fall.

The college believes the decline could be even greater next fall.

As of January, the college had 1,382 international students enrolled, a decrease of 429 compared to January of last year.

Of the international students currently attending the college, only 75 are new. The rest are returning students completing their studies.

In response to inquiries from The Watch, the college said this week that no final decisions have been made on the status of existing programs, and it is evaluating options for both short-term and long-term strategies.

"A suspension of admissions means that admissions are temporarily halted for a specific term or cohort based on enrollment trends, with the expectation that admissions will resume in the future. This is a common practice that happens every semester," the college explained in a statement. "On the other hand, a cancelled program is one that is permanently or indefinitely discontinued, with no plans for future admissions. Currently... we have not announced any permanent program cancellations."

Confederation College President Michelle Salo said the college's top priority is to maintain the breadth of its programs while minimizing the impact on staff.

"We are committed to providing high-quality education and supporting our community through a thoughtful and strategic approach," she said. "As part of this process, we will continue discussions with our faculty and support staff unions, and review potential measures with our board of governors. We will provide updates as decisions are made and plans are finalized."

A spokesperson for the college's faculty said that despite ongoing discussions, they are concerned about job security.

"In terms of our ability to actually develop strategies to increase job stability, that is not happening," said Rebecca Ward, president of Local 732 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.  

"We still don't know which programs they plan to suspend, and if we don't know which programs they plan to suspend, we can't proactively plan for job stability for individual faculty members."

"We know that programs are going to be cut, and we want to prepare our members. We want to put them in the best position to continue employment... We also don't know of any other cost-saving measures Confederation College is taking, which is also concerning to us. Administrative bloat is a problem across the system and at Confederation College. If they need to save money, what other measures can they take besides cutting faculty positions?"

A college spokesperson said the administration is proceeding cautiously with any capital projects, and will only move forward with those that can significantly save costs or increase revenue.

Several universities across the province have already taken significant steps to address the decline in international student enrollment, including layoffs of up to 20%.

One school has suspended 49 programs.

Due to federal policy changes, the number of international students attending Lakehead University's Thunder Bay or Orillia campuses fell by 11% last fall.

A spokesperson said that although Lakehead University relies less on international tuition revenue than some other universities, it still faces a "serious situation."

About 20% of the university's students are international students.

So far, the university has not cut programs or staff due to the international student cap, but the spokesperson said it is monitoring the situation closely.

Source:  https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/college-suspends-new-admissions-to-some-programs-due-to-foreign-student-cap-10276843