Some changes need to be made to save the suspended university program.

Thunder Bay - Although the 11 programs suspended indefinitely have not been completely cancelled, senior officials at Confederation College say changes must be made to bring them back.

On Wednesday, the collegeannounced the suspension of11 programs in the School of Business, the School of Hospitality, Media and the Arts, the School of Engineering Technology, the School of Trades and Aviation, and the School of Health, Negahneewin College, and the School of Community Services. On Thursday morning, college president Michelle Salo and vice-president academic Aaron Skillen spoke with reporters about the changes.

Skillen said, "Currently, the situation at Confederation College, and certainly the provincial and federal situations, have led us to have to make these difficult decisions."

"If those circumstances change, and change in a favourable direction, making us more optimistic about higher enrolment, or allowing us to deliver these programs in a more economically sustainable way, then we are certainly open to revisiting the idea of that program or other new program development in that area."

He said a suspension means there are no plans to enrol students in a program for the foreseeable future, but there is a possibility "to reconsider the program at some future date." He said this is different froma pause in admissions,which is a short-term halt in enrolling students based on factors such as specific class sizes, but with a clearer plan to resume.

He added that a full cancellation means deliberately, completely, and permanently closing the program.

The college said students currently enrolled in these 11 programs will be able to complete their studies.

The college said international students used to make up about 45 percent of fall enrolments, but now, Salo said, they expect that number to be between 20 and 25 percent.

Skillen said part of the reason for the current program suspensions is that the college received fewer attestation letters for international students for the 2025 calendar year compared to previous years. He added that these letters must be submitted with study permits to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This year, the college received a total of 1,544 such letters, down from 1,929 in early 2024.

In addition, Salo said the suspended programs are not ones that the federal government allows international students to obtain post-graduation work permits for.

"The ones we suspended are not on those lists," she said. "We have been advocating, and for the past six months we have been advocating, to have these added to the list - as of today, they have not been added."

Salo said many of the programs have high demand in the qualified job market for graduates, "which is the unfortunate part of having to suspend this program."

Salo said the college's domestic enrolment has been declining over the past decade, adding that the suspension of the 11 programs affects 33 students, none of whom are international students. Skillen said those students have been notified, "and we are working with those students on next steps."

"Unfortunately, our domestic enrolment has been declining over the past decade, and now without international students to help support viable cohorts, the viable size of these programs has become difficult to manage," Salo said.

When asked if she thought the college was too reliant on international students, Salo said that was not the case.

"Our focus has always been to provide study opportunities for domestic students in northwestern Ontario," she said. "The reality is that our domestic student numbers have been declining," Salo continued, noting that the overall population is declining and students are choosing university over college.

"So for us, it's actually a responsible way to offer these programs to a small number of domestic students while attracting international students to fill those seats."

"From our perspective, it's a very responsible thing to do."

According to a press release issued Wednesday, the college also cited "ongoing constraints" in post-secondary funding from the Ontario government as a contributing factor. Many other colleges in the province are also facing program suspensions, and some are even facing layoffs.

As for the potential impact of the suspensions on staffing at the local college, Skillen said, "We have not announced any layoffs associated with the suspension of these programs," and that the college will continue to work with unions representing faculty and support staff to "mitigate the impacts of these program suspensions."

He added that operations at regional campuses will not be affected.

The college has been adding new programs, including thepharmacy technician program launched last year, and the electrical technician diploma program starting this fall (according to Skillen). Confederation College also recently announced apartnership。

with Seneca Polytechnic for aviation and veterinary technician programs. He said reviewing which programs to offer is an ongoing process.

"From a planning perspective, it's something we do every academic year, and we are open to any new program ideas that we think will meet the needs of our local and regional labour market and, ideally, generate significant interest from a student perspective."

Source:  https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/something-would-need-to-change-to-save-suspended-college-programs-10436663