Sheridan College to suspend 40 programs and reduce staff, citing drop in enrolment
CBC
Sheridan College says it's putting 40 programs on hold and laying off staff as it faces a dramatic drop in enrolment.
The college estimates that it will have about 30 per cent fewer students next year, resulting in a $112-million drop in revenue, according to a statement from its president, Janet Morrison.
An additional 27 programs will undergo an "efficiency review," Morrison said.
"These changes are required for Sheridan to remain a financially sustainable and vibrant community in response to chronic underfunding, changing government policies, and social, technological, and economic disruption," Morrison said.
"Sheridan will look different, but our commitment to learning, discovery and engagement remains the same."
The programs being suspended include 13 in the faculty of applied science and technology, 13 business programs, six in the faculty of animation, arts and design, five in the faculty of applied health and community studies and three in humanities and social sciences.
Students who are currently enrolled in these programs will still be able to graduate, the college's website says.
Sheridan College is the latest school to face financial challenges after the federal government announced a cap on study permits for international post-secondary students. The government has said the cap is meant to reduce the number of new student visas by more than a third this year.
Ottawa said it would approve approximately 360,000 undergraduate study permits for 2024 — a 35 per cent reduction from 2023.
In September, the federal Liberal government said it would further slash the number of international student permits it issues by 10 per cent.
Deciding how to divvy up the allocation of permits among post-secondary institutions is up to the provincial government, which announced in March that colleges would face the biggest drop in their international student numbers.
The Ford government's 2024 budget revealed that Ontario's colleges will lose out on $3.1 billion in revenue over the next two years from the expected drop in international student enrolment.
Morrison's statement doesn't blame the international student cap directly, but a backgrounder posted on the college's website does point to "shrinking domestic enrolment" and "dramatic shifts in government policy" as factors.
Jack Urowitz, Sheridan faculty member and president of OPSEU Local 244, which represents professors, librarians and counsellors at the school, said the cap is the "straw that broke the camel's back" — but he also pointed to declining provincial funding in recent decades.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Four in five of the wildfires so far in Saskatchewan this year have been caused by humans — the vast majority of them accidentally. But experts say part of the reason they've spread so far, so fast, is another human factor: climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
Just a block away from the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan there's a garden uniting green thumbs in Lloydminster.
Shelley Lindaas has long dreamed of seeing a Kermode bear cub in person.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report outlining the events leading to the death of Erixon Kabera answered some questions for his family and friends, but many remain.
Syed Hassan says he doesn't like to complain much. But when his wife told him she got a parking ticket on Thursday night, he knew he needed to speak out.
Following the public outcry over the Jian Ghomeshi case, some legal scholars and sexual assault survivor advocates lauded changes made to the Criminal Code that would prevent defence lawyers from surprising complainants at trial with past emails or text messages with the defendant.
The Waterloo Region District School Board has been talking a lot about the word "family" this month.
At Pedro's Island Eatery in North Rustico, owner Pedro Gameiro has long been not a fan of using seed oils for frying
The parking lot of the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse was full on Friday, and the building surrounded by well-dressed young people and their proud families. Despite the smoky conditions in the city, there was much to celebrate.
Toronto has moved one step closer to allowing fiveplexes and sixplexes in neighbourhoods across the city.
Warning: Some readers may find photos in this story distressing.
Fifty years ago this fall the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States met in a castle outside Paris for three days of meetings, at the conclusion of which they issued the Declaration of Rambouillet, a 15-point statement of principles and commitments.
An Iranian woman living in Newfoundland and Labrador says she's watching attacks between Israel and Iran with worry for her family back home.