Board of Governors votes to suspend 37 programs, close Perth campus
The Board of Governors of Algonquin College has voted to cut 37 academic programs and shutter a rural satellite campus.
The board on Feb. 24 voted to cancel six programs and suspend 31 programs with intent to cancel. The board also voted to move ahead with the previously announced closure of the Perth campus.
Claude Brulé, president and CEO of Algonquin College, warned of a $60-million deficit next year with the potential to grow to $90 million by the 2026-2027 school year.
“Nothing in the history of the college compares to this extraordinary and unprecedented context against which we are working decisively and with a sense of urgency,” Brulé said.
The college has seen a 52 per cent reduction in international student enrolment, creating a budget shortfall of $42 million for the 2025-2026 academic year, meaning that programs whose revenues were tightly tied to foreign students will not be able to operate.
Brulé referred to the proposed cuts as cost-containment recommendations that would “assist with restoring the college’s financial stability.”
In addition to the federal cap on international student enrolment severely straining the budget, Algonquin College vice-president Julie Beauchamp cited several other factors that have negatively affected the budget, such as provincial tuition freezes and the provincial funding model.
“This recommendation is not made lightly. It follows months of rigorous analysis, data review, and extensive consideration,” Beauchamp said.
On top of the hard cuts on international enrolment study permits by the federal government, other measures such as cutbacks in post-graduate work permits are dissuading international students from enrolling at the college.
Business and hospitality, trades, health, STEM programs and some niche fields with high operating costs and small cohorts — leading to a heavy reliance on international enrolment revenue — have been heavily cut.
“Our traditionally strong programs in business and hospitality have been particularly hard hit, with almost all of their programming excluded from the post-graduate work permit eligibility list,” Beauchamp said.
Programs that received cross-program subsidization from higher revenue-generating programs were also axed due to the subsidies no longer being viable in the current financial situation.
Altogether, the college is expecting a drop of 7,207 international students.
“To compensate for this loss, we would need to enroll nearly 25,000 additional domestic students — a nearly impossible feat,” Beauchamp said.
She referred to a four-quadrant positioning matrix that accounted for financial performance, industry demand, enrolment trends (domestic versus international), and community impact which was used to decide which programs were most worth preserving.
Board member Wadhah Al-monaifi expressed his doubts and resignations about the cuts after voting.
“We have to make some tough decisions in these challenging times,” he said. “But how can the college continue to claim to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success, like it did for myself and others when we’re cutting many unique and important programs?”
Brulé noted the many high-quality programs are still on offer at the college.
“We continue to have a wide array of programs — close to 200 — that will transform students’ hopes and dreams into lifelong success.”
