Stay Tuned for More Updates, Including a Town Hall

—From the desk of Maggie Matear, President

Dear Colleagues,

I imagine many of you have been following the news around the cap on international students. Last year, the federal government reduced the number of students that post-secondary institutions can accept by 35%—and last week, it announced another 10% decrease. There are now also significant limits on the post-graduate work permit, which, as we know, is a major reason students come here to study.

This will mean a significant drop in enrolment for us in the fiscal year 2025/26, and a reduction of several million dollars in annual tuition. Equally important, we’ll experience a loss in the diversity, vibrance and cross-cultural exposure that international students bring to our college and region.

While we’ve seen a slight rise in domestic students this year, demographic trends show that this group is unlikely to increase fast enough to make up the difference. Over the past decade, international student enrolment has helped compensate for decreasing domestic enrolment. It has allowed us to offer more programs, smaller classes and additional sections. We can no longer do this.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see any significant increases to provincial operating funds, as BC is facing a deficit of more than $8B. Because of this, we need to find ways to increase revenues, focus on well-subscribed programs and look for more operating efficiencies that will allow us to continue offering accessible, quality education that meets regional needs.

I’m sorry I don’t have more details on what this looks like, right now—it’s a dynamic situation, and we’re doing the best we can to be transparent and forthcoming given with the information we have. In the next little while, the Leadership Team will be working with supervisors and college union leaders to find ways to mitigate the impact this will have on our college. We welcome your ideas. Please reach out to supervisors or union representatives to share your thoughts and get in touch with senior leaders to ask any questions. We’ll do our best to answer questions while respecting confidentiality and privacy limitations.

These are challenging times for colleges and universities across BC. I’m hopeful that our new strategic plan, with its vision for a focus on quality, sustainability and innovation, will increase our enrolment from across the country. This moment may feel like a setback, but it’s also an opportunity for us to rethink how we do things, so we can emerge stronger and more resilient. I know we have it in us to innovate and adapt to this changing landscape.

Our priority over the next little while will be to support employees, students and community members through this transition as best we can. Please keep an eye on our weekly employee newsletter for more updates from me and other members of the Leadership Team as we learn more. There will also be a virtual town hall in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, please recognize that some of us may be feeling stressed or anxious about this news. Let’s try to be our best, most compassionate selves with each other.

Take care,
Maggie