Addressing the Impacts of Changes to Federal Immigration Policy

—From the desk of Lareena Rilkoff, Vice-President, College Services

Selkirk College is in the final six weeks of our fiscal year 2025, which runs from April 1 through March 31. The Finance team is working hard to bring together all the revenue, purchases and payroll costs for the fiscal year to determine our current financial picture while projecting our operating budget for fiscal 2026 and into the future. 

Navigating a Changing Landscape 

College leadership has been addressing the impacts of recent changes to immigration policy, which projects a 60 to 85 per cent reduction in the number of international students at Selkirk College over the next two fiscal years.  

A 60 to 85 per cent reduction in international students translates into an anticipated decrease in tuition revenue of $6.5 to $9.2 million, along with reductions in student and ancillary fees, and fewer students in housing, bookstores and cafeterias.   

Current Fiscal Year 

This fiscal year, an increase in international student full-time enrolments (FTEs) has led to an increase of around $1 million in tuition over our tuition revenue budget. This increase appears to be temporary, as there has not been an increase in international students studying on our campuses. It could be because students are working to complete their programs earlier.

This increase in tuition, along with careful spending decisions, is helping to close the gap in our forecasted deficit from $2.4 million to around $1 million for March 31, 2025. 

Next Fiscal Year

Selkirk College has a total budget of approximately $73 million. Revenue sources include:

• Provincial operating grant, ~$38 million
• Tuition, ~$15 million
• International tuition, ~$10.8 million

The projected 60 to 85 per cent reduction in international tuition revenue leads to a cumulative tuition and associated revenue reduction of approximately $9 million. 

Reducing Costs

The college is conducting a comprehensive budget review across all areas, services and departments and is taking a range of actions to reduce costs, including:

• Reviewing procurement to identify cost savings
• Identifying BCNet member purchasing options to take advantage of sector economies of scale
• Reducing printing to lower costs and focus on positive, sustainable changes
• Reviewing business processes to identify possible service adjustments
• Reviewing our physical footprint to optimize resources

Salaries and benefits are the largest annual operating expense of the college, coming in at around $52 million or 72% of the budget for the current fiscal 2025. We know that service reviews are important and that we must look at our salaries and benefits after working through all other cost-reduction strategies.

Voluntary workforce reduction processes started this year, including a canvass sent to faculty and instructors in January 2025 in areas with known program reductions or suspensions due to low enrolment.

We have not implemented a hiring freeze, as certain positions must be filled if they become vacant. For example, we must fill faculty/instructor resignations for full classes to keep our students learning. For more information on the position review process, visit frequently asked questions.

Generating Revenue

The college is examining the potential for different revenue-generation opportunities as well. These types of opportunities take investment and resources, which we must balance while we readjust our operating budget for our changed landscape. We will explore these investments once we’ve moved into a more financially stable position.

Share Your Ideas

As Selkirk College navigates this changing financial landscape, we encourage you to reach out to your deans, directors and supervisors with any ideas for cost adjustment or revenue generation.

You can also connect with me or Vice-President, Education & Students, Taya Whitehead.

Thank you for your willingness to work together during this challenging period.

Lareena Rilkoff

Vice-President, College Services

Budget FAQs 

How did we get here? 

Selkirk College has, like many other post-secondary institutions in the province, actively recruited international students over the past 10–15 years to:

• Offset a known reduction in domestic students

• Graduate additional trained workforce for our communities

• Bring additional vibrancy to our region  

This increase in international students has also shifted our revenue from 2% ($800k) of our overall revenue budget in fiscal 2012 to 15% ($10.8 million) anticipated in fiscal 2025.  

The college has $20 million in cash as of March 31, 2024. Can that be used to balance the budget?

The cash balance on the financial statements comprises a number of committed funds, including restricted funding of the Selkirk College Foundation, funds committed for capital and other special projects, and timing differences to settle accounts payable. When those amounts are accounted for, we are left with no unrestricted cash available to balance the operating budget.

The college has $18 million in accumulated surplus as of March 31, 2024. Can that be used to balance the budget?

No, the funds are restricted and cannot be used to balance the operating budget.

The accumulated surplus balance has reinvested $13 million in our buildings over the years. It also includes around $11 million in restricted funding related to the Selkirk College Foundation.

The unrestricted accumulated surplus sat at around $190k as of March 31, 2024. To use the unrestricted accumulated surplus, we must make a request to the ministry with a plan. The types of approved uses of surpluses have been for capital projects, which is why we have invested $13 million of our prior surpluses into our buildings.

Can the college run a deficit? 

As required under Section 31 (1) of the College and Institute Act, we are working to propose a balanced budget for approval by the Selkirk College Board of Governors. We know that it will take time before we can fully adjust our costs to offset revenue reductions. Our next fiscal could end in a deficit position as well.

Further deficits would require approval by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills and the Selkirk College Board of Governors. 

How will this impact my department/area? 

Please connect with your supervisor, dean or director with specific questions about how the enrolment decline will impact your area. 

Is there a chance the government will bail colleges out? 

The provincial government is currently projecting a $9.4 billion deficit for fiscal 2024–2025. We do not expect the BC government to offer colleges any financial assistance to offset the impacts of the federal government policy changes on international learners.