The college faces a $32-million revenue loss this year, increasing to $60 million next year as it grapples with the loss of international students.
Algonquin president Claude Brulé has recommended suspending 37 programs effective next fall, as well as a “targeted retirement departure initiative” for employees over 50.
Brulé added that layoffs are “unavoidable.”
The program suspensions include 31 program suspensions and six campus-specific program offering suspensions, representing 16 per cent of Algonquin’s programs of study, said Brulé in a statement released Tuesday.
“The college needs to take immediate and substantial action to address this perilous fiscal situation,” said Brulé. “Without intervention, Algonquin College will incur a budget deficit, on a cash flow basis, of at least $60 million in 2025-2026, rising to $93 million by 2026-2027.”
If approved by the board at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 24, no new students will be admitted to these programs starting Fall 2025.
Current and Spring 2025 students will be able to complete their studies, provided they meet all the necessary academic requirements. Employees and learners affected by the changes will learn more from their respective vice-president.
Meanwhile, the targeted retirement departure initiative will offer a one-time lump-sum financial incentive to eligible employees who meet specific criteria, including that they are at least 50 years old, eligible for an unreduced pension, and their departure will result in ongoing savings and reduction of a position.
The college will also be launching a “voluntary exit registry” where employees can self-identify as willing to depart the college and receive a modest financial incentive, Brulé said.
Algonquin will review requests against operational requirements. Departures must result in ongoing savings and reduction of a position. More details are to follow, he said in his message to the college community.
Meanwhile, Algonquin is “actively exploring other opportunities to minimize layoffs and support fiscal sustainability.”
Other measures include reviewing vacant positions and not renewing contracts that do not contribute to the college’s financial sustainability or strategic direction.
“Additionally, the college has resolved to streamline our corporate training and business development activities. These areas will undergo changes aimed at concentrating on core functions and advancing our strategic priorities,” said Brulé.
“While layoffs are unavoidable, we are committed to mitigating their impact through staged resource adjustments. Workforce impacts related to program changes may not occur immediately due to the need to teach our current cohorts.”
Algonquin vice-presidents are to provide further details on specific cost containment initiatives in their respective divisions on Wednesday.
Evening Update
“Where there are people impacts, there are specific processes that will be used. For unionized employees, we will adhere to the respective collective agreements,” said Brulé.
“For administrative employees, employment contracts, terms and conditions, and the Employment Standards Act will determine severance and termination entitlements. We are committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect throughout this process.”
Brulé’s message also confirmed that he would be recommending to the board that three current programs of study at the Perth campus be transferred to the Ottawa campus and operations at the Perth Campus cease by the end of August.
“As I have stated before, this is a difficult decision that is not taken lightly and is a direct result of the financial challenges we are facing,” he said. “Every effort will be made to mitigate impacts on employees and learners during this transition.”
There is more the come. While the measures announced this week will make an important contribution to closing the financial gap, it will not completely eliminate the projected deficit, Brulé said.
“Therefore, a Phase 2 is in progress to explore additional measures. This includes an Efficiency and Accountability Initiative undertaken with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities to identify further mitigations that will help restore the college’s long-term fiscal health.”
The Algonquin programs that have been recommended for suspension:
In the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE):
- Building Information Modelling – Lifecycle Management
- Building Information Modelling – Lifecycle Management Canadian Context
- Energy Management
Algonquin College Online (ACOL):
In the School of Advanced Technology (ATEC)
- Bachelor of Technology (Digital Health) (Honours)
- Digital Health
- General Arts and Science – Aviation Management
- Regulatory Affairs – Sciences
- Technical Writer
In the Faculty of Creative Arts and Media (FCAM):
- Brand Management
- Brand Management (two-year)
- Broadcasting – Radio and Podcasting
- Creative Industries Management
- Interdisciplinary Studies in Human-Centred Design
- Interior Decorating
- Performing Arts
- Photography – Content Creation
- Professional Writing
- Scriptwriting
- Teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language
- Visual Development for Entertainment
At the Pembroke campus:
- Outdoor Adventure Naturalist
- Police Foundations
- Regulatory Affairs – Sciences
- Water and Wastewater Technician
In the School of Business and Hospitality (SOBH):
- Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Honours)
- Business Administration – Human Resources
- Business Administration – International Business
- Business Administration – Marketing
- Financial Services Canadian Context
- Human Resources Management
- International Business Management
- Marketing Management
- Marketing Research and Analysis
- Office Administration – Executive
- Retirement Communities Management
- Strategic Global Business Management
A number of Ontario’s colleges, including Seneca, Fanshawe, Mohawk and Fleming, have already announced cuts to programs and staff. Last month, Centennial College in Toronto announced it is putting 49 programs on hold.
Brulé said colleges have faced a prolonged and ongoing provincial government tuition freeze, chronic underfunding, and federal government immigration policy changes.
In November, Algonquin projected that international student enrolment would be short by 2,400 incoming students in the second quarter of 2024-2025, compared to a target of 7,447 international students.
Tuition has been frozen by the provincial government and reduced by 10 per cent in 2018, which means that students are paying 2015 prices for their tuition, and will continue to do so until 2027, said Brulé last month. Expenses that relate to the delivery of programming as well as inflation have increased by at least 25 per cent, he said.
According to a blue ribbon panel report on financial sustainability for Ontario’s postsecondary sector, released in November 2023, the province’s funding per college student was $6,891 in 2021-22, about 44 per cent of the figure for the rest of Canada.
A steep drop in revenue from international students has added to the woes of colleges and universities across the province as they have come to rely on international student tuition fees — to the point where that revenue is fundamental to the sector’s financial sustainability. The increased reliance on international students raises the postsecondary institutions’ risk exposure, warned the expert panel.
In January 2024 the federal government announced it was setting an intake cap on international student permit applications for two years. Provincial caps have been weighted by population, resulting in much more significant decreases in provinces where the growth has been least sustainable, including Ontario.
In February 2024, the province announced $1.3 billion in additional funding for colleges and universities, while maintaining a tuition freeze for domestic in-province students for another three years. The funding included $903 million over three years starting this year, with $203 million in top-ups for institutions with greater financial need and $167.4 million over three years for capital repairs and equipment.
Meanwhile, in August, the Ontario government announced it was suspending all new college international activities, including establishing branch campuses, curriculum licensing agreements or development arrangements, corporate training contracts, or incorporating new subsidiaries, pending a review of entrepreneurial activities.
In January, Ontario’s 24 colleges narrowly averted a strike after the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents the full-time and partial-load professors, instructors and librarians, and the College Employers Council (CEC), the bargaining agent for the province’s colleges, agreed to mediation-arbitration to be completed by the end of June.
OPSEU has argued that to fund Ontario’s colleges to the average of other provinces will require doubling the current funding for colleges and universities to around $7.1 billion. “In response to the federal government’s two-year cap on international student visas, the province announced $900 million for colleges and universities,” said OPSEU.
“It is not nearly enough. This one-time funding is spread out over three years between 24 colleges and 23 universities, and the full amount will not be available to all institutions.”
