Algonquin College, one of three colleges that provides postsecondary education in Eastern Ontario, announced another list of 30 programs it is considering eliminating due to funding issues. It is the second time in as many years that the school has looked at cancelling programs and potentially closing campuses to save money. The school announced last year that it will close its Perth campus this spring. Declining enrolment, including a significant reduction in international students, are being cited by the school as the reason for further program cuts. Under consideration are programs such as Journalism, Horticultural Industries, Museum Studies, Paralegal, Law Clerk, Financial Services, and several pre-health certificates and diplomas. The school is also looking to eliminate its General Arts and Sciences program.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities, Nolan Quinn blamed the “difficult decisions” on the federal government’s changes to the international student permit system, CBC Ottawa reported. Quinn is also the local MPP for Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry. The ministry recently announced $242 million in funding for facility renewal and new equipment upgrades. Ontario has over 40 publicly funded colleges and universities, so this is a drop in the bucket to deal with physical infrastructure. By blaming the federal government for the funding and program crisis in postsecondary institutions in Ontario, Quinn and his boss Premier Doug Ford are simply passing the buck.
Per capita funding for student programming from the province is woefully low. The province’s own blue-ribbon-panel on publicly funded colleges and university funding found that Ontario spent nearly half as much as the federal government per university student ($20,772 vs $11,471 in 2021-22.) The numbers are worse in the colleges, where Ontario spent less than half as much as the federal government ($15,615 vs $6,891) per student. Over the past 10 years, tuition have been mostly frozen, and until the federal visa cuts last year, international student tuition made up the considerable funding shortfall. A decade ago, international students made up 10 per cent of funding, that rose to more 30 per cent in some schools.
Adding some infrastructure money and blaming the federal government for the rest of your problems is no way to run a postsecondary education system, both the minister and the premier with their business backgrounds should know better. Without adding operational funding, all our schools, including St. Lawrence and Loyalist Colleges, and universities in the region (Queen’s, Carleton, Ottawa) are going to see fewer programs at higher costs, and fewer opportunities for our youth. That is not building for the future, it’s cutting the future off at the knees.
Discover more from Morrisburg Leader
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.