Brock professor warns cuts and layoffs may stifle innovation at Ontario colleges and universities

Stagnant funding, tuition freezes, and over-reliance on international student fees are pushing institutions toward program cuts and layoffs and, potentially, impacting innovation, according to a Brock University professor.

"The best way to have innovation is to actually have different colleges and different universities running parallel programs so that they can learn from one another," said Louis Volante, an educational studies professor at Brock University.

The federal government has been cracking down on the number of international students entering the country. In January 2024, they announced a 35-per-cent cut to study permits issued and new restrictions for international students. Another 10-per-cent cut came in September.

Some colleges are already feeling the impact. Hamilton's Mohawk College projected a $50 million deficit in November for the 2025-2026 school year. The college already cut 20 per cent of their administrative jobs in December, with more cuts to be announced later this month.

The cuts have also led to many programs being suspended, including Broadcasting, Human Resources Management, and Tourism.

In Toronto, Seneca Polytechnic said in October it would temporarily close one of its campuses, citing the drop in international students.

WATCH | Brock University professor explains the risks of cutting college and university programs based on enrolment

Brock professor explains the risks of cutting college and university programs based on enrolment

4 hours ago

Duration 1:34

Brock University professor Louis Volante says stagnant funding, tuition freezes, and an over-reliance on international student fees are pushing Ontario colleges and universities toward program cuts and layoffs and, potentially, impacting innovation.

"It's very difficult to be innovative if you're the only person on the block," said Volante.

Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, said Canada has "been able to pretend we've got a world-class university system for the last 15 years." 

"It's been the international students that have kept it all afloat," he told CBC News last year.

Usher said with fewer international students, universities have to either ask Canadian students and their parents to pay more, or tell governments it's time to increase "contributions to universities and colleges."

Tuitions in Ontario have been frozen since 2019 and Education Minister Jill Dunlop said last year they will continue to be until at least 2026-2027.

Universities also at risk

Universities, while not being as affected by international student cuts, are still at risk.

Ten Ontario universities reported over $300 million in loses in the 2023-24 school year, and projected $600 million in 2024-25, according to Steve Orsini, president of the Council of Ontario Universities. 

Volante said in the last 20 years, there's been a "blurring of lines" between colleges and universities and what they do.

"In fact, universities are now being asked to sort of use metrics that have long been used by community colleges to judge the effectiveness of programs," he said, leading to low-performing university programs also being cut.

Volante said the first programs to go are the ones with "slightly lower demand" that might not translate into high-paying positions for students after graduation.

However, he said it's "very difficult to say with any certainty," that one type of program leads to certain economic returns, "because students change programs all the time."

"They develop skills in a variety of different courses that they take. So it's a very dangerous path to take when you start privileging some programs over others, under the assumption that 100 per cent this is going to generate better returns in terms of income," said Volante.

Ontario ranks last in post-secondary funding

Volante said, when taking inflation into account, these post-secondary institutions get less money now than they did 10 years ago. 

According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Council of Ontario Universities, Ontario has ranked last across the provinces for at least the past 20 years when it comes to per-student funding, despite being home to 40 per cent of the Canadian university system.

Volante said these numbers go back at least 50 years.

He said institutions could start to focus only on programs they're best known for, with universities leaning towards STEM fields and colleges going back to focusing on the trades and "other programs that readily lend themselves to post-graduation employment.

Innovation will not be the only victim of these cuts, Volante said, as fewer programs and larger class sizes could translate into less support for individual students.

"Eventually … this will have an impact on the quality of a teaching and learning environment," he said.

"Cuts to colleges, ultimately, are cuts to students."