Fanshawe College cuts 40 programs amid dramatic enrolment drop

Fanshawe College will cut 40 programs starting this fall to deal with a dramatic drop in enrolment after the federal government capped how many high-paying international students it can take in. 

"We have made the decision to suspend future intakes for 40 programs, effective fall 2025," president Peter Devlin wrote to employees on Wednesday. "An additional five programs will have local intakes suspended at regional campuses but will continue in London." 

The school is anticipating 64 per cent fewer international students, a major source or revenue, by next year, Devlin said in February. 

Fanshawe's international student population has been among the highest in Ontario, with roughly 11,700 permits approved for the college in 2023. That number was recently cut by more than half after the federal government reduced the number of student visas it would give out. International students pay roughly double the tuition that domestic students do. 

On Tuesday, meetings were held across Fanshawe campuses and employees learned the fate of different programs. Other colleges across Ontario have already made public their plans, allowing students and staff to plan for the upcoming year.

"These are tough decisions and they were not made lightly," Devlin wrote on Wednesday. "Our priority is to ensure all currently enrolled students will have the opportunity to complete their programs with the same quality of education and support they expected when they chose to study at Fanshawe."

The full list of programs that are being cut — Fanshawe College calls it a suspension, meaning a program is not accepting new students and has no confirmed return date, but current students can complete their program — can be found at this link. 

It includes programs such as advanced police studies, applied aerospace manufacturing, broadcasting (radio and media production), business management, cannabis applied science, construction project management, fine art, journalism (television and digital news), public relations (corporate communications) and retirement residence management. 

The programs will not return, Fanshawe officials say.

"Program suspensions have been endorsed by the board of governors and are final. These decisions were made to align academic offerings with student demand, government policy changes and long-term sustainability," they wrote. 

"There are no immediate plans to relaunch suspended programs. Future program offerings will be reviewed based on changes in demand, industry needs and available resources."

Tuesday's staff meetings made no mention of layoffs as officials are waiting to see how many staff members will choose buyouts offered in March.

'Right-size' the college

An audit was done by Consultants StrategyCorp Inc. and looked at which programs have high demand, retention, labour market need and how much they bring in, along with reviewing off-campus spaces Fanshawe leases.

Devlin asked for the review in October after sounding the alarm on how much pressure the federal government's cap on international student enrolment had put on the school's budget. 

Fanshawe is offering an early retirement incentive — colloquially known as a buyout program — to full-time staff who are 55 and older and have been working there for more than 10 years. It's part of its efforts to "right-size" the organization, according to an internal email sent to employees last week.

The college implemented a formal hiring freeze in February. 

"We will have fewer programs and a right-sized workforce. We will have a deficit position while we reshape Fanshawe over time," Devlin said in February.

Ontario's colleges have increasingly relied on international students, who in some cases pay double what domestic students pay, with the funding going to everything from buildings to professors. 

Ottawa said it would approve approximately 360,000 undergraduate study permits for 2024 — a 35 per cent reduction from 2023.

• Ontario colleges to face biggest hit from foreign student cap

In September, the federal Liberal government said it would further slash the number of international student permits it issues by 10 per cent. 

Algonquin, Centennial, Mohawk, Northern, Sheridan and St. Lawrence colleges all recently announced program suspensions and layoffs due to the permit cap, which is expected to cost Ontario colleges billions in lost revenue.