Selkirk College has been forced to issue lay-offs and halt intake of some of its programs as a result of the federal government’s cap on international student study permits.
This comes after the federal government implemented a 35 per cent decrease in the number of international study permits accepted countrywide for 2024, followed by a further 10 per cent decrease for the 2025 academic year.
The decrease meant just 437,000 international study permits were available countrywide for the the 2024/25 school year. Selkirk College received 857 of these permits.
A statement on Selkirk College’s website says the federal study cap will result in a 60 to 85 per cent reduction in international student enrolment and an annual revenue loss of around $9 million.
This has forced the institution to suspend the intake of several programs and introduce new cost-saving measures, including strategic hiring, better space utilization, and spending restrictions.
“We’re trying to minimize layoffs by identifying voluntary workforce reduction opportunities. We’ll be leaving several vacant positions unfilled and have not renewed contracts in some cases,” said the statement.
At this point, eight employees have been either laid off or have not had their contracts renewed. The layoffs come into effect on July 31 and affect both ongoing and short-term employees.
The college says some employees chose early retirement or voluntary severance, which prevented some layoffs for less senior faculty members.
Impacted departments
The changes have had the most effect on the School of Hospitality and Tourism, as most of the students in its programs are international.
The School of Business and the School of University Arts and Sciences are also expected to be impacted by lower enrolments, with the college saying further labour adjustments in these areas are anticipated.
While there have been no program cancellations at this point, intakes have been suspended for the following programs:
- Accounting – Postgraduate Diploma
- Business Administration Accounting Finance – Diploma
- Business Administration Professional Management – Diploma
- Business Management – Postgraduate Diploma
- Culinary Management – Postgraduate Diploma
- Full-Stack Web Development – Postgraduate Diploma
- Gerontological Nursing – Postgraduate Diploma
- Hospitality Management – Postgraduate Diploma
The changes don’t affect current students, who will continue to be supported through to graduation.
The college notes that several programs that enrolled the majority of the college’s international students are no longer eligible for post-graduation work permits, including Hospitality and Tourism, as well as Business.
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