Selkirk College is on track to end this fiscal with a balanced budget, but doing so has come with a cost.
In May, Selkirk College’s Board of Governors passed a balanced budget of $70,400,827 – a challenging but successful feat that reflects several efforts focused on closing a projected $9 million revenue gap the institution was facing at the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
The College has been reeling from the financial implications of the federal government’s changes to international student enrolment, which came into effect in 2024.
These changes are expected to lead to a 60-85 per cent reduction in international student enrolment over the next several years, with a projected 55 per cent decrease in 2025-26 alone.
To address the economic shortfall, the College has been forced to issue layoffs and scale back some programming.
No programs have been cancelled yet, although intake for some programs with low enrolment has been suspended.
So far, 43 full-time employees have either been laid off, not had their contracts renewed, or opted for early retirement.
There have also been voluntary work reductions and decisions to leave vacant positions unfilled, with all layoffs affecting both ongoing and short-term employees across all departments.
“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 Selkirk in a statement.
However, there is some positive news. The College is seeing upward trends in domestic applications, including an 8 per cent increase in accepted domestic students compared to June of 2024.
Selkirk currently has 14 active waitlists, and several fall intakes of Industry and Trades Training and Environment & Geomatics programs are nearing or have reached 100 per cent capacity.
While the College is expecting international enrolment to decrease by over 50 per cent in the fall, it assures the community that work is underway to minimize further reductions and cuts for 2026-27.
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