Job losses and program cuts hit Loyalist College

January 30, 2025 at 9:14 am

By: QNet News Staff

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College is cutting jobs and suspending several program intakes as it attempts to deal with a $40 million dollar reduction in revenue as a result of declining international student enrolment.

The current workforce at the college will be cut by 20 per cent, 24 programs — 30 per cent of the programs the college offers — will suspend student intake starting in Sept. 2025

College president and CEO Mark Kirkpatrick made the announcement to college faculty and staff Wednesday.

Kirkpatrick said the program suspensions and job losses are the result of federal government changes to the International Student Program.

Loyalist, like many other Ontario colleges, has relied on international students to boost enrolment for the past number of years. But the changes put a cap on international student enrolment and the number of post-graduate work permits.

Kirkpatrick said that’s led to a dramatic drop in the number of international students applying to Loyalist and other Ontario colleges. In a message sent Wednesday afternoon to college staff Kirkpatrick writes that international learners “no longer perceive Canada as a welcoming place to pursue their studies and receive a quality post-secondary education.”

Kirkpatrick said that for the 2025/26 fiscal year, Loyalist College is projecting a $40 million reduction in international student revenues and a further $8 million decrease in the following fiscal year.

He said that revenue was critical for our capital improvements, classroom updates and new equipment, and it also subsidized numerous programs that cannot be sustained by domestic enrolment alone.

Students currently enrolled in the suspended programs will be able to complete their studies. But no new students will be admitted in September.

The programs suspending intake in the fall are: