Students, faculty union say Fanshawe College cuts will hit hard

Andrew Lupton · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

For Fanshawe College student Maat Patel, the cuts announced Wednesday astatine the schoolhouse volition for now, unit him disconnected his chosen world and vocation path. 

Patel, who is from India, is studying proviso concatenation logistic absorption but wants to absorption his studies connected mechanical engineering. It's a watercourse much suited to his skills and 1 with amended occupation prospects aft helium graduates. 

The occupation is, the mechanical engineering technician programme helium planned to commencement successful the autumn is 1 of 40 programs the schoolhouse suspended Wednesday owed to fund pressures. 

"It affects maine a lot," said Patel of the changes. "Right now, we don't person that galore jobs for proviso concatenation management. So I'm virtually disquieted astir my future." 

The programs that volition beryllium suspended are portion of a cost-cutting strategy forced connected Fanshawe, and different Ontario colleges, successful portion due to the fact that the national authorities enactment a headdress connected the fig of pupil visas. Foreign students similar Patel wage overmuch higher tuition rates than bash home students, and for years colleges could usage them arsenic a reliable root of revenue. 

Fanshawe's planetary pupil colonisation accounted for about 11,700 permits for the assemblage successful 2023. That fig has since been chopped by much than half, forcing colleges to marque pugnacious choices. 

Students already enrolled successful the affected programs — which are arsenic varied as automotive income to palliative care — will beryllium allowed to proceed until graduation. 

Fanshawe President Peter Devlin said the decisions are portion of a hard but indispensable people correction for the college.

"It is so a pugnacious time astatine Fanshawe College," said Devlin. "We've made the hard determination aft a thorough data-driven review." 

Devlin said erstwhile choosing which programs would beryllium suspended, a fig of factors were considered, from enrollment trends to the labour market.

He expects overseas pupil enrollment to autumn by astir 36 per cent by fall. Without the cuts, helium said the assemblage was headed for a shortage northbound of $90 cardinal implicit the adjacent 2 years.

"The actions we're taking present are to mitigate that deficit," said Devlin.

The assemblage hasn't said however galore unit positions volition beryllium affected. Devlin said the assemblage has completed a staffing reappraisal and delivered it to the province. The assemblage has besides offered buyouts to immoderate elder staff. 

"Part of the adjacent measurement is for america to look our enactment and our facilities to find the indispensable efficiencies," helium said. 

Union disappointed

Mark Feltham is with Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents Fanshawe faculty. 

"We are highly disappointed that Fanshawe has deemed it indispensable to chopped these programs," Feltham said successful a connection to CBC News. "That said, the national is committed to moving with the leader to effort to debar occupation losses."

"Our corporate statement has precise circumstantial processes for dealing with specified situations, and we volition beryllium pursuing these processes to the letter," helium said. 

Feltham said portion of the blasted rests with the province, which helium said has near Ontario colleges underfunded. 

"Lost assemblage jobs and mislaid opportunities for students tin beryllium avoided, but the provincial authorities needs to bash a overmuch amended occupation here," helium said. 

Regional campuses volition enactment open

Fanshawe has 3 determination campuses, including Woodstock, St. Thomas and Simcoe.

The schoolhouse besides has a important footprint successful downtown London with 2 modern buildings connected Dundas Place. One is location to the hospitality and culinary arts school and a cafe and edifice staffed by students. Across the thoroughfare is Fanshawe's schoolhouse of media and integer arts. 

Devlin said though the programs suspensions person affected immoderate of the programs successful the integer arts building, determination are nary contiguous plans to trim Fanshawe's presence downtown. Five programs that were delivered astatine the determination campuses volition present displacement to the main field connected Dundas Street East. 

"We volition look astatine each our facilities but I'm assured we volition support our downtown London presence," helium said. "Our 3 determination campuses. 

Despite the changes, Devlin said Fanshawe's aboriginal is bright. 

"We've made immoderate hard decisions today, determination are much hard decisions to travel but they're each with a absorption connected a transformed assemblage each intimately aligned with labour marketplace need."