The College Fix

School cites ‘multimillion-dollar’ deficit and declining enrollment

York University is suspending admissions to almost 20 academic programs due to a “multimillion-dollar” deficit and declining student enrollment.

But the move, which affects “mostly language and humanity majors” such as Indigenous studies, women’s studies, and gender studies, “goes against the school’s values” according to some faculty, the Toronto Star reports.

Department heads were informed last week other programs affected include sexuality studies, East Asian studies, sociology, and global history and justice.

York spokesperson Yanni Dagonas noted the suspensions do not include all courses “within these programs,” and that currently matriculated students “can complete their degree on track with minimal disruption.”

English professor Elicia Clements said the suspended programs/courses “prepare students with essential tools for the working world that are sought after by employers.”

Clements added “The closure of this program would significantly undermine the principles espoused in York’s commitment to decolonizing, equity, diversity and inclusion, a promise that is, according to York’s DEDI Strategy, ‘embedded in (York’s) mission, vision and values.’”

MORE: Harvard cancels over 30 courses; far-left History & Literature classes hardest hit

York Faculty Association President Ellie Perkins (pictutred), whose research interests include climate justice and “feminist ecological economics,” said cutting programs because of “an accounting threshold” is “very short-sighted about the academic perspectives” the university offers.

PhD candidate and Idealist Society of North America President Christopher Satoor added “I am pretty embarrassed to be a graduate student and a former teaching assistant at York University as the ‘administration’ guts dozens of programs […] absolutely unbelievable … shame … shame … shame.”

From the story:

[Dagonas said] the school was taking action to “achieve financial sustainability in light of unexpected policy directions at the provincial and federal levels affecting higher education,” and that the identified programs “have shown low enrolment.”

“The temporary suspension of admission to a program will allow faculty colleagues the needed time to review and enhance program offerings and develop plans to offer the program sustainably,” said Dagonas, who would not provide data on the number of affected students.

Post-secondary institutions across Ontario have been making cuts to programs and staff as they navigate a financial crisis brought on by a combination of years of stagnant provincial funding, a tuition freeze, and a federal cap on international students that has led to a drop in enrolment and revenue.

York, which faces current operating budget deficit of $132 million, has 46,782 undergraduate students (and 6,349 graduate students), down 5.8 per cent from 2018-19. First-year enrolment of international students was down 16 per cent last September compared to fall 2023.

According to the CBC, Toronto’s Centennial College announced the suspension of almost 50 academic programs last month, and two months before Sheridan College announced the suspension of 40.

Alex Usher of the consulting group Higher Education Strategy Associates predicts over 1,000 total programs will be “shuttered” in the Ontario province, which contains over 40 percent of Canada’s universities.

MORE: Diversity course enrollment drops after school stops ordering students to take it

IMAGES: Shutterstock.com; York U.

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