Sudbury

Cambrian College president says it can weather restrictions on international student permits

A federal government restriction on the number of international students allowed to study in Canada has some colleges crying foul. However, the president of Cambrian College is offering reassurances it has enough money in reserve to deal with the potential impact.

President Kristine Morrissey sends reassuring email to community on eve of federal announcement

A sign that says 'Welcome to Cambrian College.'
Cambrian College's president is offering reassurances it has enough money in reserve to deal with the potential impact of the new federal cap on the number of international students allowed to study in Canada. (Olivia Stefanovich/CBC)

A federal government restriction on the number of international students allowed to study in Canada has some colleges crying foul. However, the president of Cambrian College is offering reassurances it has enough money in reserve to deal with the potential impact.

Kristine Morrissey sent an email to the Cambrian community on the eve of Monday's announcement from Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

He announced that in 2024, the number of new study permits approved nationwide will be 364,000, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023 levels.

The reduction will amount to about 50 per cent in Ontario.

A woman stands with a fireplace and two large flags in the background.
Morrissey says Cambrian is in a strong financial position to weather any uncertainty. (Warren Schlote/CBC)

Morrissey said in her email that the measures will have a significant impact on the college sector and on Cambrian in the short and long term, both at the Cambrian campus in Sudbury and its private partner, Hanson College.

Cambrian has heavily recruited overseas, and according to its spokesperson, its international student enrolment rose from 1,691 in September 2022 to 2,680 in September 2023

However, Morrissey explained that Cambrian is in a strong financial position to weather any uncertainty.

She said dating back to 2017, the college developed a framework after the provincial Liberal government of the time issued a wind-down directive of the public private partnerships in Ontario.

That directive was eventually rescinded by the current Conservative government, but the college continued on its course to save money in case of an emergency.

"The framework, along with our Enterprise Risk Management, has seen us grow our reserves (surplus) just in case we had to again face a sudden, unexpected, significant reduction in international student enrolment revenues," she wrote in the email.

"We are facing that now, but we are prepared, and will leverage our reserves to support this transitionary period as we adjust our operations accordingly and work with the provincial government on a path forward."  

Morrissey says the college has between $35 and 40 million in reserves that were earmarked for future capital expenses such as program expansion and campus modernization.

That money will now be redirected towards stabilizing finances over the next few years, and balancing the budget for this year.

As for its private partner, Hanson College, Morrissey says the net revenues last year were approximately $17 million with an overall budgetary surplus of $18 million.

It's those private colleges that the federal government has been taking focusing on, calling them "bad actors" who offer "sham degrees".

Graduates from programs at those private partners won't be issued work permits as of September, as part of the new restrictions announced Monday.

Sault College president David Orazietti told CBC News it depends on revenue from its private partner.

"That revenue generated by our partner college comes back to our home campus to help us build vital infrastructure," said Orazietti, adding Sault College was planning to use its private college money to build a student residence. 

But Morrissey strongly defended Cambrian's partnership with Hanson College and said she believes in the public-private model, saying Hanson was the first of its kind in Ontario and the best managed.

"The issues seen in other communities and other partnerships are not experienced here because of the caring and measured approach we have taken," she wrote. "It's something we can all be proud of."  

man with stubble stands in front of a brick wall
Neil Shyminsky, the union president for professors at Cambrian College, says he's not surprised the college has been saving for unforeseen changes in funding in the post-secondary sector. (Olivia Stefanovich/CBC)

Nothing in Morrissey's email surprised the president of the faculty union.

Neil Shyminsky is president of OPSEU Local 655, which represents 190 full-time faculty and about 100 part-time faculty.

He said he's not critical of the college for having a backup financial plan, especially considering the provincial freeze on domestic tuition.

"I would like to say that that strikes me as strange, but it really doesn't," he said.

"Our province funds students at a lower level than any other in Canada so I don't really blame our college for being concerned that money could just dry up and disappear tomorrow, because that does seem to be the position that Doug Ford has put them in."

Shyminsky doesn't believe any faculty will be affected by the changes that will occur because of the announcement by the federal government, but feels change is a given in the post-secondary landscape as political winds shift.

"Unfortunately we can never plan for the future based on what we know the situation is right now because it's constantly in flux," he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Rutherford

Reporter/Editor

Kate Rutherford is a CBC newsreader and reporter in Sudbury. News tips can be sent to sudburynews@cbc.ca