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Fanshawe College is making a one-time cut to 18 winter semester programs following federal cuts to international student study permits that led to a sweeping review of its offerings, a spokesperson says.

The college, with campuses in London, Woodstock, St. Thomas, Simcoe and Huron and Bruce counties, is conducting a review to identify which programs qualify for post-graduate work permits under new guidelines.

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Fanshawe didn’t say which programs were being slashed.

The move comes about a week after Toronto’s Centennial College, one of Ontario’s largest, announced it will not take new students in 49 full-time business, media, engineering and other programs in the 2025-26 academic year.

Centennial’s announcement comes as colleges and universities across Canada face program and staffing cuts in response to Ottawa’s decision last year to slash the number of international student permits, with Ontario seeing its allotment cut in half, The Canadian Press reported

In January 2024, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a 35 per cent reduction in international student study permits, with the total cap divided between provinces.

In October 2024, Miller announced a further reduction in the permits for 2025 to 437,000 from 485,000. He also updated the post-graduation work permit program to better align with what the labour market needs and immigration goals.

Other Ontario colleges announcing program cuts in recent months include Ottawa’s Algonquin, Kingston’s St. Lawrence, Hamilton’s Mohawk, Oakville’s Sheridan and Toronto’s Seneca Polytechnic.

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Fanshawe’s “decision was influenced by a combination of factors, including declining international enrolment,” the college spokesperson said Friday.

Union and student government spokespeople were still awaiting details of the Fanshawe cuts Friday.

Full details are to be released Monday in a video to staff and faculty, the college spokesperson said by email.

The review is aimed “at optimizing resources and strengthening our long-term sustainability,” the college said.

“The true impact to Fanshawe will not be known for a few months. We’re being deliberate and careful to ensure a thorough review,” the college said.

Meanwhile, student president Siddharth Singh is calling on Queen’s Park to properly fund Ontario colleges. Failing to do so would put more of Ontario’s already scant skilled workforce at risk, Singh said.

International student enrolment at Fanshawe has dropped 41 per cent compared to last year, and domestic enrolment has risen only 11 per cent, Singh said.

International students, who pay three to five times more in tuition fees than Canadians, are a lucrative source of revenue for colleges and universities.

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Lynn Courville, executive director at Ontario Student Voices that represents 125,000 students across the province, said the provincial government needs to “better fund the institutions.”

Colleges want to bring in more domestic students, but the government only will fund so many of those seats with operating grants, she said.

Courville also is urging the province to take another look at the caps on international students.

Cuts could mean less money for mental health support and other essential student supports, she said.

“The problem is that students have ended up in the crossfire,” Courville said. “We haven’t seen the impacts on students yet, but that will come in the months and years ahead if the government doesn’t step up and properly fund the system.

“These are the students that are going to be stepping up in labour shortage areas, especially skilled trades,” she said. “We need to ensure they are supported while they pursue their education.”

hrivers@postmedia.com

@HeatheratLFP

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