St. Lawrence College cutting 40% of programs next semester

Major cuts are coming to program offerings at St. Lawrence College as the college deals with a cut to international enrolment. CTV's Jack Richardson reports.

St. Lawrence College has announced it will be cutting nearly half of its programs starting in the spring of 2025, citing federal policies impacting international student enrolment.

A total of 55 program intakes will be suspended, representing approximately 40 per cent of the college’s programming, the eastern Ontario school said in a news release.

“It’s very upsetting. It’s very heartbreaking,” said student Lisa Laderout, whose Mental Wellness and Addictions Worker program is among the cuts.

“It’s kind of upsetting that this is unfortunately happening. We really enjoy it. And I know that there’s so many people that can benefit from this program. This was very shocking, very shocking to hear.”

Fifty-one of the affected programs are post-secondary degree, diploma, or credential programs and four are apprenticeships. Students currently enrolled in a program being discontinued will not be impacted, the school says.

“Since January of last year, a series of federal government policy decisions have drastically affected our ability to grow and operate as usual. Many of the changes were short-sighted and did not consider what makes colleges, the regions that we serve, and our students unique,” said St. Lawrence College president and CEO Glenn Vollebregt in a news release.

“Colleges have navigated a long list of restrictions and cutbacks in the past 12 months, leading to us having to suspend programs. As a driver of workforce growth and a community leader, we are committed to maintaining a presence in the communities that we serve, and to helping our students and graduates succeed.”

St. Lawrence College has campuses in Brockville, Kingston and Cornwall.

“Honestly, I was kind of surprised, with St. Lawrence being so small and everything,” said student Allison Ferguson. “I’m not really affected but a lot of first years could be very much affected. We got told that it’s not going to affect anybody enrolled currently, but no new students.”

The announcement comes as colleges and universities across the country have faced cuts amid a federal cap on international students. The federal government announced a 35 per cent reduction in study permits, bringing the number down to an estimated 360,000 for 2024, last year.

St. Lawrence College had 4,419 full- time domestic and 2,146 full-time international students in the fall of 2022, according to its 2022-23 annual report.

Algonquin College announced the closure of its Perth campus last month as it deals with a multi-million-dollar deficit because of the cap on foreign students.

In a written response to CTV News Ottawa, Vollebregt said St. Lawrence College is committed to maintaining a presence in the three communities where it has campuses; however, he said the federal cap on international students has drastically reduced enrolments.

“Since January of 2024 when the federal government first announced changes that impacted international students’ access to study in Canada, SLC has worked to respond and adjust, while maintaining a focus on supporting our students. The reduced number of study permits being granted, the confusion and uncertainty caused by adding steps and increasing the complexity for students to come to Canada, and the restricted eligibility for post-graduate work permits for many SLC programs has drastically reduced the number of students able to study with us,” Vollebregt wrote.

“With fewer students able to study at SLC, we cannot offer as many programs as in the past. For further perspective, one year ago, SLC‘s student body hosted just over 50 per cent international students, and projected fall enrollment for this year is just over 20 per cent.”

Impacted programs

Bachelor of Business Administration, Kingston

Business, Brockville Cornwall

Business - Accounting Cornwall, Kingston

Business - Human Resources, Kingston Business – Marketing, Kingston Business Administration, Cornwall

Business Administration – Accounting, Cornwall, Kingston

Business Administration - Human Resources, Kingston

Business Administration – Marketing, Kingston

Business Fundamentals, Brockville, Cornwall

Business Analytics, Kingston Child and Youth Care, Kingston

Culinary Management, Kingston

Culinary Skills, Kingston

Energy Systems Engineering Technology, Kingston

General Arts and Science - One Year, Brockville, Cornwall, Kingston

General Arts and Science Diploma, Brockville, Cornwall, Kingston

Hairstyling, Brockville

Health Information Management, Kingston

Hospitality, Kingston

Instrumentation and Control Engineering Technology, Kingston

International Business Management, Kingston

Law Clerk, Kingston

Media Arts Fundamentals, Brockville, Kingston

Mental Wellness and Addictions Worker, Brockville, Kingston

Music and Digital Media, Kingston

Music Theatre – Performance, Brockville

Music Theatre - Performance (Queen’s) Brockville

Office Administration – General, Brockville, Kingston

Office Administration - Health Services, Brockville, Kingston

Office Administration – Legal, Kingston

Police Foundations, Brockville, Online

Pre-Health Sciences Pathway to Certificates and Diplomas, Cornwall, Kingston

Project Management, Cornwall, Kingston Tourism, Kingston

Visual and Creative Arts - Fine Arts, Brockville

Apprenticeship Programs

General Machinist, Kingston

Cook, Kingston Automotive Service, Cornwall

Brick & Stone Mason, Kingston

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Jack Richardson