George Brown College students rallying around jewelry and gemmology program amid uncertain future

Students and alumni are rallying to keep the George Brown College, School of Jewellery and Gemmology program alive.

A group of students has launched a campaign aimed at protecting the jewelry and gemmology program at George Brown College after learning that new admissions to the program are not being accepted this coming fall.

Students and alumni have launched a letter-writing campaign and an online petition. They also held a rally outside the office of George Brown College President Gervan Fearon’s office Wednesday.

“There’s been a huge lack of transparency from the college administration,” Andre Franklin, one of the students, told CP24 in an interview. “Students have been kind of left to figure a lot of things out on their own.”

Franklin said he knows students who were admitted to the program and have since received letters from the college informing them that they are no longer being offered entry this fall.

The college offers four jewelry studies programs: Gemmology, Jewellery Methods, Jewellery Essentials, and Jewellery Arts.

According to George Brown’s website, the program teaches students “to analyze and classify a wide variety of gem materials and diamonds used in jewelry, both natural and synthetic,” among other practical skills. The college also says that it is the only full-time gemmology certificate program at an Ontario college.

Proponents of the program say it’s the largest in Canada and that the program has close ties with the industry in downtown Toronto, positioning students well to enter the field.

‘Significant financial challenges’

Speaking for the college’s Centre for Arts, Design, & Information Technology, Interim Dean Ana Rita Morais said in an email that the jewelry and gemmology programs have not been suspended or closed.

“Following careful consideration given to all relevant factors, including priority areas outlined by the Ministry and the impact of low enrollment, we have made the difficult decision to hold-off on some new program intakes for Fall 2025,” Morais said in a statement responding to the letter-writing campaign.

“We recognize the value of the training received in the Jewellery and Gemmology programs however, given the decline in enrolment and lack of funding, we will not be running program intakes for Fall 2025.”

She added that the college is not closing or suspending the programs indefinitely, and that it will be working with the industry and the Program Advisory Committee “to assess opportunities for the future.”

Students already enrolled in the program have been told that their studies will continue.

The changes, Morais said, follow the federal government’s decision to reduce the number of international students accepted into the country.

She said the decision has resulted in “significant financial challenges for the college and university sector.”

‘This is a program that matters to people’

Full-time faculty in the program may be reassigned to other programs, while part-time staff could see their hours cut, Morais said.

“For part-time faculty who may experience reduced hours, we are actively working to minimize disruptions and provide support,” she said.

Franklin said some of that reasoning doesn’t seem to make sense, noting that while international spots are down, local interest is up.

“We already have a professional advisory committee who weren’t informed of this decision before it happened. And our faculty members also were devastated at the news,” he said.

Current and former students say the program is well-respected and should be protected.

“You would think that George Brown would be eager to protect a program like this, where there really are no other options, on a college level, to learn the skills of jewelry making and goldsmithing and also gemology on this kind of scale. I mean, our facilities are massive,” Franklin said.

“Pretty much anywhere in the jewelry industry here, there’s a connecting line between George Brown. A massive part of our professional industry is made up of George Brown alumni,” Franklin said.

He said he’s hoping that the efforts of students, supported by alumni, will help get the college to change its decision and pay attention to the message they’ve been sending in their letters.

“This is a program that matters to people, that our education matters, that you know what educations are offered to future students shouldn’t be solely determined on what is profitable.”