Seneca Polytechnic is shuttering its Markham campus at the end of the fall term due a drop in enrolment in the wake of Ottawa’s聽overhaul of the country’s international student program.
Impacted staff and students were recently alerted that, to either Newnham or Seneca@York campuses, both in North York.
The academy, established as a stand-alone entity for international students in 2020, had, at its peak, an enrolment of 5,000, a fraction of the more than 24,500 international students who attend Seneca.
But on the heels of federal changes to immigration, the college has seen January applications plunge. Seneca’s president said he is expecting the number of international students choosing to study there to drop by 50 per cent.
“Every time you turn around there’s yet another (government announcement) that is going to cause some student in any one of the 150 countries that we recruit from to say, well, maybe I should just wait,” said David Agnew, who expressed sadness that his institution would have to close a campus as a result.聽
“This is just the physical manifestation of what’s happening to the post-secondary system...It says a lot about the kind of damage to Canada’s brand abroad.鈥
Since late last year, the federal government has been rolling out a plan to rein in the number of international students, including capping new study permits and restricting access to post-graduation work permits. International student enrolment has grown from 300,000 to one million over the last decade.
Next year,聽
College campuses in particular have already been hard hit聽by聽declines in enrolment, resulting in layoffs and program cancellations.
“We are in a very turbulent and uncertain time in higher education,” said Agnew.
Seneca, , is framing the Markham closure as temporary.聽鈥淲e鈥檒l see how long the current environment exists in terms of what kind of immigration policy we have, what kind of welcome mat we throw out, or not, for international students,” says Agnew, who spoke to the Star during a break from convocation ceremonies where he shook the hands of the current crop of SIA graduates. “But frankly, right now, it makes no operational sense to have a small campus.鈥
He added that students will benefit from moving to other campuses where higher enrolment ensures a more vibrant experience.聽
Markham campus, located near Highways 7 and 404, began life as a private corporate building, which Seneca purchased and then opened in 2005. As the international student population began to grow, a decision was made to turn it entirely over to an academy and brand it as such. Seneca鈥檚 , aimed at prospective students, heralded the academy as offering “select programs designed to meet international student demand while providing the education you expect to receive from Seneca.” The academy currently offers 25 programs of which most are graduate certificates.
In June, Seneca also closed its Yorkgate Campus at Jane and Finch, which had fewer than 200 students. programs were moved to other campuses.聽
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