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“We are way too important to Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville to not ensure Sheridan’s long term sustainability and vibrancy,” said Janet Morrison, its president and vice-chancellor, who made .

“But there will be a tremendous amount of grief when these decisions are actioned. Very difficult decisions.”

The college is the latest in a series of taxpayer-supported post-secondary education institutions in Ontario to report revenue losses, program cuts and even layoffs, despite the province having the biggest international enrolment growth in Canada in recent years.

The list includes Algonquin, Fleming, Mohawk and St. Lawrence colleges, as well as Windsor and Carleton universities — and is growing. Last month, Seneca Polytechnic announced it will close its Markham campus at the end of the fall term.

Forty of the more than 140 programs from Sheridan’s five faculties will stop new enrolment immediately, closing on a rolling basis over the coming months and years, though current students will have the opportunity to graduate from their courses. The “efficiency reviews” for another 27 programs are expected to be completed by the end of next year — if not sooner.

Sheridan has a renowned animation program that ranks second in the world by the Animation Career Review and equipped its nursing lab with the latest technologies to enhance student learning through real-world simulation. To fill skill gaps, it recently launched a two-year computer system technician program focusing on cyber security.

Morrison said the restructuring is prompted by the chronic provincial underfunding in post-secondary education that’s exacerbated by rapid inflation post-pandemic; changing priorities as well as the new rules and restrictions imposed by Ottawa to rein in international student enrolment growth.

The overall enrolment at Sheridan is to drop by 20 per cent from the current 30,634 to 24,532 next fiscal year and by 26 per cent to 22,638 in the year after. According to the school’s modelling forecast, the number of international students is expected to decrease from this year’s 7,432 to 3,908 next year, while the domestic student population remains stagnant.

“Sheridan will look different, returning to 2018 student levels, but with 2024 costs,” Morrison told the Star.

Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities said the provincial government invested $1.3 billion to stabilize the post-secondary education sector earlier this year, adding that funding for colleges and universities is higher than it’s ever been.

“Staffing decisions and human resource matters lie solely with the institutions,” the ministry told the Star in a statement.

“We’ll continue to support the post-secondary sector for their long-term success and sustainability to ensure students can get good-paying, in-demand jobs once they graduate. However, we will not put additional costs on the backs of (domestic) students and families by raising tuition.”

The changes to Sheridan’s academic programming are made based on a number of factors: performance and financial sustainability, current and future labour market needs, postgraduation work permit eligibility for international students and anticipated future enrolment.

The immediately suspended programs include five in the faculty of animation, arts and design; five in applied health and community studies; three in humanities and social sciences; 13 in applied sciences and technology; and 13 in business.

Sheridan has also halted the intake of its brand new skilled trade training partnership with the Canadian College of Technology and Trades in Fort Erie because the Immigration Department will no longer issue work permits to international students graduating from public-private college partnerships.

Moving forward, Morrison said, Sheridan is going to double down on its standard-setting education and highly skilled graduates, focusing on creative industries, health innovation, skilled trades and technology such as advanced manufacturing.

When Morrison began her career in post-secondary education in 1990, she said the sector received 60 per cent of its funding from the province, which has since dropped to 16.7 per cent. The current post-secondary education system can hardly be considered publicly funded, she said.

“I’m a firm believer in the transformative power of post-secondary education. There are all kinds of personal and social benefits that come from earning a post-secondary credential,” Morrison told the Star.

“In the face of the chronic underfunding, the recent and significant policy shifts and in the face of this massive social, economic and technological disruption, I fear that we are underinvesting in, at the end of the day, a very efficient mechanism for ensuring that Ontario and Canada are positioned for success globally.”

So far this year, in 2024, Sheridan has already reduced the head count of its administrative roles by 11 per cent, including eliminating two of its five vice presidents to streamline the organization and find savings.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office said the changes to the international student visa program are meant to restore the integrity of the Canadian post-secondary education system, which had been “overheated and misused,” sold as a backdoor entry to permanent residency.

“Provinces hold complete jurisdiction over the funding of their education system,” it said in a statement. “We expect provinces, and the institutions they regulate, to step up with us to build and promote Canada as the educational leader it is and can continue to be.”

ÌýCorrection - Nov. 26, 2024

This article was edited from a previous version to note that Sheridan College has three campuses in Halton and Peel - Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton.