B.C.’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University lays off 70 faculty members [Video]

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) says it will be issuing full or partial layoff notices to approximately 70 faculty members amid a downturn in international admission fees.

KPU said Monday that the layoff notices would go out at the end of the week.

The layoffs come as Canadian colleges and universities continue to grapple with the federal government issuing fewer international student permits.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced last year that it would reduce the intake of foreign students over the next two years, including graduate and doctoral students, as well as tightening the eligibility for the Post-Graduate Work Permit program.

A researcher at the University of British Columbia (UBC) says more and more universities rely on international tuition fees to make up for declining provincial funding, and Canada’s higher education now faces a turning point as international students who pay higher fees are not coming in the same numbers.