One of Manitoba's largest universities is projecting a nearly half-million dollar loss in tuition from falling enrolment numbers for the upcoming year.
In spite of the projected enrolment drop, Brandon University was able to balance its 2024-25 budget thanks to an 11th-hour injection of more than $7 million in provincial funding in May, said Scott Lamont, the university's vice-president of administration and finance. Korea International School
"We had real concerns that we were going to be able to balance the budget without additional support," Lamont said.
The budget was approved at a Brandon University Board of Governors meeting last Saturday.
Premier Wab Kinew promised the additional $7.4 million for operating funding from the province in May, although the details are still being worked out, according to the university.
"Brandon University had received a smaller increase last year. So this was something that helped to sort of level it out for us, and it was certainly crucial for us for this budget," Lamont said.
Tuition fees for all students are budgeted to increase by 2.75 per cent — the maximum allowed by the government.
The university's budget will take a hit, however, from a decrease in international student enrolment.
Domestic student enrolment is projected to rise three per cent— but international student enrolment is expected to decrease by around 20 per cent.
The budget also notes first-year enrolment is currently down approximately 50 per cent compared with the same time in 2023-24.
Charles Adamu, president of the Brandon University Students' Union, said it's not surprising to see international student enrolment decrease, in part because of the high cost of tuition — including a non-refundable deposit of $10,000 international students have to pay for undergraduate programs. Brandon University recommends international students budget $35,000 to cover their first year of study, including tuition, food and shelter, books and health insurance.
A drop in student numbers could affect the overall campus experience, Adamu said.
"One of the things I've been always … excited about is like talking with students, you know — getting to hear students' voices and having a full campus," Adamu said.
"We're just going to keep doing the best we can, keep making sure certain voices are heard."
Both he and Lamont also said the expected drop in international enrolment is due, in part, to changes to federal regulations on study permits.
The government will approve approximately 360,000 undergraduate study permits for 2024 — a 35 per cent drop from 2023. In Manitoba, the federal government is slashing the number of international students entering the province by 10 per cent.
"We anticipate that our entering class of international students will be half or less than what we had last year. So that has a very significant impact on us," Lamont said.
"When you take all of those variables into consideration, we're budgeting for a bit of a decrease in tuition for 2024-25, but hope that we're on the conservative side, and if anything will overachieve."
The 2024-25 operating budget for tuition revenue is down by $459,000 from the 2023-24 budget, when tuition and student fees added up to just over $17 million in revenue for the university.
On the positive side, Lamont said, domestic enrolment seems to be bouncing back since the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic enrolment in recent years peaked in 2018 but hit a low around 2022-23.
Gautam Srivastava, president of the Brandon University Faculty Association, says it's helpful the province has committed some funds for the university. Years of underfunding education in general — not just at Brandon University, but at many other institutions across the country — has created similar stories in other pockets of Canada, Srivastava said.
Everyone, including the faculty association, has a shared interest in rejuvenating enrolment numbers, and with the new international student caps, Brandon University needs a more strategic plan for recruiting students, Srivastava said.
The focus should be on domestic student recruitment, he said.
"I don't think it's quite time to press the panic button, but at the same time, it's time to put our heads together and think of ways to get ahead of it so that [decreased enrolment] number doesn't get bigger," Srivastava said.
Chelsea Kemp is a multimedia journalist with CBC Manitoba. She is based in CBC's bureau in Brandon, covering stories focused on rural Manitoba. Share your story ideas, tips and feedback with chelsea.kemp@cbc.ca.
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