Faculty association worried about new UPEI budget as international student enrolment drops

Members of the UPEI Faculty Association are sharing concerns about the newly released budget as the school grapples with a drop in international enrolment after the federal government introduced tighter restrictions on study permits.

Margot Rejskind, the association's executive director, said faculty members are concerned about the lack of transparency in the budget.

She said her department was told there would be freezes and cuts due the drop in international student enrolment. 

"We have concerns about where the spending priorities seem to be, we're not sure where the money is going and we're interested in having a discussion about the spending priorities overall," she said, adding that other faculty concerns stem from lack of staffing and how that will affect student learning.  

"We are today facing quite a number of units across the university that are struggling to deliver their programs, that are not sure right now how they're going to staff their teaching for the fall of 2025."

UPEI, along with many other Canadian universities, has been facing a "money crunch," according to Universities Canada CEO Gabriel Miller, who said that's partly due to decreased government funding over the past decade.

That's led universities to recruit more international students, who pay higher tuition fees. Recently, though, the federal government implemented restrictions on how many international student permits are given out across the country. 

There are all kinds of new positions in the president's office.... Those are important positions, I'm sure, but they don't contribute to teaching and research.— Margot Rejskind, UPEI Faculty Association

UPEI said it has no layoffs planned for the coming year, but five positions were cut from the English academic preparation program, or EAP, in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The program is largely used by international students looking to get their English up to an academic level. 

UPEI said in a statement that demand for the EAP has declined significantly in recent years, and that it has partnered with Holland College to take on the program. It said three of the five instructors moved into different roles with the university. 

"As a result of the change, five instructor positions and a manager were no longer needed. Three instructors were redeployed to other roles at UPEI in 2024," the statement reads. 

Cuts amid budget growth

The move is raising questions from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the five instructors.

Its president said in a statement that the union would like to have an open discussion with UPEI to discuss its spending priorities, considering the university's budget grew by around 10 per cent over the previous year.

"On one hand, we're being told that the budgets are tight and our members can expect cuts," Julie Puiras said in the statement. "But on the other hand we're seeing tremendous growth in the overall budget, and there has been much senior administrator hiring over the last few years." 

Rejskind agreed, saying UPEI is hiring more administrative and executive staff than instructors. 

"There are all kinds of new positions in the president's office and throughout administrations," she said. "Those are important positions, I'm sure, but they don't contribute to teaching and research."