Vancouver Island University is eyeing cuts to several undergraduate and graduate programs in an attempt to tackle its long-running budget deficit.
The proposed changes, announced in a message posted on the VIU website, would see six programs suspended and 13 cancelled entirely.
“We know that news like this can be unsettling,” reads the announcement, signed by acting president Emily Huner and acting provost and vice-president Claire Grogan. “These proposed changes are not made lightly.”
The master of community planning, dental assistant undergraduate and graduate diploma in hospitality management are among the programs on the proposed cancellation list. The First Nations certificate and bachelor of arts in global studies are among the list of suspensions.
The master of community planning is one of only four planning programs — undergraduate or graduate — in the province.
The proposed changes are not yet final.
They are set to undergo a two-phase review over the next two months by the university senate and board of governors. A final review by the board of governors is scheduled for June 3. The university said it would not comment until then.
If approved, 17 of the 19 proposed course cuts and suspensions will take effect this fall, with the two remaining cancellations will be effective in the fall 2026.
The proposals are part of the university’s deficit-mitigation plan, which aims to reduce spending by 10 per cent between 2023 and the 2025-26 fiscal year. The university has so far achieved a reduction of $6,176,487 out of a planned $18 million, according to its website.
As the Times Colonist has previously reported, VIU has been operating with a deficit since Deborah Saucier became president in 2019.
Saucier resigned in March after the faculty association presented a motion of non-confidence in her leadership to the board of governors, and following months of criticism by the student union about the university’s spending.
This is the first significant budget proposal since Huner, the university’s chief financial officer, became acting president on April 5.
Gara Pruesse, president of the VIU faculty association, said she was disappointed by the university’s approach and would like to see more evidence-based decision-making.
It appears university senators are being given “very little information” about the financial viability of the programs being considered, she said.
“I believe that an evidence-based approach would involve senators actually being presented with estimates of what financial savings would be garnered if they were to make the decisions that is being they’re being presented with.”
Pruesse said she laments the fact that the decisions are not being based primarily on the quality of the programs, which she believe are high, strictly on financial considerations.
“For the university to realize any savings, that means that jobs will be cut, and right now, because many of the sessional jobs have already been cut, that means layoffs to regular faculty, and that means really diminishing the capacity for us to deliver the programs that students want,” she said.
In addition to the potential course cuts, Tuesday’s announcement also included a proposal to reduce the number of academic deans to four from eight.
“This change will enhance our ability to collaborate across disciplines, better support students, and improve operational efficiency, including cost savings through streamlined administrative leadership.”
