Saanich’s Camosun faculty warns province could shift costs to students
Victoria News (November 28, 2025)
“The province has repeatedly said that its biggest priority is affordability,” said CCFA president Lynelle Yutani. “Yet in a time when students are not able to get the courses they need to graduate into well-paying jobs, the government is signalling it will raise tuition and cut programs instead of investing in British Columbians’ future.”
The review notes that many public institutions are already facing structural deficits, declining enrollment, depleted reserves, rising costs and the impacts of federal international-student policy changes.
Without new investment, Yutani says the remaining options, including tuition increases, program cuts, larger class sizes, fewer student supports or institutional mergers, will only shift the burden to students, families and local communities.
“The province is engaging in a once-in-a-generation investigation into post-secondary sustainability with the best solution – adequate funding – already off the table,” she said.
Minister vows to keep B.C. post-secondary affordable amid concerns over sector review
Castanet (November 28, 2025)
Calvert said he believes a new funding model that is more responsive and transparent is needed, as well as an adequate funding level from the government.
He said while there’s some truth the federal government is responsible for the financial challenges, Calvert said the province also played a role in encouraging reliance on international student tuition for revenue.
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Both the BCFS and FPSE said they also had concerns with the timeline of the review. Recommendations are expected to be delivered to the province in under four months and a public consultation period will conclude by mid-January.
Calvert said he thinks many in the sector will be frustrated at the end of the review and feel the timeline wasn’t enough to hear from “all the corners” of the sector.
“There’s a high degree of skepticism, I think, right across the board, from everyone who had this presented to them, that the report may already be written and there’s just going to be some checking around,” he said.
North Island College faculty association reacts to provincial review of post-secondary system
Comox Valley Record (November 26, 2025)
President of North Island College Faculty Association, Jen Wrye, is worried about what this means for colleges in small communities, such as North Island College in Courtenay, Campbell River, Port Alberni and Mix̱alakwila campus in Port Hardy.
“What we know right now is that this is a comprehensive review of every public post-secondary institution in the province, including North Island College, so the system as a whole,” said Wrye. “We are facing a crisis in this sector and it’s hitting the smaller colleges and their communities, our communities, particularly hard.”
The members of the Faculty Association want to ensure that learners in the region have access to programs within their communities so that they do not have to travel to more urban settings for education.
“(We) want to help them meet their learning and employment goals. We have already faced considerable cuts and we are poised to potentially face more,” said Wrye.
Public post-secondary institutions in B.C. are facing significant financial pressures, largely due to factors such as unilateral federal reductions to study permits for international students, global inflation and declining domestic enrolment. But Wrye states that the underfunding issue is long standing.
“The actual cause is sustained underfunding, which has been eroding access to public post-secondary opportunities for learners in our region. Our communities look to government to protect education access and that has not been happening,” said Wrye.
B.C. launches review into sustainability of public post-secondary system
CBC (November 25, 2025)
Brent Calvert, president of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C., says he is glad post-secondary schools are getting the province’s attention. But he shares students’ concerns about the timeframe for the review, as well as the lack of additional funding.
“In one sense, you can look at this news and say, ‘Well, this is great,’” said Calvert.
“But the fact that the holistic review has ruled out an injection of capital to help with some of the short-term problems is concerning.”
He says the toll of funding challenges is already being felt across B.C. schools. Contract faculty faced significant layoffs last year, said Calvert, and many tenured faculty and staff are now worried about their jobs ahead of the next semester.
Since 2018, Calvert says, the federation has been raising the alarm about universities’ reliance on international students for funding – and the province reviewed the funding model for universities most recently in 2022.
“I do want people to know that the B.C. government had a hand in this as well,” he said.
“They point to the federal government’s policies around immigration, but the B.C. government had explicit policies telling post-secondary institutions in B.C. to solve their revenue problems by attracting more international students.”
Province accused of being ‘secretive’ in shelving plans for B.C. post-secondary funding review
Castanet (November 3, 2025)
Michael Conlon, Federation of Post-Secondary Educators executive director, said the federation was being told up until 2024 that the final report was going to be released — shortly after Anne Kang was appointed post-secondary minister.
“It’s turned out to be not true,” Conlon said.
“The timing suggests to me that when John Horgan transitioned out and David Eby came in, that it was no longer a priority. That seems to be too much of a coincidence.”
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Conlon said FPSE, alongside other stakeholders in the post-secondary sector, had consistently asked for updates on the review, and feel they’ve been “strung along” for years with the province never formally announcing the review was “mothballed.”
With layoffs and budget cuts happening across the province, he said the federation wants to be involved in what the ministry does next. But trust has been eroded between the ministry and FPSE.
“I think that this is something the government needs to come to the table with us and have a discussion about how we how we move forward in our sector, given these radical changes,” Conlon said.
B.C. college instructor who called Oct. 7 attack ‘brilliant offensive’ reinstated, then resigns
CTV News (November 21, 2025)