Carleton University’s senate spoke about the university’s growing financial constraints, voted to suspend fall convocation and provided enrolment updates at its Jan. 31 meeting.
Carleton president Wisdom Tettey, who assumed office on Jan. 1, attended his first senate meeting at Carleton.
“I started here exactly a month ago and it’s been great to be part of this community,” he said during the meeting.
Acknowledging the university’s challenges, Tettey said he is confident that collaboration with the senate will benefit Carleton.
“I know that there are a number of challenges that we’ll confront together by working with this body,” he said. “I’m confident that we’ll be able to move forward in a fashion that is supported.”
Fall convocation suspended
Senators voted in favour of a motion to suspend fall convocation due to the university’s budget challenges, with only one senator opposed. The motion will take effect in fall 2025.
Previously, Carleton has hosted two convocation ceremonies each year: one in spring (June) and the other in fall (November).
Elinor Sloan, clerk of senate, said that the university will try to schedule four ceremonies per day for five days to accommodate all students who were supposed to attend fall convocation.
Suzanne Blanchard, deputy provost of academic operations and planning, said the direct costs of convocation setup range from $350,000 to $400,000, which doesn’t include “all the staff overtime and what all the other units are putting into during the preparation as well.”
‘Even tighter’ financial position
Pauline Rankin, the provost and vice-president (academic), reported that Carleton’s financial position “has become even tighter” since its initial projections in May 2024.
Rankin said the university is experiencing a $14.6 million tuition shortfall in the 2024-25 academic year due to a significant decline in international student enrolment.
In fall 2024, the number of incoming international undergraduate students dropped by 55 per cent compared to the previous year, while international graduate student enrolment declined by 35 per cent, according to Rankin.
Rankin also said the university is calling on politicians to increase provincial funding for academic institutions.
“I would encourage all of you to speak to all of your candidates in your ridings about this as an issue,” she said. “Our director of government relations is preparing packages for all the candidates to highlight the issues that we face in higher education.”
In March 2024, the Ontario government announced $1.3 billion in financial support for post-secondary institutions. However, the Council of Ontario Universities said in a statement that this additional funding “falls far short of what the sector needs to be financially sustainable.”
Meanwhile, senator Morgan Rooney asked about Carleton’s “drill down” on scholarship offers for graduate students as a “cost-containment measure,” and whether that impacts graduate students’ offers of admission.
In response, Rankin said although the university will suspend entrance scholarship for graduate students, the graduate studies department is expecting a seven per cent growth in domestic graduate enrolment for the 2025-26 academic year.
“What we have cut is the entrance scholarship, which is $3,000, [and] is based on GPA only,” Rankin said. “It hasn’t appeared to have any impact on our graduate applications and accepted offers.”
Nadeem Siddiqi, the vice provost of graduate studies, said Carleton and the Royal Military College are the only two institutions in Ontario that offer entrance scholarships for graduate students.
Rooney also raised concerns about contract instructor cuts and potential impacts on future course delivery in response to the university’s financial challenges. The faculty of Arts and Social Science will face a 50 per cent reduction in contract instructors, impacting over 87 positions.
“Will that reduce the overall number of courses offered? Yes,” Rankin said. “But in each faculty, deans and associate deans are working with departmental chairs to ensure the programs can be offered so as not to jeopardize student ability to complete their programs.”
Rankin added that faculties are “doing their very best” to maintain funding for teaching assistants for the upcoming academic year.
“Faculties are doing their very best to ensure that there is no reduction in priority TA spending for 25-26,” she said.
Fall enrolment decrease
Blanchard reported a 55 per cent decrease in fall undergraduate first-year students.
The faculty of science saw a 20 per cent decrease in first-year students, while international student enrolment in computer science fell by 70 per cent.
Blanchard said the computer science decrease is not unique to Carleton.
“The decline is across the system,” she said.
She noted that students are shifting their focus to more specialized fields.
“What I’m seeing … is that the interest is now more closer to data science, cybersecurity in some areas like that,” she said. “So they’re looking at more specialized [programs].”
Despite the various obstacles Carleton is experiencing, Tettey maintained a hopeful tone.
“It’s just been wonderful to be able to elicit the kind of warmth and positive energy, notwithstanding the challenges that we’re dealing with,” Tettey said.
The next senate meeting is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji/The Charlatan.
