Faculty members at the University of Winnipeg may have to rewrite their plans for the winter semester, as budget constraints stemming from the federal cap on international student enrollments could put an end to hiring assistants teaching and research.

Peter Miller, president of the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association, said the new hiring freeze creates challenges for faculty members who relied on hiring assistance to support their teaching and student grading.

“There are only so many hours in a day.”

For “someone like me, who teaches three courses — I have maybe 260 students — I don’t think I can necessarily have the same types of assignments that I would have had in mind without some sort of help to the rating”.

His colleagues, he imagines, could rethink the courses, with simpler evaluation parameters, “but this is only possible in certain disciplines”.

“You can’t do that in English – essay writing is at the heart of what they do.”

The mood is “rather gloomy”

Miller said the mood among faculty members is “pretty gloomy” over the prospect of not having teaching assistants in the upcoming winter semester, and perhaps fewer opportunities hiring for faculty positions next year, as the university projects between $4 million and $5 million in lost tuition revenue. because Ottawa has limited the arrival of new international students.

THE the federal government imposed the restrictions earlier this year to try to prevent small private colleges from profiting from international arrivals and to relieve the country’s overcrowded real estate market, particularly in Canada’s largest cities.

As of November 1, first-year international student enrollment at the University of Washington had dropped 34 percent from the previous year. The university did not say how many students that represents, but it welcomed more than 1,500 international students last year.

According to meeting minutes, University of Washington President Todd Mondor said at a September Senate meeting that there was a “significant financial impact” due to a decrease in number of international students, “because international students pay higher tuition fees” – about three or four times the rate of domestic students.

The university responded by not filling vacant positions and “delaying hiring decisions,” spokesman Caleb Zimmerman said by email.

A recent memo to faculty and staff states that all academic departments must reduce their non-salary budget lines by seven percent for the remainder of the fiscal year.

It also indefinitely suspends the ability of employees to spend on meals and refreshments during work meetings.

Miller said students are also affected by hiring freezes and limits on non-salary spending because “it’s all about what we do in the classroom, on campus, in campus life,” he said. declared.

This could mean a reduction in departmental events and fewer opportunities for students to interact with instructors and teaching assistants.

Students May Lose Opportunities

It also takes away students’ ability to work as teaching assistants or research assistants.

“This can be very important to them when they want to pursue graduate programs, law or medical school or immediately move into professional employment,” Miller said.

Tomiris Kaliyeva, president of the University of Washington student union, said the hiring freeze might not be felt until January, but she worries that by then, students will have fewer places to turn for get help.

“Of course, the university has the same goals as us when it comes to supporting students in their studies,” said Kaliyeva, an international student from Kazakhstan.

“I’m sure it’s not something they wanted to do. It’s just the way things are going right now.”

At the University of Manitoba, the number of new international students, as of November 1, fell by 30 per cent, from 1,863 students last year to 1,303 students this year.

As a result, the university lost approximately $7.5 million in tuition revenue.

“We never completely invent this. We adapt to it,” President Michael Benarroch said.

He said the university expected a financial loss of about $5 million and so had “stayed the course on cost growth” in preparation. The loss of funding was offset, to some extent, by a 2.6 percent increase in domestic student enrollment.

“I think we’ve been successful this year,” Benarroch said, but “policymakers at all levels are being very cautious and not committing to a lot of long-term spending because the future is uncertain.”

He expects the $7.5 million to double next year because international enrollment will have been reduced for two years.

Benarroch said discussions about Canada’s new restrictions on international students have created a “chill” in the minds of potential students abroad.

He said even graduate student enrollment at the University of Manitoba has fallen by 28 per cent, even though federal policy has yet to impact them.

“This has created a certain chill in the international market, where students no longer think that Canada is the welcoming country that we claim to be,” Benarroch said.

As of Nov. 1, Brandon University reported welcoming 447 international students in the fall, a 15 per cent decrease from last year’s 527 enrollments.

Red River College Polytech said it is too early to understand the impact of Ottawa’s restrictions, as the college welcomes several groups of students throughout the academic year.

A spokesperson for Higher Education Minister Renée Cable did not promise to increase funding for institutions facing a funding gap, but said the provincial government was in discussions with all institutions at about their budgets for next year.

University of Washington Implements Hiring Freeze and International Student Cap is to Blame

The University of Winnipeg has decided to temporarily pause some hiring, including teaching assistant and research assistant positions, after the federal government’s cap on international students led to a drop in tuition revenue .