As Ontario colleges lay off staff and close campuses, executive pay climbs

The previous 12 months battered Ontario’s public faculties as falling income from international students and a continued freeze on tuition pressured many to make main cuts to workers and programming.

Establishments like Seneca and Algonquin determined to shut faculty campuses to deal with the shrinking enrolment and funding points. Others, like Sheridan School, suspended tens of applications and but extra laid off workers.

However whereas the axe fell at most of the province’s 24 publicly-funded faculties, govt pay elevated.

In accordance with information launched by the annual wage disclosures record, the highest 5 best-paid faculty presidents in Ontario made a median of roughly $492,000 in 2024.

The best faculty president earned $636,106.70 — greater than triple the wage paid to Ontario’s premier.

Pay will increase on the prime of public faculties when applications are being shuttered have raised considerations for some.

Jeff Brown, a professor at George Brown School and a member of the OPSEU union that represents school, mentioned the price of management needed to be examined.

“I feel you’ve bought to try a few of these layers of senior administration that aren’t immediately related to the training expertise,” he advised International Information.

“Have a look at the way you’ve let issues get that top-heavy to start with  — however now, particularly in a time of austerity, actually taking a very good onerous take a look at the a part of the group that basically isn’t contributing to the front-line schooling expertise.”

Final 12 months, Ontario’s public faculties felt the total power of a federal cap on worldwide college students.

Whereas home tuition charges had been reduce 10 per cent in 2019 and have been frozen ever since, faculties had been capable of cost unregulated charges to worldwide college students.

Many public faculties in Ontario have ended up counting on worldwide tuition lately to maintain increasing. Authorities paperwork estimated final 12 months that 32 per cent of all college revenue got here from worldwide college students.

With no main limits on the variety of worldwide college students, faculties had been capable of continue to grow. Many noticed the vast majority of their college students coming from overseas.

Enrolment information for 2023 confirmed 88 per cent of scholars at Northern School had been worldwide, 85 per cent at Lambton and 77 per cent at Conestoga.

Then, on the very starting of 2024, the federal authorities capped the variety of worldwide college students coming to Ontario. The transfer exacerbated funding points the faculty sector had complained about for years.

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The results had been sluggish to indicate and escalated all year long.

Seneca Polytechnic closed its Markham campus citing worldwide pupil enrolment, whereas Algonquin College announced plans to do the identical factor to its Perth, Ont., campus.

Elsewhere, the axe fell on applications. Sheridan College cut 40 programs from its roster, whereas St. Lawrence School dropped 40 per cent of its applications.

Employees cuts had been additionally launched nearly throughout the board. Some faculties supplied early retirement, others determined to not fill vacancies and extra laid off workers.

These cuts will damage college students, a coalition of stakeholders not too long ago warned.

“Establishments will probably be pressured to make selections that compromise the standard of schooling and restrict accessibility, eroding the province’s fame and talent to draw and retain expertise,” a current letter mentioned.

It was despatched to the Ford authorities by Faculties Ontario, the Council of Ontario Universities and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

Whereas faculties laid off workers and reduce applications, the salaries on the prime of Ontario’s faculty sector continued to develop.

John Tibbits, the president of Conestoga School, noticed his compensation soar 29 per cent from $494,716.07 in 2023 to $636,106.70 in 2024.

A spokesperson for Conestoga mentioned executives got wage raises “on account of elevated complexities and tasks” however mentioned the choice was made earlier than the worldwide pupil cap.

They didn’t say if raises can be supplied once more in 2o25.

Tibbits led the highest 5 highest-paid presidents within the province, who all noticed their pay enhance 12 months over 12 months.

Humber School’s Ann Marie Vaughan was paid  $497,880.32 in 2024, 12 per cent greater than the 12 months earlier than. David Agnew of Seneca took in $459,778.83 — a rise of three per cent on the 12 months earlier than.

Janet Morrison, who heads Sheridan School, earned a 12-per cent bump in 2024 to $453,560.98 and Gervan Fearson at George Brown earned eight per cent greater than the 12 months earlier than, with a 2024 pay whole of $412,579.62.

A spokesperson for Sheridan mentioned its raises got “throughout the present guidelines.” George Brown School mentioned its president’s wage mirrored the “important enlargement within the scope and tasks” and harassed the significance of “skilled” management.

Seneca and Humber faculties didn’t ship solutions to questions. Nor did Faculties Ontario or the School Employer Council, each of which opted to not touch upon the story.

The Ford authorities, nevertheless, is monitoring the difficulty carefully.

A senior supply confirmed to International Information the province was monitoring compensation will increase at faculties over time, in addition to program cuts and pleas for extra funding.

“Faculties and universities should be placing funds in direction of making college students job-ready, not massively growing govt salaries,” the supply mentioned.

Brown, talking on behalf of the OSPEU union, mentioned a wage freeze on the govt degree can be “recommendable” and mentioned senior management had did not see a predictable disaster arriving over the previous 5 years.

“Throughout that interval, the universities ought to have had a bit extra trying ahead and saying, ‘OK, what are we going to do with these surpluses? We’ve bought surpluses. Ought to we be funnelling that again into operations, again into frontline schooling?” he mentioned.

“Or ought to we be padding administration ranks and letting it get bloated and directing that cash there?’”

Salaries within the sector needs to be checked out, in line with the NDP’s post-secondary schooling critic, who instructed they’re removed from the most important downside.

“The large challenge, nevertheless, is the shortage of provincial help for the sector as a complete,” MPP Peggy Sattler mentioned.

“Definitely, we have to take a look at the compensation packages which might be supplied to a few of these very senior positions in Ontario faculties however that’s not going to avoid wasting campuses, it’s not going to forestall applications from closing down, it’s not going to forestall the layoff of workers in educational advisor workplaces.”

She accused the Ford authorities of underfunding public faculties for years — pointing to cash introduced final 12 months for the sector which fell more than $1 billion below the number recommended by the province’s own expert panel.

Brown additionally mentioned faculties want “a direct infusion of funding to bridge this present disaster” and that the provincial authorities should step in.

The federal government has not introduced plans to present faculties new funding because it unveiled a money injection in February final 12 months.

“It is a very severe second that we’re in proper now in Ontario — the scenario is absolutely dire,” Sattler added.

“We have to construct in sustainable, long-term will increase in working grants for faculties to really achieve success and proceed to ship the applications that college students want and our native economies want.”