Keyano College has been forced to cut staffing levels and programs due to the current financial situation, and a dozen academic programs and 18 staff will be cut in order to reduce costs. The programs involved will be suspended, and some may be permanently terminated. The budget issues would also cause 18 staff members to be laid off. Keyano academic vice president Catherine Koch explained “There was no choice in making these decisions. There really wasn’t. These decisions had to be made in order for us to have a budget ready.” Koch discussed provincial regulations which require that the college has a balanced annual budget. Revenue has not kept up with expenses recently, and future expenses that include raises in new collective bargaining agreements have made the cutbacks necessary.

The cutbacks at Keyano College are necessary, and they are another sign that financial difficulty has hit the area hard. Koch explained that tuition and provincial government revenues were not sufficient to fund all of the operational costs for the college so offsets had to be found. “Because (companies) are not spending money on professional development, our training revenues are down. The other revenues that we get through corporate training, and exam fees and things like that, they have fallen off significantly.” Student association president Diana Cretu “Looking at the bigger picture, and looking at potential international student tuition increases, or even mandatory non-instructional fee increases, something needed to be done. The decision to suspend low-enrollment programs comes as a better alternative for our students.”