KPU Senate discontinues a trades program, discusses changes in student enrolment

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The Kwantlen Polytechnic University Senate approved to discontinue the mechatronics and advanced manufacturing technology program (MAMT), which offers a citation and a diploma, during a meeting on Oct. 21. 

The program termination will come into effect on Sept. 1 next year, and is a result of insufficient financial resources and lack of enrolment demand. MAMT is part of the university’s Faculty of Trades and was first offered in the fall semester of 2018. Since then, a total of 437 students have enrolled in the program, according to the meeting’s agenda. 

“The existing programs have insufficient enrolment to offer a strong educational experience

that can be sustained over time while also justifying the expenditure required to maintain

safe and current equipment,” the agenda reads. 

During the fall intake of 2021, students were offered a $1,000 tuition reimbursement for enrolling in the program, but the numbers remained low. 

“There was a tremendous amount of effort that went into this program, but … this particular program is more associated with degrees in engineering … and the sad decision was that it would not work for KPU at this time,” Vice-Chair of Senate Catherine Schwichtenberg said. 

“I wanted to pass on appreciation and sympathies to all those who were teaching or involved in this program. This can’t be easy news.” 

Lori McElroy, associate vice-president of KPU’s Office of Planning and Accountability, presented student enrolment projections for 2025 and 2026, focusing on the decline in international students. 

There have been many disruptions to international student enrolment at KPU and post-secondaries across Canada, McElory said. This is a result of multiple Canadian federal government events and decisions over the past year, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accusing the Indian government of carrying out the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the increase in international students’ cost-of-living requirements, and the cap on international student intake.   

McElory said another big impact on international student enrolment is the federal government’s decision to change post-graduate work permits (PGWP), which will take after Nov. 1. The change limits PGWPs to students graduating from degree programs and select diploma programs in fields of high labour market demand. At KPU, 28 per cent of last year’s international students graduated from what are now eligible PGWP programs at the university. 

“Our international people have the list of eligible programs and are busy trying to recruit to them, but you can’t make demand that doesn’t exist,” McElroy said. 

Due to the challenges, the Office of Planning and Accountability predicts international student enrolment will be on a steady decline, dropping from 37 per cent of KPU’s student population this year to 32 per cent in 2025 and 24 per cent in 2026. 

The office is planning to take proactive steps to increase recruitment and work with the PGWP changes, including encouraging international students to pursue a degree by potentially reducing costs, marketing eligible non-degree programs, creating new, eligible programs, bringing in more domestic students, and targeting mid-career learners. 

The Senate also discussed changes to select courses at KPU. Two new courses — CRIM 4950 Sexual Violence and SOCI 2000 Ecomonic Inequality in Canada — were approved in addition to revisions for 12 courses, most of which are within the Asian studies department. The Senate discontinued seven courses, three of which were in the history department, another three in product design, and one in fashion marketing. 

The citation in cloud architecture and security was also revised to change the number of credits and reduce the math requirement in the hope of appealing to a broader base of students. 

“This program was approved as a new program last year, and, unfortunately, the numbers have not come through, so they’re trying to make it a lot easier,” Schwichtenberg said. 

New bylaws for the Faculty of Graduate Studies were also approved by the Senate, along with a list of graduating students for the February convocation ceremony. 

The Senate is KPU’s senior academic governing body that has specific powers and duties, including setting criteria for credentials, curriculum for programs, qualifications for admission, as well as criteria for academic standing, standards, and the grading system. It also handles policies and procedures for student academic appeal matters, among other duties.  

The next KPU Senate meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18 at 4:00 pm via Microsoft Teams.

For more information, visit www.kpu.ca/senate.