KPU senate approves changes to 2026-27 draft budget, summer enrolment figures drop by an additional $1.9 million

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s senate officially introduced KPU’s Global Strategy, approved three new human resources microdetails, and made changes to the 2026-27 university draft budget during a meeting on June 23. 

The strategy, which will be effective until 2027, emphasizes the institution’s commitment to advancing global education and engagement to enhance the university’s global presence and “maintaining sustainable international student enrolments.”

The senate standing committee on curriculum then proposed a motion about the Graduate Studies General Regulation 1: Master’s Capstone Project or Thesis Dialogue, effective Sept. 1, 2026. The regulation relates to master’s programs that require a capstone project or thesis. 

“The reason this is a regulation and not a policy, if you recall, from that development process last year, is that our assumption is we’re going to need to iterate and do a lot of small decisions over time to get all of this ready for actual master’s level programming,” Associate Vice-President Academic David Burns said. 

The next regulation coming through, he added, will include the handling of publication projects and theses. The senate approved the regulation. 

The senate then approved revisions to the admissions requirements for the bachelor of science in nursing program and the psychiatric nursing program, effective Sept. 1 next year. 

The change is made to support admissions to KPU’s nursing program and allow more people to apply to the institution through the expanded biology offerings, Senate Vice-Chair Catherine Schwichtenberg said. 

“Currently, the courses are four credits each, which is actually a barrier for all students wanting to transfer into our program. And … it’s a barrier for [licensed practical nurses], and the last thing we want is our government to say that we are not working to try and have additional nurses in our province,” Laura Del Rio Torres from the Faculty of Health said. 

The senate also approved changes to the post-baccalaureate diploma in human resources management and accounting to open the programs to people who may not have completed a degree but may have significant experience to allow them to apply to the diploma program. The change is a measure to increase more domestic student enrolment after a decline in the numbers of international students in the program. 

Three new micro-credentials in the change management for human resources, emotional intelligence for human resources, and human resources essentials programs were also approved. 

“The whole idea is to get people into Melville School of Business to provide and improve their employability,” Schwichtenberg said. 

Nominees on 2025’s six nominations to senate standing committees list were then appointed to the senate.

The senate governance and nominating committee then recommended that the senate approve the revisions to the Faculty of Health bylaws to make them “more understandable and useful for the Faculty” and ensure alignment with the KPU senate and standing committees. The motion was approved. 

“The original bylaws, which were just over 20 pages, were found to be exceptionally confusing when you actually needed to refer to them in the moment for guidance and direction. So they have been cleaned up and streamlined and they’ve been modeled really on what our senate bylaws are, too,” Faculty of Health Dean Sharmen Lee said. 

A search advisory committee was appointed for renewing the appointment for the dean of the Faculty of Health. 

A motion was also proposed for the senate to endorse the fiscal year 2026-27 university draft budget principles and priorities.

Vice-President Administration Peter Smailes said changes have been made to the initial draft of the budget to incorporate feedback the senate received from various groups. 

“[In] the budget model for the rise of expenses with revenues, efforts will be made to minimize the impact on both employees and students, ensuring financial sustainability without compromising the university’s core mission.”

Smailes added that a new budget priority was added under the core activities and strategic priorities section in addition to changing the ordering. The budget priorities will also focus on revenue generation, he said, emphasizing recruitment and retention initiatives and developing new programs to create a “net positive financial impact.”

“This approach positions KPU for sustainable growth while enhancing its ability to meet emerging educational needs.”

Smailes said recent enrolment data has indicated that the gap in shortfall from international student tuition fees is growing and summer enrolment figures indicate an additional $1.9 million loss. 

The senate also approved a request for institutional recognition for DUNIS Africa, which would allow graduates of a two-year program at DUNIS to transfer to KPU to complete a bachelor’s degree. The motion was approved.

“It works for us because people from around the world can come to [KPU] already with two years of post-secondary education,” Schwichtenberg said. “It’s set up so that we can evaluate it after three years and decide if this is something we want to continue on with.”

The senate then recommended the board of governors approve draft Policy and

Procedure AC15 Digital Credentials (Non-Credit), effective Jan. 1, 2026. The motion was approved. 

President Alan Davis presented his annual policy report, which outlines the status of all KPU policies and procedures, including approval, revisions, elimination, jurisdiction disputes, and clerical changes in the past 12 months.

In his regular report to the senate, Davis said he started the transition process to welcome the intuition’s incoming president Bruce Choy. He said he also attended the unveiling of a new Indigenous art piece by artist Pam Baker in the Arbutus building at KPU Surrey.

In addition, Davis attended the West Coast Teaching Excellence Award celebration for Lee Beavington, the first KPU instructor to receive the honour. From June 10 to 13, Davis was present at KPU’s summer convocation ceremonies.

In her report, Provost and Vice-President Academic Diane Purvey wrote that KPU has expanded its summer offerings for youth to include entertainment arts courses — The ABCs of 3D Animation and The ABCs of Game Development — which will be offered this month. 

Purvey also mentioned that a draft for the first graduate studies general regulation at KPU was proposed to the senate for approval. The regulation includes “a set of guidelines that outline the principles of the Dialogue, and aspects of a capstone project or thesis in a master’s program at KPU,” the agenda read. 

The Gen AI and Academic Integrity Video Series has also launched at KPU, featuring a student highlighting different aspects of artificial intelligence and its harms.

The Office of Planning and Accountability at KPU also released a report covering 2020-25, highlighting a “better understanding” of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) students at the institution. Among its findings was a “noticeable growth trend in PLAR usage” from 2020-21, with Wilson School of Design having the highest proportion of PLAR students by program faculty.

While women made up the majority of PLAR students, accounting for 60 per cent of the total, only three per cent of PLAR students self-identified as Indigenous. A total of 77 per cent of PLAR students are mature students — aged 19 and over — with the largest group being 40 and older.

The meeting concluded by the senate thanking Davis for his years of service. 

The next senate meeting is scheduled for Sept. 29 at 4:00 pm in the KPU Surrey Cedar Board Room and online via Microsoft Teams. For more information, visit www.kpu.ca/senate.