CANADA
In addition to cancelling orientation weeks, campus club activities, and forcing students and teachers to resort to online learning platforms, the pandemic has taken a huge financial toll on Ontario universities and colleges, writes Maria Sarrouh for the Toronto Star.
A Statistics Canada report is projecting a significant drop in admissions, both domestic and international, which could translate into a CA$1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) shortfall for Ontario’s post-secondary institutions in the 2020-21 year – the largest loss in Canada. Nationwide, the damage could total CA$2.5 billion.
The research paper published on 18 August studied the financial impact of COVID-19 on universities nationwide. It outlines four different scenarios for post-secondary institutions, based on three factors: a decline in international student enrolment, variations in domestic student registration, and government funding. In the most ‘pessimistic’ scenario, the researchers projected Canadian universities could have seen enrolment decreases of 20.1% in domestic students and 21.8% in international students, creating a CA$2.5 billion revenue loss.
Full report on the Toronto Star site
