August 27, 2025

British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Burnaby Campus has opened its newest student residence. The 12-storey building contains 469 beds, a common area, and study spaces. Built using mass timber, the building was designed with efficiency and sustainability in mind, attaining the province’s Energy Step Code 4 and receiving a CaGBC Net Zero certification. According to the Daily Hive, the timber panels were constructed off-site, improving the speed of the project. The residence was funded using a combination of $129M provincial funding and $3M in donations, respectively.

In a recent piece for the Calgary Herald, Lee Easton (Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations) and Shauna MacDonald (Alberta Colleges and Institutes Faculties Association) discuss an ongoing review of Alberta’s postsecondary education system funding and functions. The panel—chaired by University of Calgary Economist Dr Jack Mintz—will make its recommendations to the Government of Alberta in the coming weeks. Easton and MacDonald present three risks that the commission must address to ensure the recovery of AB PSE: a growing number of students with fewer instructors, volatile funding, and declining revenue from international enrolment. The authors describe six ways that these risks can be turned into opportunities, including ending “the funding roller-coaster,” investing in rural institutions, and restoring research competitiveness.

Parti Québécois critic for higher education Catherine Gentilcore is supporting a petition against the Government of Québec’s $151M budget cut to the cégep network for 2025-26. As cégeps experience restricted autonomy and interference from the government, students will pay the price, explains Gentilcore. She further noted that the $151M in cuts is in addition to the hiring freeze and infrastructure investment cap that were imposed over the past year. Gentilcore has invited students, cégep staff, and community members to sign the petition.

Trent University has launched a new, compressed online support course for college students transferring to the university. Trent Teaching Commons Research Assistant Jess Malcolm explained that college-to-university transfer students face unique institutional and logistical challenges when entering university. To help address this, Trent created the course—UNIV-2001 Making the Leap: Foundations for University Success—to guide students through the transfer journey and reduce the experiences of “transfer shock,” a temporary, stress-related decline in academic performance. The course helps students to develop their academic skills, degree planning, and understanding of university life, and connects them with advisors and resources.

Simon Fraser University and the University of Exeter have partnered to create a new international fast track to a career in law. The SFU-Exeter Accelerated Law Program will allow students to graduate in six years with a BA from SFU and an LLB from the University of Exeter, in addition to a certificate in Foundations of Canadian Law. As part of this partnership, students will pay a reduced tuition at Exeter and will not be required to take the Law School Admissions Test or compete for entry. Students will also be given a guaranteed spot in Exeter’s student housing. SFU Dean Laurel Weldon said that this is the first such program in British Columbia, and that students will save at least one year under the accelerated program when compared to a traditional law program.

Loyalist College recently released its annual report and shared several updates on its financial status and adaptations. The Belleville Intelligencer reports that the college has confirmed that 36 full-time faculty positions have been cut, but there are no further program suspensions at this time. 91X FM and Quinte News report that the Government of Ontario has offered Loyalist a $25M emergency loan, which would be subject to certain conditions. Kirkpatrick issued a statement to indicate that financial statements did not reflect measures taken to strengthen the college’s financial position and that the college is confident in its near and long-term future.

In a recent article for the New York Times, Clay Shirky (New York University) asserts that a university’s best weapon against the abuse of AI is a return to the strategies used in the 14th century. Shirky explains that various strategies—including encouraging engaged uses of AI, redesigning assignments to be “AI-proof,” and asking students to critique AI outputs—have failed to persuade students to avoid “lazy uses” of AI. Instead, he describes his shift to in-class essays, oral examinations, and other assessments that require students to demonstrate their knowledge in real time. “These strategies do not represent a loss of rigor,” he argues. “They are simply a return to an older, more relational model of higher education.”

The Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Iles has announced that it will launch a wind turbine maintenance training program in remote communities in Québec. The 11-week program uses a mobile laboratory to visit communities and provide the necessary training. Cégep de la Gaspésie Director of Continuing Education Eric Couillard explained that the distances involved can make it difficult for many in remote and indigenous communities to attend training institutions. To address this, the cégep is improving access to the programming by bringing the training right to these communities.

While Red River College Polytechnic expects a near-record level of enrolment, according to RRC Polytech President Fred Meier, the polytechnic will still struggle to deal with the sharp drop in international student enrolment. Meier told CBC that the near-record enrolment “might be an offset in the amount of students that we’re seeing in total, but it certainly is not an offset in the amount of tuition.” CBC reports that the federal government’s cuts to international study permits are expected to affect schools across Manitoba, with Assiniboine College, Brandon University, Université de Saint-Boniface, and the University of Manitoba anticipating declines in international enrolment.

Students from Carleton University, Nipissing University, and Trent University spoke to City News about their concerns for the year ahead, including peer usage of AI, their daily commute to campus, and the political climate. Carleton student Ben Carpenter shared his experience as an American student living and studying in Canada’s capital city. Nipissing student Abby Noonan expressed frustration with the use of AI, saying that it is “hard to put in effort in an assignment when you know that someone’s generating the same essay in two seconds and they’re still getting a better grade than you.” Trent student Iyiola Alande shared his concerns about financial planning amidst inflation and rising costs and bills.