| Topic: | |
|---|---|
| Approval Authority: | President |
| Approval Date: | July 1, 2025 |
| Effective Date: | July 1, 2025 |
1. Preamble
The temporary suspension of admissions to a degree program is a normal and
necessary step to manage the sustainability of programs. Administration may initiate a temporary suspension of admission for a variety of reasons, including low enrolments and a program falling below a position of financial sustainability. The step of temporarily pausing new admissions is intended to provide colleagues the time and space to review and/or renew a program’s curriculum, explore alternative programming options, or to move towards program closure. Resulting changes to curriculum and program requirements or decisions to close a program will be governed by the York University Quality Assurance Procedures and applicable collegial governance processes.
Administrative decisions to temporarily suspend admission to degree programs are made by the relevant Dean(s) / Principal in consultation with the Provost and Vice-President Academic. Temporary suspensions of admission shall be time-limited,
normally with a two-year maximum, with the possibility to extend the suspension a maximum of two further years. An Early Notice of Intent stage shall be provided by the Dean/Principal before a decision on temporary suspension of admissions for the
purpose of input and consultation with a program on the criteria and considerations guiding admission suspensions. Suspensions of program admissions do not imply closure of courses. Courses would be expected to continue to be taught based on the norms and practices for determining course offerings, and plans established to ensure the necessary supports are in place for the progression of students currently in the program.
Criteria for Administrative Suspension of Admissions
The following criteria are considered in a decision to temporarily suspend admissions to a degree program:
• Concerns about the quality of the student experience and/or student outcomes
• Low and / or declining enrolments over several years
• Low and / or declining applications over several years
• Low financial sustainability given Faculty budgets
• Insufficient human or physical resources to deliver the program
Additional Considerations for Administrative Suspension of Admissions
In considering a decision to temporarily suspend admissions to an academic program,other considerations may also be applied by Deans / Principal, including:
• timely input from affected individuals and groups
• timing related to recruitment and enrolment cycles
• impact on other academic and non-academic units and/or programs
• other circumstances that program colleagues may raise
Procedures for Temporary Suspension of Admissions to Programs at York University
1. Definitions
“Dean” includes the Principal of Glendon College.
“Program” refers to a degree program established under the York University Quality Assurance Procedures (YUQAP).
“Suspension of Admission” is the temporary administrative suspension of new admits to a program.
“Financial unsustainability” of a program occurs when there is evidence of continued low and/or declining student demand for the program, low and/or declining enrolment, and where the net revenue from the program is less than the total operating costs associated with the delivery of the program. Strong enrolment in individual courses alone does not necessarily make a financially sustainable program.
2. Application
In fulfillment of their responsibility to manage the financial sustainability of their Faculty’s degree programs, Deans review program data annually to monitor enrolment trends, student outcomes and other resource considerations related to a program’s financial sustainability. Data reviewed include new and continuing applications, major (and minor) enrolment, retention, degrees awarded, time to completion, course enrolment, and other relevant indicators.
Decisions to temporarily suspend admission to degree programs can be made by the relevant Dean in consultation with the respective program and the Provost & Vice- President Academic. The following procedures guide the decision-making and implementation processes.
3. Procedures
A. Early Notice of Intent
Where the decanal assessment of program data indicates a position of financial unsustainability, a temporary suspension of admission to the program may be considered. In such circumstances, the relevant Dean will provide an Early Notice of Intent (NOI) to the program before any temporary suspension of admissions decision is made. Normally an NOI will be provided to a program at the start of the University’s main recruitment cycle for the subsequent academic year.ii A guiding principle of the NOI stage is that programs are provided an opportunity to understand the core challenges contributing to the program’s financial position and to provide input into a decision to temporarily suspend admissions.
Upon providing an Early Notice of Intent to a program, the Dean shall ensure:
a. that an opportunity for program representatives and the Dean (or designate) is provided to discuss and provide input on the program and revenue data, criteria and considerations that program colleagues want to raise.
b. exploration with program representatives regarding possible alternative program scenarios (e.g., optimal program design and offerings aligned with enrolment data; sustained course offerings for existing undergraduate certificates or graduate diplomas; a minor degree option versus a major degree option).
c. that there is an assessment of the impact a suspension of admissions could have on other academic and non-academic units and/or programs.
d. confirmation for the program what supports are available to assist with the Action Plan process.
B. Development of Action Plans
To support the development of an Action Plan the Dean shall ensure that relevant student data, including a market assessment about the demand for the proposed programming, and an assessment of future cost and revenue structures of the proposed program and/or or credential option are provided.
To that end, required Action Plans to be developed following an NOI to a program should:
a. address the recovery plan for the Major and/or define an alternative strategy to address financial sustainability and grow student demand for the program.
b. as appropriate to the program in question, define specific actions in response to:
• low and / or declining enrolment and retention over several years
• low and / or declining applications over several years
• low financial sustainability given Faculty budgets
• insufficient human or physical resources to deliver the program
• the alignment with program demand relative to comparators in the sector and/or with workforce trends
• student concerns about their program experience / challenges
c. incorporate relevant information / insights from the most recent Cyclical Program Review and the associated Implementation Plan.
d. be finalized within six months of the issue of the NOI, unless another timeline is agreed upon by the Dean in consultation with the Provost & Vice-President Academic.
e. confirm any curriculum proposals required to implement the Action Plan and the commencement of the proposal preparation and collegial governance review process at the earliest opportunity.
Action Plans are approved by the Dean in consultation with the Provost & Vice-President Academic. Following approval of an Action Plan, the Dean (or designate) shall provide oversight to support the program’s progress on the plan to the defined timeline for implementation. Programs are provided a minimum of two admission cycles following implementation to monitor and assess signs of progress.
C. Temporary Suspension of Admissions
When new admissions to a program are suspended, it shall normally be for a period of up to two years with the possibility of a further two years. When new program admits are suspended, courses continue to be taught based on the norms and practices for determining course offerings. The Dean shall establish a plan to ensure the necessary supports are in place for the progression of students currently in the program. The Dean shall also ensure that a communication plan regarding the decision to suspend admissions is developed in consultation with the program and Provost & Vice-President Academic.
Following the Notice of Intent and Development of Action Plan stages, a decision to temporarily suspend admissions to a program may be taken in one of two circumstances:
a. the absence of an approved Action Plan within the defined timeline
If a decision is taken to suspend admissions in the absence of an Action Plan, the program shall continue work to develop the Action Plan with the support of the Dean with the expectation that a Plan be approved within six months and work to prepare program changes / proposals required to implement the Action Plan begin immediately thereafter. Upon approval of an Action Plan, the suspension of admissions will be lifted for the subsequent F/W academic year. If a completed Action Plan is not received or approved by the Dean, the suspension continues for another F/W academic year.
b. a continuing financially unsustainable position after two admissions cycles with the program Action Plan implemented
If after two years of the Action Plan program changes being implemented, the program data continue to indicate financial unsustainability, admissions to the program will be temporarily suspended for a two-year period.
Following that decision, the Dean and program colleagues will meet to discuss next steps. Program options for discussion at this stage of the process are either:
a. preparation of a Revised Action Plan, with defined timelines for submission and approval
b. program closure through York University Quality Assurance Procedures.
If a Revised Action Plan for the program is to be developed by the program, it shall be submitted to the Dean within six months of the decision to suspend admissions. The Dean, in consultation with the Provost & Vice-President Academic will review the Revised Action Plan to determine whether to extend the two-year suspension to allow for the implementation of the Revised Action Plan to a maximum of two further years. If an extension of the suspension is not supported by the Dean, program proponents should expect to close the program through the
York University Quality Assurance Procedures.
(i) A program may be deemed unsustainable on review of its revenues and expenditures and / or in the context of the Faculty’s overall budget and applications and enrolments. This assessment is best made at the Faculty level as operating revenue is attributed to Faculties. Each Faculty has accountability for the financial sustainability of the Faculty and can be expected to vary in the way that the revenues and/or costs associated with programs and/or departments and schools are calculated. In general, however, it is understood that the costs of a program involve not only the direct costs of the salaries and benefits associated with the delivery of the program but also associated costs including for program advertising and recruitment, space and other supplemental costs. Revenues similarly include monies associated with majors as well as teaching.
(ii) The annual F/W recruitment cycle typically commences annually in July for the subsequent FW academic year. If necessary, the NOI process could be implemented ahead of summer or winter term admission cycles.
(iii) As part of the recovery planning for the Major, colleagues may elect to explore a merger with another program, a redesign of the credential being offered, a Minor, Certificate or Diploma option, course planning options that make sense for the program’s enrolment context.