Enrolment Plan Management Policy

Context and Purpose

Under the College and Institute Act, s. 19(1)(d), the Board of Governors holds the authority to manage and promote the education and training programs available at the College as well as determine courses or programs to be offered or cancelled.

The Board of Governors annually approves an enrolment plan that outlines the College’s program offerings, including the number, capacity, and timing of intakes. This plan outlines the majority of program offerings at the College, but generally excludes programs delivered under education service contracts, as well as newly-created programs, which may lack budget projections and/or be awaiting final approval. Occasionally, the viability of a program intake may be threatened by factors outside of the College’s control, such as market disruption, changes to governmental policy or legislation. This policy establishes criteria for College administration to identify and manage addition or removal of specific program intakes from the enrolment plan.

Scope and Limits

This policy applies to all programs offered by VCC that use a cohort model of enrolment planning.

This policy does not apply to:

Program intakes associated with education service contracts covered by Policy 132 Contract Administration;
Adjustments in the number or location of course offerings, including apprenticeship courses, as part of the ongoing management of program delivery;
Changes to intake start dates that do not change the total number of intakes for a program in the enrolment plan.

This policy complements Policy 414 Suspension and/or Discontinuance of Programs, which addresses temporary or permanent program closures.

Principles

Decisions are evidence-informed, considering enrolment demand, financial viability, faculty and resource availability, labour market alignment, and required program quality.
Potential impacts on equity deserving groups and Indigenous learners are considered in both decision making and mitigation planning.
Decisions to cancel an intake will consider, and work to minimize, any academic, financial, and administrative disruption for affected applicants and registered students.
In consideration of the impact on students and the College, decisions to add or remove program intakes are made as far in advance of the anticipated start date as practicable.
The Board will determine addition or removal of program intakes for requests that fall outside of the criteria outlined in the procedures.

Definitions

Applicant: A person who has applied to a course or program and paid any applicable application fees.
Cohort Model: A program delivery model in which students admitted to a specific intake register in a prescribed sequence of courses as a group, rather than selecting courses independently.
Direct Costs: Costs borne by the College associated with delivery of a program intake.
Direct Revenues: Tuition, fees, and budgeted base funding or grant allocation associated with a program intake.
Enrolment Plan: The listing of anticipated courses, sections, and enrolment for a program/department. It informs the budget and scheduling processes.
Finance & Audit Committee: A standing committee of the Board of Governors responsible for assisting the Board in fulfilling its obligations and oversight responsibilities related to financial planning, the audit process, financial reporting, the system of corporate controls and risk management.
Intake Removal: A decision to not proceed with a specific program intake while the program continues to be delivered to students enrolled in other intakes and/or remains open for application for admission to other intakes.
Minimum Enrolment Threshold: A threshold for the number of students enrolled in a program intake. For Continuing Studies, the threshold is set for each program by the school in consultation with Finance. For all other programs, the threshold is set at 90% of the level budgeted in the enrolment plan for domestic and international enrolment.
Program: A defined set of courses of instruction leading to a credential.
Program Intake: A scheduled commencement for a cohort or set of seats in a program (e.g., Fall 2026 intake).
Student: A person who is currently registered in full-time or part-time credit or non-credit programs or courses offered by VCC.

Related Resources

VCC Policies

Appendices

Under Development