The First Nations University of Canada’s Saskatoon campus is making moves to cut a $740,000 deficit and not everyone is happy about the changes.
To cut costs, the institution is freezing enrolment in the Indigenous Social Work program and moving the campus from downtown to reserve land owned by the English River First Nation off Highway 11 south.
Juanita Stone, a third-year Social Work student and one of about 200 protesters who rallied against the changes Thursday, says she fears the changes could mean the end of the program which has been in existence in Saskatoon since 1976.
“We are aware that there is a suspension for fall 2014 intake and if we have no students coming to our university, that’s pretty much ending the line for our university,” she says.
Nevertheless, FNUniv Acting President Juliano Tupone says in spite of the changes the institution remains committed to the Saskatoon campus and the Indigenous Social Work program.
“No, there’s no intention to close down the Saskatoon campus,” he says. “Our intention is to undertake a review of what programs we can offer there to ensure that the campus is viable and sustainable in the long term.”
Public bus service is not currently offered at the new campus location but Tupone says the university is looking into arrangements for students that do not have access to vehicle transportation.
FNUniv Saskatoon will move to its new location in July and the move will affect about 90 students – including 50 in the Indigenous Social Work program.
Tupone says FNUniv hopes to bring down the Saskatoon campus’ deficit to about $140,000 as a result of the changes.