The past year battered Ontario’s public colleges as falling revenue from international students and a continued freeze on tuition forced many to make major cuts to staff and programming.
Institutions like Seneca and Algonquin decided to close college campuses to cope with the shrinking enrolment and funding issues. Others, like Sheridan College, suspended tens of programs and yet more laid off staff.
But while the axe fell at many of the province’s 24 publicly-funded colleges, executive pay increased.
According to data released through the annual salary disclosures list, the top five best-paid college presidents in Ontario made an average of roughly $492,000 in 2024.
The highest college president earned $636,106.70 — more than triple the salary paid to Ontario’s premier.
Pay increases at the top of public colleges when programs are being shuttered have raised concerns for some.
Jeff Brown, a professor at George Brown College and a member of the OPSEU union that represents faculty, said the cost of leadership had to be examined.
“I think you’ve got to take a look at some of these layers of senior management that aren’t directly connected to the learning experience,” he told Global News.
“Look at how you’ve let things get that top-heavy to begin with — but now, especially in a time of austerity, really taking a good hard look at the part of the organization that really isn’t contributing to the front-line education experience.”
A tough year for Ontario’s colleges
Last year, Ontario’s public colleges felt the full force of a federal cap on international students.
While domestic tuition fees were cut 10 per cent in 2019 and have been frozen ever since, colleges were able to charge unregulated fees to international students.
Many public colleges in Ontario have ended up relying on international tuition in recent years to keep expanding. Government documents estimated last year that 32 per cent of all college revenue came from international students.
With no major limits on the number of international students, colleges were able to keep growing. Many saw the majority of their students coming from abroad.
Enrolment data for 2023 showed 88 per cent of students at Northern College were international, 85 per cent at Lambton and 77 per cent at Conestoga.
Then, at the very beginning of 2024, the federal government capped the number of international students coming to Ontario. The move exacerbated funding issues the college sector had complained about for years.
The effects were slow to show and escalated throughout the year.
Seneca Polytechnic closed its Markham campus citing international student enrolment, while Algonquin College announced plans to do the same thing to its Perth, Ont., campus.
Elsewhere, the axe fell on programs. Sheridan College cut 40 programs from its roster, while St. Lawrence College dropped 40 per cent of its programs.
Staff cuts were also introduced almost across the board. Some colleges offered early retirement, others decided not to fill vacancies and more laid off staff.
Those cuts will hurt students, a coalition of stakeholders recently warned.
“Institutions will be forced to make decisions that compromise the quality of education and limit accessibility, eroding the province’s reputation and ability to attract and retain talent,” a recent letter said.
It was sent to the Ford government by Colleges Ontario, the Council of Ontario Universities and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.
Compensation for leadership grows
While colleges laid off staff and cut programs, the salaries at the top of Ontario’s college sector continued to grow.
John Tibbits, the president of Conestoga College, saw his compensation jump 29 per cent from $494,716.07 in 2023 to $636,106.70 in 2024.
A spokesperson for Conestoga said executives were given salary raises “due to increased complexities and responsibilities” but said the decision was made before the international student cap.
They did not say if raises would be offered again in 2o25.
Tibbits led the top five highest-paid presidents in the province, who all saw their pay increase year over year.
Humber College’s Ann Marie Vaughan was paid $497,880.32 in 2024, 12 per cent more than the year before. David Agnew of Seneca took in $459,778.83 — an increase of three per cent on the year before.
Janet Morrison, who heads Sheridan College, earned a 12-per cent bump in 2024 to $453,560.98 and Gervan Fearson at George Brown earned eight per cent more than the year before, with a 2024 pay total of $412,579.62.
A spokesperson for Sheridan said its raises were given “within the existing rules.” George Brown College said its president’s salary reflected the “significant expansion in the scope and responsibilities” and stressed the importance of “experienced” leadership.
Seneca and Humber colleges did not send answers to questions. Nor did Colleges Ontario or the College Employer Council, both of which opted not to comment on the story.
The Ford government, however, is tracking the issue closely.
A senior source confirmed to Global News the province was monitoring compensation increases at colleges over the years, as well as program cuts and pleas for more funding.
“Colleges and universities need to be putting funds towards making students job-ready, not massively increasing executive salaries,” the source said.
Brown, speaking on behalf of the OSPEU union, said a salary freeze at the executive level would be “recommendable” and said senior leadership had failed to see a predictable crisis arriving over the past five years.
“During that period, the colleges should have had a bit more looking forward and saying, ‘OK, what are we going to do with these surpluses? We’ve got surpluses. Should we be funnelling that back into operations, back into frontline education?” he said.
“Or should we be padding management ranks and letting it get bloated and directing that money there?’”
More funding needed, critic says
Salaries in the sector should be looked at, according to the NDP’s post-secondary education critic, who suggested they’re far from the largest problem.
“The big issue, however, is the lack of provincial support for the sector as a whole,” MPP Peggy Sattler said.
“Certainly, we need to look at the compensation packages that are offered to some of those very senior positions in Ontario colleges but that is not going to save campuses, it’s not going to prevent programs from closing down, it’s not going to prevent the layoff of staff in academic advisor offices.”
She accused the Ford government of underfunding public colleges for years — pointing to money announced last year for the sector which fell more than $1 billion below the number recommended by the province’s own expert panel.
Brown also said colleges need “an immediate infusion of funding to bridge this current crisis” and that the provincial government must step in.
The government has not announced plans to give colleges new funding since it unveiled a cash injection in February last year.
“This is a very serious moment that we are in right now in Ontario — the situation is really dire,” Sattler added.
“We need to build in sustainable, long-term increases in operating grants for colleges to actually be successful and continue to deliver the programs that students need and our local economies need.”