As the College of New Caledonia (CNC) prepares for another year of budget cuts, both students and faculty are feeling pinched. Kevin Dharmani, Business and Management Representative at the College of New Caledonia’s Student Union, who also serves as a Student Representative on the College’s Board of Governors, joined Student Union staffer Jasvir Singh speaking to CFURadio about the ongoing challenges students face. As programs get cut, “teach-out” plans get issued to ensure sophomore students have the opportunity to complete cut programs. The new deadline puts pressure on students to find funds for the program, knowing there won’t be a second opportunity to take those classes. Dharmani jokes about expanding administrative expenses, “We’re both basically getting raises, and they’re getting raises in their salaries, and we are the ones getting raises in our tuition.” Amplifying this as an international student, his tuition will go higher than the 2% cap set for domestic students.
As costs increase, loans mount on Dharmani and others who feel their debt is the college’s solution for its expenses. A class schedule that better allows for supplementary employment would make him feel more valued as a student, along with policies that “focus on students as human beings who want to learn, instead of just demographics that bring them revenue.”
The college’s Faculty Association echoes the sentiments of these student representatives as represented in their larger statement, “One of our most serious concerns is management bloat. It does not make sense to keep hiring more managers when there are fewer people to manage.”
- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
CNC’s president Cindy Heitman has spoken to CFURadio about the challenges in balancing the 2026-27 budget, available here.
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