Program Suspension/Cancellation Policy
| Effective Date: | May 19, 2021 |
| Downloadable Version: |
 Program Suspension/Cancellation Policy
|
| Related Procedure(s): | Program Suspension or Cancellation Procedure |
| This document is available in alternate format on request. |
Purpose/Rationale:
This Policy is intended to guide The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced
Learning (hereafter referred to “Humber” or “the College”) when considering the suspension or cancellation of a program. These decisions will be based on the College’s mission of offering a regularly updated mix of programs and courses that serve the needs of students, employers and the community while at the same time ensuring:
- decisions are taken using evidence-based criteria which are clearly communicated to the College community;
- there is a formal process consistently used by all areas of the College (see procedure for program suspension and cancellation); and
- decisions are made in a respectful, timely and considerate manner.
Scope:
This Policy applies to all programs that lead to a credential that has been approved by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities or Humber’s Board of Governors.
Definitions:
Application cycle: The application cycle begins on the date that the College accepts applications for the upcoming academic year. For example, applications for the academic year (September, January and May intakes) are commonly first accepted in December of the previous year.
Core SEM: Strategic Enrolment Management process which is part of the College’s annual planning procedures.
In-take period: The period leading up to the start of a semester.
Program suspension: A temporary measure which occurs when admission to all sections of a program is stopped for one or more intake periods.
Program cancellation: The permanent cessation of a program and which is to be is removed from the list of approved program offerings.
Teach-out Plan: A program plan that provides for the equitable treatment of registered students and is designed to ensure that all registered students are provided with options to complete the suspended or canceled program.
Policy:
1. Basis for a decision to suspend/cancel a program
1.1 To inform the decision to suspend/cancel a program the factors to be taken into account include, but are not limited to (in no order of priority):
- The advice sought and received from the Program Advisory Council
- feedback from program staff
- alignment with institutional mandate, vision, mission, Strategic Plan, Strategic Mandate Agreement
- student demand
- student satisfaction rate
- graduate employment data
- retention/graduation rate
- program quality metrics
- labour market demand
- relationship to other programs
- alternate program providers
- financial viability
- resource requirements
2. Program Intake Suspensions during the Application Cycle:
2.1 Program intakes that do not attract sufficient candidates during an application cycle may be suspended for that intake.
The College will make the decision to suspend program intakes as early as possible in the application cycle in order to minimize the impact on applicants.
2.2 Students will be advised when a program intake is suspended and attempts will be made to offer admission in other available programs or subsequent program intakes, or a referral to another educational institution as applicable.
3. Program Suspensions/Cancellations Outside of an Application Cycle:
3.1 The Senior Dean, along with administrators and academic staff, will review programs on an ongoing basis through formal and informal processes.
3.2 Recommendations regarding program suspension or cancellation will be made by the Senior Dean based on information/input from a variety of sources including, but not restricted to, the ongoing program review process, Core SEM, the Program Advisory Committee and any other relevant sources.
3.3 Recommendations for the suspension/cancellation of a program must be presented to the Senior Vice-President, Academic (SVPA) for consideration.
3.3.1 If endorsed by the SVPA, those programs recommended for suspension will then be presented to the Senior Executive Team for information.
3.3.2 If endorsed by the SVPA, those programs recommended for cancellation will then be presented to the Senior Executive Team for approval. Once approved by the Senior Executive Team, program cancellations must be submitted to Humber’s Board of Governors for approval prior to notice of cancellation being forwarded to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
3.4 The Senior Dean will notify the membership of the Program Advisory Committee of its decision to suspend or cancel a program.
3.5 Where the suspension or cancellation of a program has an impact on employees, the applicable provisions in the relevant collective agreements will be adhered to.
3.6 The President will notify the Ministry of Colleges and Universities of the decision to cancel a program.
4. In cases where the College suspends or cancels programs in which there is active student enrolment:
4.1 The College will provide students enrolled in programs that have been suspended/cancelled the opportunity to complete the program within the normal time as outlined in the Program Progression and Graduation Requirements.