Algonquin College hosts open house

Algonquin College held an open house for prospective students on Saturday as the institution faces major financial shortfalls. CTV’s Joshua Marano reports.

Deciding what to do post-secondary can be stressful, but that’s why at Algonquin College, over 250 volunteers were there to help students around campus during the spring open house.

Over 3,000 prospective students signed up to attend, some still looking at program options, others, already knowing where they want to be.

For Ainsley Medaglia, she’s narrowing her choices between animation, game design, illustration, concept art or paramedics, and she says the open house has been helpful in her decision.

“I’ve seen a couple good examples of like what programs are offering, talking to people, getting a good feel for what actually goes on in the programs is really helpful, and it’s helping me get a better idea of what I actually want to apply for and what I want to go here for.” Medaglia said.

Different booths were setup for each program along with tours of the labs and classrooms to give students a feel for what a day would feel like, something vice president of student services at the college, Krista Pearson, says is essential.

“We have an awesome team of recruiters who are out in schools and communities, talking to prospective students and answering their questions about the programs that they’re interested in.” Peason said.

In February 2025, the school announced it would be cutting 37 academic programs starting in September, cancelling four dormant programs, and closing its campus in Perth, Ont., as it deals with a multi-million-dollar deficit.

Algonquin College president and CEO Claude Brulé told faculty and students that the college is facing “unprecedented financial challenges,” due to a new federal cap on international students, a tuition freeze and provincial funding shortfalls.

However, Pearson states they have not seen a decline in interest.

“We have not seen a dip in interest from our domestic market in the programs since those announcements,” Pearson said.

“A part of the reason for that is that we continue to offer programs that are in high demand, for not only the labor market, but for those students and their interests also.”

Here is the list of programs to be suspended at the Algonquin College in September 2025

Faculty of Creative Arts and Media (FCAM)

• Brand Management

• Brand Management (two-year)

• Broadcasting – Radio and Podcasting

• Creative Industries Management

• Interdisciplinary Studies in Human-Centred Design

• Interior Decorating

• Performing Arts

• Photography – Content Creation

• Professional Writing

• Scriptwriting

• Teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language

• Visual Development for Entertainment

Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE)

• Building Information Modelling – Lifecycle Management

• Building Information Modelling – Lifecycle Management Canadian Context

• Energy Management

Algonquin College Online (ACOL)

• Business – Trades

School of Advanced Technology (ATEC)

• Bachelor of Technology (Digital Health) (Honours)

• Digital Health

• General Arts and Science – Aviation Management

• Regulatory Affairs – Sciences

• Technical Writer

School of Business and Hospitality (SOBH)

• Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Honours)

• Business Administration – Human Resources

• Business Administration – International Business

• Business Administration – Marketing

• Financial Services Canadian Context

• Human Resources Management

• International Business Management

• Marketing Management

• Marketing Research and Analysis

• Office Administration – Executive

• Retirement Communities Management

• Strategic Global Business Management

Pembroke Campus

• Outdoor Adventure Naturalist

• Police Foundations

• Regulatory Affairs – Sciences

• Water and Wastewater Technician

With files from CTV’s Josh Pringle