The Newfoundland and Labrador government announced a tuition freeze at Memorial University that will stay in place until the university can address its financial challenges — just 45 minutes before the university announced it was cutting top jobs.
On Tuesday, the University said it was bringing in a new executive structure effective March 1, which will see the number of vice-presidents cut from seven to three.
A statement on the MUN Gazette website said the move would create a “smaller, more focused executive team.”
The three vice president positions that will remain are vice president, finance and administration, vice president, research and innovation, and provost and vice president, academic.
The structure also includes three deputy provost positions: one for Grenfell Campus and Labrador Campus combined — as the vacant role of vice provost of Labrador Campus has been eliminated — one for Marine Institute and one for deputy provost and dean of graduate studies.
The role of vice president, Indigenous will become a special advisor to the president of Indigenous Affairs.
WATCH | The CBC’s Mark Quinn reports live on what the announcement means for MUN:
MUN cuts number of VPs as school faces ‘unprecedented’ financial challenges
Memorial University is streamlining its leadership structure, moving from seven vice-presidents to three. It’s part of a plan to increase efficiency, and help address financial challenges within the institution. The CBC’s Mark Quinn was at the announcement, and spoke with Here & Now’s Carolyn Stokes.
In total, Morrison said nine positions were impacted by the changes. Only one cut resulted in an employee being let go, she added, the vice president, external relations and advancement. That position was held by Lisa Browne.
“Memorial is facing a significant moment in its history, right? Enrolment is declining, costs are increasing, revenue overall is going down. Our infrastructure is aging, [the] labour market is changing, and the disruption all around us is unprecedented,” Morrison told reporters.
“This is an important step forward in creating alignment, consistency and setting priorities, but nobody is shying away from the reality that there’s more work to be done.”
When asked what Memorial’s deficit currently is, Morrison said it was between $24 million and $25 million.
Government reinstates tuition freeze
Less than an hour before the announcement, Education Minister Paul Dinn told reporters the government would be reinstating a tuition freeze for Newfoundland and Labrador’s only university.
Dinn said he’s hopeful the freeze can apply to the fall 2026 semester, but it will be in place until MUN can get its finances in order.
“We’re not going to let the university balance the books on the backs of the students. And part of that is no tuition increases until we see, or are confident, that Memorial University are addressing their fiscal challenges,” Dinn said.
“Until we see that, there’s a tuition freeze.”
Dinn said it’s too early to know what the freeze will cost, as the government is still in the early stages of crafting a budget.
Education Minister Paul Dinn says a tuition freeze will be in place until Memorial can get a better grasp on its finances. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)
A tuition freeze had previously been in place between 1999 and 2022. The freeze won’t lower rates, but will maintain them for at least one year.
During the recent provincial election, the PC’s said if they were elected they would “not allow MUN to expand its footprint or increase tuition until it ends administrative bloat, resolves outstanding critical maintenance, and returns its focus to students.”
Questions around the school’s finances made headlines in January 2025, when Auditor General Denise Hanrahan issued a scathing report on the management of its facilities.
It showed the university had $481 million in deferred maintenance liabilities as of March 2024, and that the student-paid campus renewal fund — which aimed to address those liabilities — was used to purchase things like software, laptops and a tractor.
WATCH | Dinn hopeful freeze can begin for September semester:
N.L. announces tuition freeze until MUN can better handle its finances
A tuition freeze was in place at Memorial University for more than two decades before its removal in 2022, but Education Minister Paul Dinn says its returning as the institution navigates significant financial challenges. The CBC’s Jenna Head reports.
Dinn said he’s hopeful MUN will do its financial due diligence under Morrison’s leadership. She has served in the role since August.
For Nicholas Keough, chair of the Canadian Federation of Students Newfoundland and Labrador, the promise was welcomed.
He got the commitment from Dinn on Monday, when the two met alongside other student union leaders at MUN. He spoke with CBC News about the freeze before it was publicly announced.
“For students that are grandfathered in, that started before 2022, that would be an extreme help. It would save them thousands of dollars… It would mean that students might not have to work two jobs outside of school. Might not have to worry as much about housing or as much about food.”
Keough said he hopes the freeze can go further in the future, and also apply to students at the College of the North Atlantic.
But he and the Federation are also continuing a call for tuition reduction to pre-2021 levels.
Dinn said more meetings with the group will come, and that he’s eager for more collaboration.
Asked about the prospect of a tuition freeze, Morrison said it’s ultimately up to the government to decide if there would be a freeze.
“I had a number of conversations with the minister, and I look forward to future conversations,” she said.
An emailed statement from Dinn’s office on Tuesday evening said MUN’s structure changes don’t impact the government’s commitment to a tuition freeze.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.