As B.C. grapples with a years-long shortage of nurses and health-care professionals, Vancouver Community College (VCC) has rejected applications to its nursing program this fall, saying the school has “paused” the program for the year.
In an email to CBC News, the college said it paused the program due to budgetary constraints as a result of reduced international student enrolment. The federal government started capping international student permits in 2024, and provincial guidelines limit the number of international students that post-secondary institutions can accept.
The college said the program will continue in 2027.
(Ben Nelms/CBC)
B.C. Nurses’ Union president Adriane Gear said she learned of the program changes when prospective students reached out saying they’d received rejection letters explaining the situation.
She’s “concerned” by the news, given that there are thousands of permanent nursing vacancies in B.C.
“Very concerning, especially when you think about the fact that we have reached an agreement with the Ministry of Health to implement minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. Now, ratios are important because it provides a basic standard of care for patients so that patients have safe care,” she told CBC’s The Early Edition.
“We will not have enough nurses to do this.”
Gear said post-secondary institutions need to create more nursing program seats, rather than cutting back.
“We need more support for nursing students,” she said, pointing to high costs nursing students face travelling for practicums.
Alona Kolesnychenko, a nursing student at VCC and board member of the student union, said she’s shocked by the college’s decision.
“I know people who were trying to get into this 2026 intake and I know that was a devastation for them because you need to do different prerequisites to go to a different school,” she said.
Kolesnychenko said nursing class sizes are small, and she estimates at least 25 people were rejected because of the program pause.
She’s heard from applicants that feel “like a failure” after being rejected.
“It’s not like they did something wrong, it’s the system that failed,” Kolesnychenko said.
She said the student union has been fighting for more funding from the provincial government, so that schools can rely less on international student fees.
Speaking from the legislature on Wednesday, B.C. Minister for Post-Secondary Education Jessie Sunner said she knows institutions are being forced to make tough decisions right now.
She said a post-secondary review looking at labour market needs and ensuring programs reflect that will be released soon.
Sunner said the situation at VCC does not help the nursing shortage, but pointed to other schools in the province that have added seats, like North Island College.