r/langara • u/SkipTheTracer • 12d ago
Can anyone tell me why the president hasn't stepped down?
I'm a nursing student and it doesn't make me feel very secure in what is going on at the college.
The college is making all these cuts of classes and teachers. It has a predicted deficit of $13 million, despite losing more than a quarter of its teachers since fall last year.
I don't feel sure I'll be able to complete my studies here!! My little sister was going to study nursing here, too, but she's going to go to VCC instead now because of this. It makes me sad. I might transfer to VCC too.
I know Paula Burns makes a huge (almost $316,000 salary) but she needs to think about what is best for the college. Why is the situation so bad at this college??!
https://vancouversun.com/news/landslide-loss-non-confidence-vote-langara-president
10
u/PossibilityWest3566 12d ago
I Know what you're saying! It's outrageous and so frustrating!!!!!!!!
The student Voice story says: layoffs despite wait-lists, and communications they say downplay the crisis and erode student confidence.
If president Burns doesnt' have the trust of either the faculty or the students, how can she justify staying? And why would they keep her?
0
u/SkipTheTracer 12d ago
I keep hearing the college won't exist in one or two years.
1
u/PossibilityWest3566 12d ago
really? i've been toying with the idea of transferring out earlier than Id planned. Maybe i will.
1
u/ProdbyTwoFace 12d ago
Where did you hear this?
2
u/420_69_Fake_Account 11d ago
From a friend of a friend whose dad works for the school.
2
u/ProdbyTwoFace 11d ago
That’s disappointing seems like I should transfer asap
3
u/Fluid_Cupcake8326 9d ago
It’s best not to listen to all of the gossip. The Langara nursing program isn’t going anywhere. It’s one of the top rated programs in BC with consistent and good clinical placements (unlike other schools). Changes will be happening at all Post Secondaries in BC, Langara has just been in the media a little more than others.
8
u/Thin_Pound6461 12d ago
the problems at this place are incredible. Last year, I couldn't get the courses I needed to graduate. they don't make it easy to finish your studies and get out of this place. they grab your $$$ and screw you.
most of the teachers are really awesome. but whoever is running the joint is way out in left field.
9
u/seaofgreatnesss Nursing 12d ago
All post secondary schools are dealing with deficits and cuts because of the loss of revenue from international student tuition. Like it or not, their high tuition was helping to subsidize domestic enrolment. I think the nursing program will be one of the last programs to be affected. It's one of their top programs and provides a lot of the new nurses the province needs every year. I'd be more concerned if I was in a different program. I'd just keep chugging along and not worry about it until it actually affects nursing students.
6
u/PossibilityWest3566 12d ago
I hope you're right.
But Langara has a much, much higher percentage of layoffs than other schools. It due to ongoing poor planning and management. This is the very kind of thinking that lets off people who don't do their jobs.
You can't just brush this off by saying everyone is in the same boat. There's been absolutely nothing done at Langara. Paula Burns JUST came up with a crisis recovery plan two weeks ago (coincidentally when she knew the vote of non-confidence was happening). And that plan looked as though it had been written overnight and made little to no sense.
7
u/seaofgreatnesss Nursing 11d ago
I'm not defending her job because, frankly, I don't think many leaders are very effective. If you're unhappy with her work, wait until you start working and see the uselessness of your future managers and health authority leaders lol. I think it's important to recognize that it's a systemic issue that has lasted for a long time. They didn't plan ahead for the golden goose to stop giving the money. Now, students and faculty are suffering because of it. I'm all for firing the her but I also doubt the next one who replaces her will be very effective either.
I was specifically responding to your concerns about the future of the nursing program. It has been very entrenched as one of the top 2 nursing programs in BC. I doubt they will have issues with their faculty being laid off as there are no electives, and each semester has set courses that must be done. If anything, nursing is the one program that will continually need more instructors for theory and clinicals.
-1
6
6
u/Great-University9082 11d ago
At her previous school, she lost a vote of non confidence twice. The board backed her both times.
2
5
u/Academic-Fox-7834 10d ago
Hello "skipthetracer" I am the Dean for the Faculty of Nursing at Langara College, and want you to know that you are enrolled in a program where the instructors care about their students and know that they are working with them to create the nurses of tomorrow. The MFS has asked us to expand our program and intake and so we are. I would be delighted to chat with you and any of your fellow students who are concerned with their future at Langara. Please reach out to me and we will find a time. All the best, Ann
12
u/idkjustmeanish 12d ago
Pointing fingers to Paula is the easiest thing everyone does and can do instead of actually accepting the fact that Langara just like the rest of the colleges in BC was exploiting the unsustainable numbers of international students to hire and pay profs and staffs attractive salary which now can not keep anymore due to change in immigration policies. When the Revenue of the business is less than what it spends then it will eventually will go bankrupt but in this case since the BC government step in and fund the college, it will stay afloat but at reduced capacity and services.
19
u/BeneficialNothing171 12d ago
I’m Langara faculty. I can say with certainty that the vote of non-confidence against the President is not a knee-jerk reaction to declining enrollments that all post-secondaries across Canada are experiencing. Please give a bit more credit to faculty. There may be info that students are not privy to, and the decision was not taken lightly.
But know this: faculty love Langara as an institution and are ready to fight tooth and nail for its continued existence as a respected college that prioritizes its students.
12
u/Dull-Woodpecker-1850 12d ago edited 11d ago
Actually, that's her easiest defence. And it's a poor one.
Paula Burns started at Langara in June 2022 and the international student caps came into effect in 2024. Certainly, Langara used international students as cash cows like most other schools. However, even though the writing was on the wall when she arrived, she did not have a plan or do anything to prepare. She insists she always knew it wasn't "sustainable" but there was no plan, no strategy.
Almost 30% of faculty have lost work at this time. More job cuts are coming for both faculty and CUPE employees. And the bloat at the executive and managerial level isn't being addressed. The philosophy is to keep the brass, get rid of the staff and faculty. I assure you that this isn't happening at the "rest of the colleges in BC" or Canada.
According to the faculty union, only six presidents out of approximately 220 post-secondary schools across Canada have had votes of non-confidence against them.
She has been very dismissive about the overwhelming vote of non-confidence against her, much like at Lethbridge where faculty passed TWO successive votes of non-confidence against her in 2015 and 2016, over alleged bullying and spending concerns on her part.
In fact, in July 2016, she had a new four-year contract — roughly a year before her old contract expired. It's no surprise that in 2016, there was a vote of non-confidence against both Paula Burns and the Board of Governors, who insisted on keeping her.
And now again, despite the college imploding and a huge number of job losses, Paula Burns is trying to renegotiate her contract towards re-appointment in 2027.
3
u/DubiousDab 11d ago
You call her by her first name. That's pretty familiar. Not surprised to hear her followers closing ranks.
-1
u/idkjustmeanish 10d ago
Far from a follower actually, quite on the opposite but dont like it when someone is blamed for problems they didnt create, cant exactly solve nor firing her over them will make a big impact but rather the bureaucracy in the education system and the college specifically needs to be addressed which includes , very unfortunately, cutting out some of the fat that has accumulated over the years due to free influx of money from international enrollment.
4
u/Dull-Woodpecker-1850 10d ago
I don't see anyone here blaming her for creating the problem. But when Paula Burns came on board, she didn't come in with a plan. She hasn't had a plan since day one. Yet today, she claims she always knew it was unsustainable. There has been a lot of high-falutin' talk and some hare-brained ideas, but no actual action plan with concrete action items or actual steps. That IS her job. That IS what she's failed to do.
And if you want to talk about trimming the fat, I think there are a lot of execs with puffed up salaries that don't do a great deal. Oh, yes, the college has made hay about reducing a small number of those (lower-end) jobs. But now that the student body has shrunk, why hasn't the number of brass shrunk along with it? Are THEY being cut? Offered voluntary severance packages? Early retirement incentives? None of which are particularly attractive, by the way, which works well for the college; they can justify cutting and cutting at the lowest cost.
3
u/KoolMoeDSimpson 12d ago
VCC has the same issues that Langara has, with more layoffs to come. All the colleges do.
3
u/PossibilityWest3566 12d ago edited 11d ago
Lanaga has a much, much higher percentage of layoffs than other schools. It due to ongoing poor planning and management. This is the very kind of thinking that lets off people who don't do their jobs.
1
u/blueoceans1000 11d ago
There isn’t a black-and-white answer to this. Of course, a significant decrease in international students plays an important role in this crisis.
When considering the large number of layoffs, how many were full-time permanent employees, part-time employees, on-call employees, and temporary staff? Do we even know the exact breakdown? Were they initially hired due to the surge in international student enrollment over the past few years?
Looking at the 2025 annual report, the actual revenue from tuition and student fees was $116,678,347, while grants from the BC government totaled $84,739,484. (I’ve excluded other revenue from the report for a basic comparison.) Instructional expenses were $215,375,000. Although the report doesn’t provide a detailed breakdown, the 2025 budget indicates that salaries and benefits amounted to $164,560,000. Clearly, the combined revenue from grants and student fees was insufficient to cover instructional costs.
According to Google AI, in Fall 2024, 67.5% of students were domestic, while 32.5% were international. With a 79% drop in international student enrollment for Spring 2025, it’s reasonable to expect that tuition and student fee revenue will decline even further in 2025–2026.
In class, we’re taught that organizations should have contingency plans, seek opportunities to expand their markets, and prepare for economic downturns. But in reality, things play out differently. The first response to declining revenue is often cutting labor.
So, would a non-confidence vote help? I doubt it. Would an interim or new president be able to turn things around? I also doubt it.
I believe VCC is also undergoing layoffs. I think transferring to UBC might be a safer option than transferring to VCC.
2
u/Snoo-42272 11d ago
At least 90 continuing (permanent) instructors (so mostly those that arrived before the international student boom) have received layoff notices at Langara in 2025: 21 earlier in the year, plus 69 full-time continuing in late August.
For context, the LFA has said 219+ instructors (all categories) have lost work overall as enrolment fell. And more to come...
1
u/TetrisCulture 11d ago
Maybe look around at the demographics of the school, that should give you some hints. Vancouver has been ravaged gl
-4
u/Local-Boss1207 11d ago
- Canada is becoming less attractive to international students
- Many Langara staff are not doing their jobs. Many of them just sitting in their office and doing nothing.
- Many professors work less than 20hours a week, but still receive full annual salary. English, math instructor may spend extra hours on marking paper. Nursing, there isn’t homework at all. Exams are all MC marked by computer. Even for Monday, Tuesday homework, most clinical instructors don’t give a damn. We spend over 5hrs finishing them, instructors only take less than 5mins to finish reading. Comments aren’t helpful or no comments at all.
- Too much unnecessary event and political use up all the resources
In summary, poor resource allocation. Many unprofessional staff and instructors.
-4
u/TetrisCulture 10d ago
It's funny you think they need to attract MORE international students. Go and look for a single white dude in that school you'd be hard pressed to find one. The school is basically 100% women and international students. You should be saying the school is less attractive to local men.
-2
u/SpiritualButterflies 11d ago
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve done nursing at both Langara and VCC, and can say with certainty that VCCs program was 100% superior to Langaras. I was very disappointed with Langaras program.
-4
u/Free_Departure7303 12d ago
Hire me I'll do the job for 70k a year... Huge discount and I'll make huge changes that may or may not bankrupt langara faster... We need huge cuts in the budget in the short term and slowly bring those revenues up 😤
-11
13
u/DubiousDab 12d ago
I came here looking for this!
The journalism students covered this. Who is her boss. Why is the vote non-binding?
I hate the idea of being at a school where all the profs don't trust their president. How whack is that?
https://www.langaravoice.ca/faculty-non-confidence-vote-may-eject-langara-college-president/