Mohawk College's City School is closing its doors after a decade of offering accessible programs to residents in the Hamilton region.
The college's president, Paul Armstrong, announced the program's closure in an internal memo. The decision was made in the face of a $50-million deficit, partially caused by federal policies restricting international students.
The school expects to lay off between 200 and 400 employees in the coming months, with major staff and faculty cuts already underway. Since the deficit was announced in November, the school has also shuttered a handful of programs.
Sean Coffey, director of communications for Mohawk College, said, "Without a permanent source of funding, the City School model is not sustainable and therefore the college has made the difficult decision to end the program."
City School's programs are "winding down," Coffey said, and will finish in March 2025.
Mohawk still supporting accessible education, says spokesperson
City School began in 2015, with the goal of providing free trade skill training to Hamilton residents. The course focused on students without a post-secondary education and without their GEDs. The program cost an estimated $1 million in 2023 to run.
The school was run out of the Hamilton Public Library, the Eva Rothwell Centre and in a mobile classroom. The mobile classroom was an extendable trailer that could be taken anywhere in the city.
In 2024, around 415 Hamilton residents were enrolled in City School. The program saw a spike in 2021 and 2022 because of increased funding, with 782 students learning at City School in 2021.
Coffey said the college will continue looking for ways to "improve post-secondary participation" in Hamilton.
"The closure of City School does not mean Mohawk College is abandoning its support for access initiatives," he wrote in an email.
Mohawk College will still offer bursaries and scholarships through the Mohawk College Foundation.
