Mohawk College enrollment heading back to pre-COVID-19 numbers

The campuses of Mohawk College will see increased student activity in September.

College chief operating officer Paul Armstrong said they are forecasting a full-time student enrolment of nearly 29,000.

That would get us back to 2018-2019 levels," Armstrong said.

While many of those students will continue online learning, Armstrong said they expect the numbers attending labs, skilled trades training and other programs at the Fennell, Stoney Creek, McMaster and aviation campuses will more than double from last year, to as many as 9,000 students.

That's still far below the 19,000 students that would normally attend the campuses.

We know the amount of activity on campus will be significantly higher," Armstrong said.

While the college is encouraging all students to get vaccinated for the coronavirus, Armstrong said it is not mandatory at this time, although that could change depending on direction from the province and the local health department.

Armstrong said vaccinations may be mandatory for students in some programs, and masking and physical distancing rules are expected to remain in place.

Full-time staffing levels are expected to stay at 1,058 and Armstrong noted most of the staff on temporary layoff have been brought back.

There are no layoffs that are planned in order to meet our budget requirement," he said. To say there won't ever be a layoff, I can't make that commitment."

Armstrong said the David Braley Athletic Centre will reopen to the public in limited numbers and varsity sports are also expected to return in some form.

Mohawk's 2020-21 financial numbers were better than expected.

After forecasting a deficit of $6 million, the college saw a surplus of $2 million for the fiscal year ending March 31.

Enrolment was up higher than our worst-case scenario," Armstrong said.

He noted they had projected a full-time enrolment for 2020-21 at about 24,000 students.

The actual number was well over 26,000.

Higher enrolment numbers plus cost savings implemented last year, such as delaying new lighting and some vehicle and equipment purchases, also added to the surplus.

The surplus might have been higher, but Armstrong noted the college spent more than $8 million on COVID-19-related matters, such as hiring more staff to ensure smaller lab sizes, plus the installation of screens and other personal protective equipment at campuses.

Armstrong noted Mohawk also lost about $4 million in food service and parking revenue.

With limited numbers at the campuses, the college waived parking fees.

Those fees are expected to return in September.

Mohawk officials have budgeted a $10-million deficit for 2021-22.