An independent high school associated with Vancouver Island University will cease operations next summer after almost three decades, as VIU tries to balance its budget amid a $20 million deficit.
The board of The High School at VIU announced the school’s closure after VIU ended financial and administrative support.
The school is on the university’s Nanaimo campus.
“It is not viable for THS to continue operations without this support and as a result, the THS board has made the difficult decision to conclude its operations as of July 31, 2024,” the school said on its website.
Michael Quinn, VIU’s provost and vice-president academic, said in a statement that the university and independent school have faced significant financial and enrollment challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We recognize this decision will have a significant impact on the students, parents and employees of THS at VIU,” Quinn said. “VIU is committed to supporting THS for the remainder of the school year to minimize disruptions to its high school students.”
In a statement, school principal Catherine Brazier thanked the university for its support and expressed gratitude for all the students who have studied at the school during its 28 years. “My heart is incredibly heavy for everyone at our school, especially our current students and staff.”
About 40 students are currently enrolled in the school, which obtained International Baccalaureate Diploma accreditation in May and was recruiting students on its social-media channels as of October.
The latest annual disclosures to the Canada Revenue Agency by the school’s two associated charities show they had a combined deficit of $675,117 last year, up from a $64,075 deficit in 2021.
The 2022 deficit increase was caused by an estimated $767,000 drop in revenue.
First established as Malaspina International Collegiate in May 1996, The High School at VIU offered a Grade 10 to 12 program to international high school students, providing an extra stream of income for the post-secondary institution, according to media reports at the time.
The school initially recruited from Japan, Korea and Taiwan, with the goal of attracting 10 students its first year of operations, according to an issue of Mainly Malaspina, a staff newspaper at Malaspina University-College from 1995.
It charged $12,000 a year in tuition fees when it first opened.
In 1999, the school began accepting domestic students. It would rebrand itself twice over the years, first as Malaspina International High School in 2000, then as The High School shortly after Malaspina College became Vancouver Island University.
This fall, VIU cited financial difficulties when it ended its partnership with Eldercollege, a continuing-education program for those 50-plus, which had a 30-year history at the university.
The university has blamed declining revenues in part on flat student enrolment numbers and increased costs for delivering services.
VIU plans to slash budgets in its academic departments by 10 per cent and its non-academic departments by five per cent by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year as part of efforts to balance its budget by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.
According to the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education, five out of 25 public post-secondary institutions in B.C. ran a deficit in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
