UPEI enrolment starts to fall

The number of students at the University of Prince Edward Island is down, after years of bucking the trend of declining enrolments across the region.

The specific demographic decline in P.E.I., that is probably hurting UPEI a little bit more.- Mireille Duguay, MPHEC

Regional enrolment was down 1.1 per cent in the 2013-14 academic year, and down 3.9 per cent at UPEI, according to a report from the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.

Enrolments have been dropping for about a decade, but UPEI had been keeping student numbers up. Special scholarships for Island students increased home province enrolments, new graduate programs doubled grad student enrolments in the first decade of the century, and international recruitment also brought in hundreds of students.

But demographic changes are catching up with the university, said MPHEC CEO Mireille Duguay. There is a decline in the university-aged population and of a softening demand for a university education among Maritimers.

"The specific demographic decline in P.E.I., that is probably hurting UPEI a little bit more, in that it seems to be affecting 18 to 19 to 20 year olds. So those would be the entering class," said Duguay.

"It is creating an impact where the enrolments overall are down."

The report suggests there is a shift in program choice by students attending Maritime universities. More students are choosing programs that have a clear connection to the labour market, such as health, business or engineering.

International students now represent nearly one in three students enrolled in business.

For mobile device users: What should UPEI do about falling student numbers?