Shock ripples through students after Northwestern Polytechnic announces satellite campus closure

Catherine Garrett · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 12:46 PM EST | Last Updated: November 6

After a post-secondary instauration announced it's readying to adjacent 1 of its campuses successful northwestern Alberta, students and others successful the municipality that volition beryllium impacted person responded with daze and dismay.

Students astatine Northwestern Polytechnic successful Fairview, Alta., are speaking retired aft a determination by its committee to adjacent the outer field truthful that the post-secondary instauration tin absorption connected its Grande Prairie location.

The determination to adjacent the Fairview field was posted to societal media connected the evening of Oct. 29, aft the committee of governors voted astatine a meeting. Fairview is located astir 550 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

In a quality release, the post-secondary instauration said it is taking steps to mitigate an anticipated ongoing fund shortfall, and that it volition beryllium closing the Fairview field astatine the extremity of the world year. 

Some students said they consciousness upset and blindsided by the move, and present wonderment what comes next. 

“[I’m] devastated. I couldn’t halt crying. I inactive can’t halt crying,” said Mackenzie Rigler, a first-year veterinary exertion student. 

“This is my puerility imagination and present I person to perchance restart it, oregon walk much clip connected it. It’s conscionable hard, particularly erstwhile I person to determination farther distant from my parents.” 

Rigler and her classmates are successful the midst of mid-term exams. She, on with different students successful her program, person since met with their dean, but are inactive near with much questions than answers. 

“We don't cognize if each the courses are going to beryllium transferrable implicit to a antithetic programme yet oregon not,” said Jaymee Tuffs, who is besides a first-year veterinary exertion student. 

“We're waiting. We're anticipating. We don't cognize what's going to hap with it. And it could perchance conscionable ruin a batch of our plans for the aboriginal if we adjacent person to conscionable hold oregon restart.”

Fairview field not financially sustainable

In its announcement, Northwestern Polytechnic said an extended reappraisal of operations and finances shows the Fairview field “is not financially sustainable and nary longer meets the needs of students oregon industry.”

It besides said pupil request for programs successful the northwest is chiefly focused connected Grande Prairie oregon extracurricular of the region, and immoderate are operated astatine a precocious outgo but look debased enrolment. 

“We did not travel to this hard determination easily,” committee seat Shawna Miller said successful a connection issued Oct. 29. "After cautious introspection of assorted scenarios and options, it became wide that determination is nary script successful which the Fairview field is sustainable.

“Given these pupil patterns, on with much than $100 cardinal successful deferred attraction required successful Fairview, semipermanent sustainability is simply a large challenge."

CBC News requested an interrogation with NWP but the post-secondary instauration did not marque anyone disposable and directed inquiries to its website.

“NWP understands the interaction of this modulation connected students and remains focused connected supporting them done this period,” Amanda Heiford, NWP's communications and selling director, wrote successful an email.

“Beyond the accusation shared successful our quality merchandise and connected our website, NWP volition not supply further comments astatine this time.”

Municipalities stepping in

Both the Municipal District of Fairview and the Town of Fairview are asking the state for a moratorium connected the decision, to let clip for a afloat reappraisal and for unfastened consultation.  

“We did not person immoderate informing until aft the committee of governors decided,” said Philip Kolodychuk, the reeve of the M.D. of Fairview.

“It’s a cornerstone of our community. It volition person been present 75 years adjacent year.”

Kolodychuk said the assemblage would similar to research ways of trying to support the field open, perchance by trying to spouse with different post-secondary institution.

“We volition beryllium hiring an advocacy radical to assistance america [go] to the ministers and the government, to enactment a intermission connected the closure,” Kolodychuk said. 

In an unfastened missive to Advanced Education Minister Myles McDougall, Town of Fairview Mayor Gord MacLeod requested that each programs and courses proceed arsenic scheduled and that nary assets beryllium removed from field until a reappraisal is completed.

MacLeod besides requested a third-party fiscal audit and reappraisal of champion practices for agrarian programme delivery.

“The nonaccomplishment of this field would scope acold beyond Fairview," helium said. "It would mean less opportunities for younker to larn and enactment successful the region.

“We are requesting much clip and resources to beryllium allocated toward processing options earlier NWP closes the Fairview Campus, including the accidental for meaningful determination consultation, which was not provided during the archetypal decision.”

Select Fairview-based programs volition beryllium moved to Grande Prairie for Fall 2026, and NWP said existent students volition person further program-specific accusation from their dean successful the coming weeks. 

A townhall gathering volition beryllium held successful Fairview connected Thursday nighttime to sermon the interaction of the closure and the campus' future.