In January, 2024, the federal government announced cuts to international student immigration. By mid-2025, Langara had lost significant enrolment and revenue and 25% of faculty had lost work or were formally laid off. Yet we had patchy leadership (interim appointments / people covering two roles), and no plan to deal with the enrolment crisis – or even to recognize the situation as a crisis.

In October, 2025, faculty held a vote yielding 92% non-confidence in President Paula Burns, detailing our concerns in this LFA report to the Board of Governors.

Responding to the vote, the Board of Governors has conducted a review of Dr. Burns’ performance, inviting broad input from the college community. They will discuss their findings at the Board of Governors meeting on January 29, 2026.

The situation is still urgent. Faculty are still losing jobs. Enrolment, and the future of Langara, are still precarious. We stand by our reasons:

1. We need a revitalized vision, and a leader who inspires us to bring it to life.
   Langara has suffered from a lack of strategic foresight, crisis management, and engagement. This will not improve under our current president.
2. We need trust, collegial engagement, and transparency. Our current administration has obfuscated, delayed information, or simply ignored key issues. We need a partnership approach that harnesses the best of what we can be.
3. We need focused, on-the-ball management. We have key programs such as the four degrees offered via the BBA, left to languish with no attention or explanation for more than 15 months, losing us years of enrolment and revenues. A committed leader would not lose track of critical decisions and next steps.
4. We need financial responsibility. We see administration teams and salaries swelling while instructional staff are lost. We see new directors appointed while direct student services, such as counselling and librarians, are cut. We are unsure whether the sizeable surplus gained during high times has been squandered. Our current president has not allocated resources effectively.
5. We have lost confidence. We have had nearly four years with our current president, two of them since the federal government cut international student visas. It is clear this administration failed to pivot and lacks the skillsets to handle our crisis. Our vote of no confidence was a vote to protect Langara. We can’t continue to waste time. We need new leadership now.