Mental health ambassadors, library hours and academic supports affected as college faces budget deficit

By GUILHERME MÜLLER

Cuts to services at Langara College in response to the drastic decline in international enrolment have left many students without clear support or guidance, prompting some to seek alternatives.

Due to financial strain following the provincial cuts in international student permits in 2024, the college has made sweeping cuts to services and supports, reducing mental health, library service hours, as well as some academic resources.

The Mental Health Ambassador program, a peer-led model that acted as an entry point to professional services, was a part of those cuts. The program served more than 6,000 students annually and trained about 80 paid volunteer ambassadors.
Former co-ordinator Amanda Burkholder said the program connected students in distress to counsellors they might never have approached on their own.

“Maybe that student would have never gone to counselling, but because they have that rapport with their peer, they go,” Burkholder said.

Students looking for alternatives 

When the program was cancelled last December, Edward Cai, a psychology student in his final semester, began researching similar peer support models at other universities and reached out to guidance.

Cai, who used the program as a student, envisions a dedicated peer listening service with a fixed location and set schedule, where trained student volunteers could provide support and refer peers to campus resources before struggles escalate.

“As a student, I would like to be part of a positive influence,” Cai said. “To catch someone before they get to that point.”
The cuts to student services form part of a broader reduction strategy that faculty representatives say has not been evenly distributed.

Pauline Greaves-Aylward, president of the Langara Faculty Association, said departments were directed to cut 25 per cent of their budgets.

While the college said it eliminated 31 administrative positions, more than 230 faculty members have received layoff notices with about 70 expected to leave at the end of April, according to the LFA.

Students left without meaningful guidance 

Other student-facing services have also been affected.

Kanchan Kanchan, an eighth-semester health science arts student, said navigating Langara as a newcomer to Canada meant juggling academic pressure, work and immigration requirements with little guidance. She said Langara Global, the main resource for international students like her, is understaffed.

“There are so many international students at Langara, but the Global office always has maybe two or three employees working to answer questions,” she said. “When I have any question, and I ask them, they just direct me towards Langara’s website.”

“I have already read the website. What I want is an opinion on my specific situation,” she said.

Though counselling and mental health support services are provided through the college, she only realized she could access them in her final semester.

“If I’m paying for a service, I should know all about it,” she said.
Kanchan said services were available, but she lacked a supportive and accessible community to help guide her toward the specific resource she needed at every stage.

An emailed statement to the Voice from the college communications department said students’ mental health and wellbeing remain a priority.

“We recognize that many in our community are concerned about the impact of recent changes,” the statement said. “Like institutions across the province, Langara is responding to enrolment-related revenue loss following recent federal policy changes.”

The statement said students still have access to free 24/7 external supports including Empower Me and Here2Talk.
Students have also been affected by other reductions.

Earlier this year, the college announced reduced library hours for spring 2026, including full Sunday closures, and Greaves-Aylward warned that the library “will continue to lose additional services.”

Lab assistant and marker positions have also been cut, leading to worries about late and limited feedback for students.

“There are many of us who are willing to help and are trying to make things happen,” Cai said. “Students aren’t alone in their struggle.”

 

VIDEO: Students say fewer resources and understaffed offices are making it harder to navigate campus life.