The college will cease operations at the end of the current winter semester, according to a letter from Centennial director-general Angela Burgos obtained by The Logic. “In the last few years, we have questioned the viability of the college given the decrease in applications. The situation has deteriorated because of government decisions, notably with the adoption of Bill 96 and its limits imposed on the number of students,” Burgos wrote to Patrick Bérubé, director-general of the province’s association of private colleges in the Feb. 2 letter. Burgos didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.  (The Logic)

Talking point: It is “premature” to link the closure to Quebec’s French language Charter, said Higher Education Ministry spokesperson Bryan St-Louis. “Enrollment at the college had been on a downward trend for several years, and its financial situation was deteriorating.” The Quebec law, adopted in May 2022, sets limits on the total number of students English-language colleges can enroll. In June 2022, executives at some of Quebec’s leading technology firms signed an open letter calling on the government to suspend the law, saying it “is threatening to do enormous damage to the province’s economy.” Centennial is one of three private English-language colleges in the province.

Editor’s note: This briefing has been updated to include comment from Quebec’s higher education ministry.