Enrolment drops 14% in New Brunswick universities in 10 years

University enrolment in New Brunswick continues to fall while other Maritime provinces have managed to maintain or increase the number of students attending their institutions over the last 10 years.

New Brunswick's university enrolment declined 14.1 per cent over the last 10 years, according to statistics released Monday by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.

Over the same 10-year span, enrolment at Nova Scotia universities has increased 0.3 per cent and P.E.I.'s university population has grown by 9.7 per cent, even after a 3.9 per cent decline in enrolment since 2012-13.

Overall, there were 3,000 fewer universities students in the Maritimes in 2012-13, representing a 4.1 per cent decrease from 10 years earlier.

Commission CEO Mireille Duguaysaid enrolment has been steadily declining in the region over the last decade.

"This is the result of not only a demographic decline in the university-aged population, but also of a softening demand for a university education among Maritimers," said Duguay in a statement.

Over the next 10 years, the university-aged population in the Maritimes is projected to decline by 15 per cent.

New Brunswick had 21,223 university students in 2013-14. Two-thirds of the students at New Brunswick universities come from the province.

The number of New Brunswickers attending university in the province has decreased by 19.1 per cent over the last 10 years while the number of Maritimersattending university in the province is down 20.5 per cent and the number of Canadians from outside the Maritimes is down 16.5 per cent.

There has been a 41.3 per cent increase in international students attending New Brunswick universities over the last 10 years, but that growth has not been enough to offset the declines in students from New Brunswick, the Maritimes and elsewhere in Canada.

The report also showed enrolment in education programs at New Brunswick universities has dropped 38.3 per cent over the last 10 years while humanities is down 27.4 per cent and enrolment in math and computer sciences had declined 24 per cent.