Providence University College will no longer be offering degrees in music.

“We have, with a great deal of sadness, decided to discontinue the music program at Providence University College," the school located in Otterburne, Man., says in a release.

Vice President of Academics, Cameron McKenzie, says COVID-19 has been the impetus for dozens of permanent layoffs and budget cuts across many of the school’s departments, but the music program is the only one to have entirely dissolved. And, he adds, it is perhaps the loss that the school is mourning most.

interest is not altogether uncommon. According to McKenzie, music programs across the post-secondary world have been trending steeply downward in recent years. With no change anticipated in its general trajectory, the program was put on the chopping block.

McKenzie stresses that the music department was not singled out as the one entity that must go, but part of a much larger discussion regarding financial savings. The school, he says, has been forced into a precarious spot because of the pandemic.

k]

[link][introtext limit="200"][/link]{/article}

McKenzie is more optimistic. He does not feel the program’s failure indicates that the school is in trouble, but rather that it is indicative of the hard times the novel coronavirus has brought upon all educational institutions. He believes this is something the school can and will rebound from.

“Providence is situating itself for a strong and vibrant future.”