Northwestern Polytechnic’s Fairview Campus will close in the summer of 2026.
The decision to close the Fairview campus comes after a review of finances for the institutions, with Board of Governors members eventually coming to the conclusion that the satellite campus is no longer financially sustainable, nor does it meet the needs of students or industry.
Board Chair Shawna Miller says they recognize that the Fairview campus closure will have a significant impact on staff, students and the community as a whole.
“We did not come to this difficult decision easily. After careful examination of various scenarios and options, it became clear that there is no scenario in which the Fairview campus is sustainable, and a transformative approach is needed immediately to achieve financial sustainability and operational effectiveness for NWP,” Miller adds.
School officials say the student demand for programs in the region is primarily focused on Grande Prairie itself or outside the region entirely, with the majority of apprenticeship students attending programs at the Fairview Campus coming from areas closer to Grande Prairie, where the main campus is located.
Miller says the known student demand patterns, along with more than $100 million in maintenance required at the campus, long-term sustainability would have been a major challenge
“NWP’s analysis also shows that several programs at Fairview have high delivery costs, low enrolment, and are no longer aligned with evolving labour market needs. Despite several changes to the organizational structure of the campus over the years aimed at reducing overhead costs, it is impossible to continue operations without affecting our broader institutional priorities,” she adds.
The Fairview campus will operate as usual for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year, including apprenticeship programs scheduled to run from January to July 2026. After that, select Fairview-based programs will be moved to Grande Prairie for Fall 2026l; current students will receive additional program-specific information in the coming weeks.
