Nine people have lost their full-time jobs with the First Nations University of Canada.

Academic vice president Lynn Wells said the cuts have been made to administrative and academic departments in Regina and Prince Albert.

"Before we looked to lay-off anyone we certainly made every economy that we could in every other area of the institution," Wells said. "Trimming travel budgets, professional development, everything that we could before having any impact on our personel."

Wells explained the cuts were needed after low enrolment rates last year left the school with an $800,000 deficit.

"Enrolment growth did slow a little bit last year, down to about five per cent," she said. "But, we think that was just a temporary plateau, our numbers for the fall are already looking very good."

Wells noted the 2015-2016 academic year at FNUC saw an approximate 14 per cent increase in enrolment.

Wells said the university has developed a new way to track enrolment, in order to avoid a similar deficit situation in the future.

Currently, the school is renovating its Regina campus to add more classroom spaces.

"We do see our expansion ... as a way of showing up our revenue base. We are effectively doubling up our classroom capacity in Regina, which means we'll be able to teach more students, generate more revenue and be in a strong position financially," Wells said.