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A group of Portage College students are disappointed after the Natural Resource Technician diploma program (NRT2) was changed.
Portage officials have decided to alter the program because of low enrollment numbers, suspending the traditional program, and instead, moving into a more course-based delivery, said college president Trent Keough.
It costs $600,000 a year to run the diploma program, which is designed for over 20 students.
“And if we’re only graduating seven or eight students a year, that’s not an effective use of money,” Keough said, adding that as of the week before, no one was enrolled into the NRT2 program.
College staff made the call to suspend the program about a month ago. They told students in the NRT1 program, a certificate required before going into NRT2, on April 23.
He also stressed that those enrolled into the NRT1 certificate program hoping to go on to earn a diploma were always told that the diploma program may get cancelled.
“Part of our own policy is quite clearly stated — all programs are subject to sufficient enrolment,” he said. “This cohort was told repeatedly that they were enrolled in a certificate program, but whether or not we would run a diploma offering was contingent upon our having appropriate numbers of students.”
Keough said that students are typically informed in June if their fall program has been cancelled, and that this is actually an early notice.
“The longer we wait to tell students that a program has been suspended, the more difficulty they encounter in finding alternate places of study,” he said. “We recognize that.”
Instead of offering the diploma program, the college is now working on creating a timetable offering courses held on evenings and weekends.
Keough says that this way, they hope to attract more students from the general public — which is the only way to keep the program alive.
“This model will not accommodate everyone, but it will accommodate some,” he said.
“The alternative to this model is nothing. And that’s not where we want to be.”
REALIZING THE LOSS
Keough understands that students are upset.
“Whenever you eliminate programs, both the instructors who were delivering the programs feel loss, they feel a sense of remorse, and the students who had expectation for the program equally mourn,” he said. “And we recognize that.”
But he says post-secondary institutions often suspend programs.
“What’s valuable to the student is the transcript and the course descriptions we have,” Keough said, also stressing that those who are already enrolled in the NRT2 program will be able to complete their courses and get a diploma.
“There are no currently enrolled students in the diploma program who will not complete their program. None,” he said. “That’s an absolute guarantee.”
Students at a loss
Despite the assurances and explanations of the college officials, students are still upset that they are essentially victims of a business decision.
Last Wednesday, 15 students from the Environmental Resources program visited the Lac La Biche Post newspaper office. They were disappointed and upset after hearing the second half of Natural Resources diploma program (NRT) will be lost due to low enrollment.
The students echoed similar thoughts wondering why the administration waited until the semester was over to tell them the program had been cut. Several of the students are part way though the program and are now wondering where they can go to finish the requirements to receive a diploma.
“I’m really not sure what to do, I had three days to try and figure something out. I looked into Lakeland College to try and transfer, but all of their classes have been filled,” said Natasha Konzig, a second year student who still has a few courses remaining.
The news of the program cancellation also affected graduating students who are hesitant to put the former Portage College program on their resumes.
“I support this program, I loved it when I was here, but now that it is gone I don’t think I should put it on my resume, I wouldn’t want a company to look up the program and see that it doesn’t even exist,” said Jarod Jegou, a recent graduate.
Some students are now wondering about the student loans they took out thinking that they would be here for years, signing housing contracts and acquiring funding for student housing. Another group of students came from out of province to Portage College specifically for this program. Tim Crawley from British Columbia is one of those students.
Rocky Vezzeau, a graduating student sympathized with those still enrolled.
“You put your life on hold for two or three years expecting to come out with a degree, you shouldn’t have to risk not getting anything,” Vezzeau said.
TOUGH DECISIONS MUST BE MADE
College officials say they are committed to finding a workable solution for their disheartened students, but again, said Keough, some business decisions that must be made will affect those closest to it.
“We are hopeful for the future of this programming. Proactive change takes courage and commitment to success.”
This is not the first time in recent years the college has re-structured full-time programming to bring in course-based teaching.
In 2010, the Early Learning and Childcare program and the Educational Assistant program were redesigned to focus more on individual course delivery rather than a full program.
College officials say that change was beneficial to help programs with sagging enrollments and at the same time kept the financial situation in check.
“As a result, students’ needs were met and part-time students and their employees were being charged substantially less for professional development courses,” states a college press release issued to the Post yesterday.
