Stakeholders not consulted or made aware before decision
Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
College Boréal recently announced that in-person post-secondary courses at the West Nipissing campus would no longer be offered starting next school year, with some classes going strictly online and others to be offered in-person at the Sudbury campus. The news came as a shock to local stakeholders, who rely on the college either as a lower cost option for students unable to travel or move out of town, or as a source of placement students and future employees for local organizations.
The matter came up at the West Nipissing municipal council meeting on May 5, with mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon mentioning a meeting with those stakeholders who drafted a letter, delivered on Monday, May 11, expressing their concerns with the move. Meanwhile, College Boreal officials insist that this isn’t bad news for the community, as a major part of their enrolment was for online learning already, and placements will actually see more support going forward.
“Of the people enrolled in courses through College Boreal in West Nipissing, 50% are online, and 50% are in-person. When I say in-person, that has been around 14 to 18 students in the last few years, compared with 9 to 20 students doing distance education,” describes College Boreal President Daniel Giroux, who took some time to discuss the change this week. According to Giroux, the shift to online learning has been an ongoing trend, with an increasing number of students preferring this option. He adds that the move won’t affect the local availability of most courses, as they will be offered online and thus accessible from anywhere. With that said, not all courses will be able to make the shift; as Giroux points out, the RPN course can’t be provided online, but he stresses that this will only affect 3 students currently enrolled at the local campus. Giroux says the move will help streamline operations and make the college more efficient.
When asked what that will mean for local organizations who rely on Boreal to attract the next generation of workers in critical fields like health and social services, including much-needed placement students, Giroux says this will remain a strong focus. “For us, placements are always important, and employers tell us as much. We will absolutely be keeping placements in West Nipissing, that is very important,” he assures. Giroux points out that online learning means that students can remain in West Nipissing for their courses, and be close to where they will do their placements. “We’re offering the possibility for people to stay in their community for their courses, and also do their placements in their community,” he states.
