Students ‘not prepared’ and funding ‘on the edge’ at Aurora College

Aurora College needs to increase northern programming to attract more students, while NWT students’ upgrading needs are “a big concern.”

Those messages were delivered by college officials to MLAs during a Thursday public briefing on the status of the college’s transformation into a polytechnic university

Outgoing president Glenda Vardy Dell – Angela James will take over in August – said the college needs not just northern students, but students from southern Canada and abroad. She said the transformation to a polytechnic university aims to give students a competitive advantage in northern industries.

“It’s time for us to start thinking about how are we going to attract other students,” she said.

“We have to really have niche programs that meet the needs of the North, that are different than just delivering southern programs in the North. We really want to have programs that match our industry, that match our environment and match our peoples.”

Vardy Dell said the college also needs to address how it accepts students.

Currently, she said, international students are accepted last – but northern students often apply late. If an international student isn’t accepted until July, that doesn’t give them enough time to secure a study permit for September.

Meanwhile, Vardy Dell said the biggest challenge when accepting northern students is the upgrading often required for those coming from smaller communities.

“That’s a big concern to us,” said Joe Handley, chair of Aurora College’s board of governors.

“It’s cost us a lot of time and money to prepare students who come out with a Grade 12, but it’s not really a Grade 12. They’re not prepared to take the courses.

“We can’t let let the North fall into a doldrum of just accepting that, ‘Well, most people don’t finish high school, therefore it’s OK, we’ll give them upgrading later on.'”

He said addressing the issue will involve working with the territorial government, communities, parents and teachers.

Vardy Dell said college staff are working with the NWT’s education department to ensure upgrading offered at community learning centres aligns with the BC curriculum, which the territory’s school system recently adopted.

The college is looking at different ways to deliver upgrading in small communities, she said, and continuing learning courses tailored to communities.

Vardy Dell said another challenge facing the college is a lack of adequate housing.

Of the 19 community learning centres across the territory, she said five are not staffed, largely because of housing issues.

In Yellowknife, Vardy Dell said 90 students were on a waitlist for housing in 2022-23. In Inuvik, 20 dorm-style rooms were left empty in 2023-24 as they didn’t meet the needs of families, she said, while the Fort Smith campus continues to use Breynat Hall, the former site of a residential school.

“We have parents and grandparents who say, ‘If you’re going to put my child or my grandchild in Breynat Hall, they’re not going to Aurora College,'” she said.

Handley said the college had hired a consultant to assess its housing needs and Vardy Dell said it is looking into funding partnerships for infrastructure.

‘A very tight budget’

Finally, representatives said the college needs more money.

Vardy Dell said nearly 60 percent of the school’s annual budget comes from inconsistent third-party funding for which it must reapply, meaning the college cannot guarantee consistent programming every year.

If a student isn’t successful in a certain course, Vardy Dell said she can’t say, “Well, you can come back and do that next year,” because the funding may not exist.

She said a centre for teaching and learning at the college had to close after three years as it was unable to secure additional third-party funding.

The college announced in March it was increasing fees for the 2024-25 academic year in response to rising costs.

Vardy Dell said a lack of funding meant Aurora College’s transformation team was disbanded, leaving that work to staff members on top of their regular jobs, slowing down progress.

Handley said he does not believe the college’s transformation into a polytechnic university has ever been properly funded.

“We’re on the edge, always, of not being able to offer programs because we don’t have the money,” he said. “As I speak, we’re [on a] very tight budget.”

But Handley said college staff are not giving up on the transformation.

“The students are out there. We need to bring them into the college,” he said. “We need to be flexible, we have to be creative.”