The education sector has been constantly transforming in response to the changing demands of the labor marketplace, particularly those arising from technological developments. This constant transformation has continued despite the pandemic outbreak as colleges are constantly adapting to the economic changes brought by the pandemic.
Patricia (Patti) France (President of St. Clair College) states, “COVID-19 has not changed the educational responsiveness, except to require us, temporarily, to deliver our services in a more online format and be more creative in our teaching methodologies.” She asserts that the growth of St. Clair College has always been tied to new economic demands, new technology and new career paths – as the College has grown from offering ten programs when it was established to over 100 full-time programs today.
A Trailblazer
Patti was named St. Clair’s first female President in 2015. She was – at that time –one of the few college presidents in Canada whose initial postsecondary education was obtained within the college system. Eventually, midway through her career with St. Clair, Patti obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Adult Education from Brock University and a Master’s degree from St. Francis Xavier. Her initial education, however, took the form of a St. Clair College diploma in Information Systems Management. She believes that her educational journey demonstrates to students that a college education can launch them on a career path towards a high-level executive position. With her prudent foresight, Patricia has been critically contributing towards the growth of St. Clair College over the past few years.
Catering to the Staffing Needs of Economies
St. Clair College was established in 1967-68 as part of the network of approximately two dozen public colleges created by the provincial government. The provincial goal was to create a new postsecondary atmosphere that concentrated on responding to the staffing demands of the local economy, with ‘real world’ skills and technical instruction. These goals still underlie everything St. Clair College does – while also addressing staffing needs of provincial, national and international economies. Patricia said the College is now adding greater theory and research components to some of its more advanced and complex programs.
Additional Academic Services
Alongside academic programs, St. Clair’s Learning Commons feature numerous departments that provide exceptional academic assistance services to students – all of which rapidly adapted to the pandemic by adding online accessibility last year. According to Patti, the most effective service among these is St. Clair’s long-standing and free Peer Tutoring service, in which the College pairs up high-achieving student tutors with students having difficulties in classes. Moreover, the Genesis Centre for Entrepreneurship was established at the College several years ago. It stages workshops for students on an almost weekly basis on a variety of topics – ranging from study skills, to job interview techniques and resume preparation, as well as advice on launching a business. “For 20 years, we have conducted a joint job Fair with the University of Windsor, with hundreds of local and national employers meeting with thousands of students and alumni,” adds Patti.
Up-To-Date with Technological Changes
Patti asserts that hands-on, skills-oriented education is the lifeblood of colleges. Thus, keeping up with the technological trends is the paramount priority for faculty members and academic administrators at the College. Most of St. Clair’s faculty members came to their teaching jobs directly from their professional fields –and many part-time faculty members are still working in their industries, giving them first-hand knowledge of existing and developing technology.
Furthermore, the College has excellent relationships with local businesses and industries, which often donate or loan new machinery to help teach students – because when students graduate, they often become their new employees. St. Clair also offers its labs, workshops, faculty and students to the private sector for research and development partnerships in a variety of fields.
Vibrant Social Life
From concerts and entertainment events staged by St. Clair’s student councils, to intramural and varsity sports offered by the athletic association, to awareness weeks and fundraisers, the non-academic social life of the College is exceedingly vibrant. The student organizations that develop and deliver many of these activities have continued to do so even during the pandemic by staging online games, concerts, contests, volunteer fairs, and health and fitness sessions for students.
Besides this, in non-pandemic times, both the College administration and student organizations offer several hundred part-time, on-campus jobs for students throughout the year, including paid tutorships, sports refereeing, serving as computer technicians, and cooking and waitering in food services. Patti said every academic program also includes a mandatory workplace placement within the curriculum, which reflects the college’s philosophy of delivering a ‘real-world’ education.
Expanding the Footprint
St. Clair’s enrolment of international students has multiplied ten-fold, from approximately 400 to more than 4,000 in the past few years. “All of our existing support services for domestic students, academic and non-academic, have developed specialized components –and empathy –for the unique challenges faced by our international students,” says Patti. For instance, several staffers within St. Clair’s International Department received training to become certified immigration counselors.
This year, the College will complete the construction of a new residential building to relieve the housing crunch faced by international students. In addition, students-at-large have rolled out the welcome mat for their international peers. “The current boards of our student organizations are filled with international students,” adds Patti.
Talking about the College’s future plans, Patti said that St. Clair is anxious to see the pandemic brought under control. The College has continued to deliver excellent education to thousands of students during the past year, however Patti understands the online format is certainly not ideal. According to her, face-to-face interaction between teacher-and-learner and student-to-student, is essential to both academic quality and the enjoyment of the college experience.
Quality, Experience and Opportunities
The selection of an appropriate educational institute is crucial for a student to achieve his or her goals. Patti states that students should look for an institute with the best academic quality. They should also look for the provincial-government-mandated Key Performance Indicator (KPI) survey results which gauge the satisfaction levels of students, graduates and the employers of graduates. Secondly, she asserts that students should study the support services and ‘college experience atmosphere’ of a school.
Moreover, Patti asks students to look at the financial opportunities available. Aside from basic provincial assistance programs, colleges have substantial bursary and scholarship funds, and governments are providing generous grants for training and retraining in several fields, especially skilled trades and apprenticeships. “College education has never been more affordable than it is right now”, Patti said.
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