THUNDER BAY – It’s normally hard to miss orientation at Confederation College, with large groups of students taking tours and joining in activities in the lead-up to the start of classes. This year, though, the campus is strangely quiet as the school’s 1,700 first-year students participated largely through their computer screens.
The college was striving to make the virtual orientation process as engaging as possible, featuring videos, program-specific content, and $10,000 in prizes.
It’s one example of the revamped approach the institution has had to take to nearly everything in advance of the 2020 school year, including instruction, much of which will be streamed online.
“Even though it’s virtual, we’re trying to make it as personal as we can,” said college president Kathleen Lynch.
Those efforts included training in online teaching for faculty, along with some new software including a COVID-19 app.
The college’s overall enrolment is expected to dip by 500 or so this year, to around 3,300 full-time students. That's down in large part to an anticipated 400-student drop in international enrolment, falling to around 900 this fall.
Those numbers are better than expected, said Lynch, but still come with a major impact.
“It’s significant and it’s going to be ongoing, because usually those students come and spend a couple of years here,” she said. “So we’re going to feel it for a couple of years, for sure.”
The college is projecting a deficit of $8 million or more this year, and expects at least two more deficit years to follow.
Lynch attributed the better-than-expected enrolment numbers partly to a commitment announced earlier in the summer, allowing students to attend programs risk-free until Oct. 7. New students can withdraw from the fall semester with a full tuition refund up and no academic penalty up to that point.
Campus life will look markedly different when students begin arriving for labs and other in-person instruction Wednesday. Buildings will have one designated student entrance, and students will need to show their college ID and complete screening before entering. That can be done more quickly through the college’s campus safety app.
The cafeteria is currently closed, and students will be encouraged to return home between classes. Lynch said the college would seek to provide meal options for students unable to do so. Students in residence, which is sitting about half-full, will have meals delivered each day.
The college’s full range of student services remain available, reported Lynch, but will be delivered differently.
Classes begin Wednesday for most Confederation College programs.
