University College of the North (UCN) said March 26 that it reached a record enrolment of 2,699 registered students at the end of February, mainly do to the “incredible” growth of workplace skills development training and certificate programs. Growth was particularly strong at UCN’s 12 regional post-secondary access centres, and other off-site locations, but less so at the two main campuses in The Pas and Thompson, and less so also in the areas of degree and diploma post-secondary education, which often take longer to complete than workplace skills development and certificate training. The school said it plans to focus on “increases in degree and diploma program enrolment” next academic year.
Workplace skills development, which supports industry needs, saw enrolment increase by 344 per cent, growing from 168 students as of Feb. 28, 2018 to 746 students at the end of February.
Overall enrolment between Feb. 28, 2018 and Feb. 28, 2019 increased by 20.4 per cent on The Pas campus and by 39.7 per cent at the Thompson campus, UCN says, although it did not provide the most recent actual raw numbers for the two campuses. However, last September the school said there were 190 full-time students registered on its Thompson campus and 298 full-time students registered on The Pas campus. Six months ago, another 127 UCN students were registered part-time on the Thompson campus, bringing the total number of students here to 317 then. In The Pas, there were 151 additional part-time students, bringing their total to 449.
The two campuses are almost 400 kilometres by road and four hours apart.
An additional 258 students as of last September were registered at UCN’s 12 regional post-secondary access centres operated through community partnerships in Flin Flon, Churchill, Swan River, Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake), Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake), Chemawawin Cree Nation (Easterville), Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (Nelson House), Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (Pukatawagan), Norway House Cree Nation, Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids), Bunibonibee Cree Nation (Oxford House), and St. Theresa Point First Nation. There were 205 full-time students registered at the dozen regional centres and 53 part-time students registered as of last September.
Workplace skills development accounted for 578 additional students at the end of February, with the balance of enrolment increases occurring in certificate programs. Enrolment in all of UCN’s certificate programs grew by 39.2 per cent, led by a 95.6 per cent increase in students enrolled in the health care aid certificate program, and a 115.2 per cent increase in enrolment in the educational assistant certificate program.
“Our enrolment growth reflects UCN’s commitment to increase engagement with industry and with northern communities,” said Dan Smith, vice-president academic and research at UCN.
“Our efforts have paid off with exceptional growth in industry-related and community-delivered programming, and next year we add a focus on increases in degree and diploma program enrolment,” Smith added.
Final enrolment numbers for the 2018/19 academic year will be available after June, UCN said.
The 2018 Manitoba Colleges Review found that UCN needed to do more to meet the needs of employers in contributing to labour force development in the North and do more to meet the needs of Indigenous and Northern communities.
Higher Education Strategies Associates’ mandate was to undertake a review of the five post-secondary institutions in Manitoba that offer college-level programs: Assiniboine Community College, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, Red River College, Université de Saint-Boniface and University College of the North, or UCN as its just as often abbreviated to and known as.
The Toronto-based consultant said in its Government of Manitoba: Manitoba College Review System-Wide Report that UCN was projecting a $1.8 million deficit in 2018-2019. “Based on its current projections and without the increase in revenues, UCN projects a deficit in the next three academic years, of: $1.2 million in 2017-2018; $1.8 million in 2018-2019; and $2.3 million in 2019-2020,” Usher and Pelletier wrote. “As UCN recognizes that it is not able to run a deficit, management decisions may be needed to reduce expenditures.”
Last fall, UCN reorganized its senior administration by reducing its four vice-presidents, who reported to president Doug Lauvstad, to one vice-president of academic and research and a chief administrative officer. None of the incumbents in the positions eliminated were laid off or otherwise lost their jobs, and most are still working for UCN in some capacity.
The provincial government asked for the review, co-authored by Alex Usher and Yves Y. Pelletier, in 2016 and it was undertaken between November 2016 and November 2017. At the end of last May, Pelletier, at the invitation of UCN, returned to lead an initiative to ensure the alignment of administrative structures in order for the senior executive to be able to achieve their goals and objectives.
The report also said the current role of the Council of Elders extends beyond the legislative advisory intention of the June 10, 2004 University College of the North Act and that UCN is “perceived as having a tri-cameral governing structure,” including the Governing Council and Learning Council also, which is “unique and problematic within a modern university context.” It recommends the Governing Council govern and that it ensure the role of the Council of Elders is advisory, as per the original legislative intent, it says, of almost 14 years ago.
In launching the review, the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Brian Pallister, elected in April 2016, set out five objectives: to develop forward looking system-wide strategic directions and a proactive, co-ordinated, systemic approach to college education; to enable the college system to improve outcomes for students, including indigenous students, with improved completion and employment rates; to strengthen labour market alignment and responsiveness to labour market need; to improve governance and sustainability of the college system with lean, efficient and effective administration and operations; and to further promote innovation, collaboration and partnership opportunities within the college system and with industry partners.
UCN has more than 330 employees, including full-time, part-time and contract employees.
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