College pleased with government’s White Paper
7/7/2005 1:30:21 PM
July 7, 2005 - College of the North Atlantic President Pamela Walsh says she is extremely pleased with the provincial government’s White Paper on Public Post-Secondary Education, fittingly titled Foundation for Success, stating the document instills a high level of confidence in the importance of the province’s public college and university.
President Walsh is particularly pleased with the recognition given to the college’s role in social and economic development in the province.
“There is a long-term plan presented here for the future of post-secondary education in the province,” says Walsh. “The government is to be commended for their vision and foresight in recognizing and supporting our one College – one University system. This will undoubtedly serve the people of this province well for many years to come.”
According to figures in the White Paper, College of the North Atlantic will receive additional funding from the provincial government over the next three years. The college will also share in additional funding allocations with Memorial University over the same period for research, infrastructure improvements and expanding distance education initiatives.
“The new funding identified in the White Paper is evidence that the province is making a conscious, strategic investment in public post-secondary education,” says Walsh. “Even with the Atlantic Accord money, undoubtedly there remains a debt problem within the province and many have speculated for months about possible cutbacks. However, this government has clearly endorsed public post-secondary education as a key strategy to grow our economy by investing in people. They are to be commended for that.”
The college has faced challenges in recent years in terms of aging infrastructure and replacing equipment used for training. The White Paper provides an additional $1 million per year for capital equipment, tripling the college’s budget in this area. In it, the government also commits to finding solutions to the college’s more pressing infrastructure issues.
Other significant initiatives outlined in the white paper include the development of a comprehensive campaign targeted at increasing the level of participation in post-secondary education by the province’s adult population, and in particular women and aboriginals, and increasing cooperation between the college and university.
For more details on the government’s White Paper on Public Post-Secondary Education, visit their website at www.gov.nf.ca.
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For more information contact:
Stephen Lee
Manager of Marketing and Communications
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7929