News Article

Grand Falls-Windsor – Fourteen Medical Laboratory Sciences students from College of the North Atlantic’s Grand Falls-Windsor campus will complete the second year of their program at the Prince Philip Drive campus in St. John’s.
 
College President and CEO Ann Marie Vaughan says the decision was made in consultation with affected students once it was learned laboratory facilities required for the program could not be completed in time.
 
“The intention was to have the necessary facilities ready so students could complete their second year in Grand Falls-Windsor,” said Vaughan.  “However, we realized that meeting all federal regulations for program accreditation meant not being able to complete required renovations in the necessary timeframe.”
 
The college has worked with affected students to make preparations for the fall semester, including living arrangements and paying all additional costs associated with the move, such as accommodations and transportation. The estimated cost of these expenses will be approximately $200,000. As well, lab equipment required to train the students has been temporarily placed at the St. John’s campus.
 
The college is currently determining why certain elements were overlooked in the planning for the Medical Laboratory Sciences program, and if the current situation could have been avoided.
 
“We will continue to work with these students to ensure they receive necessary support and their quality of education is not affected,” said Vaughan. “A priority moving forward is to ensure programming at College of the North Atlantic is running smoothly and providing maximum benefits to students and Newfoundland and Labrador.”
 
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Media contact:

Stephen Lee
Manager of Marketing and Communications
College of the North Atlantic
709-643-7721
stephen.lee@cna.nl.ca