CNA expands College Transition program offering
8/6/2010 8:32:23 AM
The success of College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Comprehensive Arts and Science (CAS): College Transition program has resulted in an increase in program capacity for the 2010-2011 academic year.
The program will be expanded to now include 12 of CNA’s 17 campuses throughout the province with an additional capacity of 369 seats, bringing the total program capacity to 590 students.
CAS: College Transition is designed for high school and Adult Basic Education graduates who would like to improve their general employability skills, or who are lacking either the academic courses or the required grades to meet the admission requirements of the college or university program they would like to enter.
The CAS: College Transition program is currently being offered at the following campus locations; Bay St. George, Burin, Carbonear, Corner Brook, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador West, Placentia, Prince Philip Drive and St. Anthony. These campuses will see significant increases, while Bonavista campus will be introducing the program for the first time this year with a 20-seat capacity. Prince Philip Drive campus will see the most notable increase with an additional 225 seats available for the 2010-2011 academic year.
“These additional seats will be of great benefit to our students, communities and province,” said Bruce Hollet, CNA’s Interim President. “We have been able to track data related to this program and it indicates that CAS: College Transition graduates have gone on to enroll in a broad range of programs at both the college and Memorial University. We believe this outcome has significant impact for current and future enrollments at the college, which positively affects our ability to produce qualified and skilled graduates.”
The program also provides a valuable refresher for mature students who have been away from education, training and/or the workforce for some time. Both College of the North Atlantic and Memorial University have been responsive in trying to work together to serve this particular group of students.
“This initiative goes to the heart of Memorial’s mandate to serve rural Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Dr. Gary Kachanoski, Memorial’s president. “It will enable more rural students throughout the province to access Memorial’s courses and programs. And bringing university education closer to the homes of rural students should help mitigate the costs that they have to incur to undertake university studies. Memorial is working with College of the North Atlantic on this and other initiatives to offer students increased opportunities and access to post-secondary education at both of our institutions.”
Similar to last year’s collaboration with the Department of Education in attracting students to the program, CNA will once again determine the number of 2010 high school graduates that could benefit from CAS: College Transition enrollment. These students will then be sent letters inviting them to contact the college for additional program information.
“The provincial government is committed to addressing the barriers that prevent individuals from improving their skills and education,” said the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education. “As such, we are pleased to provide the additional funding to allow the expansion of this important program. With additional seats in more communities, the benefits of this investment will be seen province-wide.”
The program has the potential to positively impact the employment and earning potential of many adults in this province. For those who successfully make the transition to other college programs, the prospects for employment and increased lifetime earnings potential would be greatly enhanced. The program also provides students with a post-secondary credential which could be of immediate benefit to them by increasing their employability in the labour market.
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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
Jill Hunt
Communications Co-ordinator (Student Recruitment)
Memorial University
(709) 737-8613
jmhunt@mun.ca
Tara Power
Director of Communications
Department of Education
(709) 727-5953
tarapower@gov.nl.ca