Olds College will be revamping or eliminating a number of programs, services and staff in the wake of the March 7 provincial budget and a letter of expectation delivered to the college in early April.
The college's 2013-2014 budget is 9.3 per cent lower than 2012-2013 because of cuts to funding to post-secondary institutions in the provincial budget and because an expected two per cent increase in the provincial government's grant to the college did not materialize.
The letter of expectation was delivered to the college as a mandate of what the provincial government expects from the college in relation to the 25 other post-secondary schools around the province.
Dean Turnquist, the college's communications manager, told the Olds Albertan that currently vacant positions at the college won't be filled in September; the land administration program that had been formerly offered on campus will become an online-only program starting in September; the two-year farrier program diploma will be reduced to a one-year certificate program and the junior varsity volleyball program that played in the Alberta Colleges Athletic League has been suspended for the 2014 season that begins in September.
Another program that won't be offered next year is the office administration program. Students that are in the middle of the two-year program will be transferred to Red Deer College, Turnquist said.
“It's been a good program for 50 years here in Olds. I think with the changing industry dynamic and institutional competition, what I've been told is that Olds College has seen enrolment decline and so that's one of the considerations in suspending intake,” he said.
The program had 15 students in 2012-2013.
Turnquist said the program's long-term future is still being determined by an academic council that decides the economic viability of the college's programs.
The council will meet in mid-May.
“Olds (College) has been proactive in trying to make sure that we're accommodating the students that we have. I think that's important in our partnership with Red Deer College; they were able to make sure that no one was displaced and that an opportunity was there for all of the current students,” he said.
The decision to eliminate the program is being lamented by former staff of the program.
“It's too bad for right here in Olds that they cut the program,” said Barb Olson, a former instructor.
“It was there for 50 years and it was a really popular program,” she said.
Olson not only taught the program for 15 years before retiring in 2008, but she took the program in its second year of existence. She was able to use the skills she learned there to work in positions in Australia and New Zealand before returning to teach the program. When Olson took the program, before the popularity of computers, students learned keyboarding, shorthand, bookkeeping, English, public speaking and a bit of fashion studies.
Olson remembers teaching upwards of 60 students per year, plus veterinary receptionists for several years as well.
In a letter to the Albertan, former instructors Carol Perrin, Lynne Henry and Olson said the program provided students with valuable skills that the business community was able to take advantage of.
“The Office Assistant program has provided many students, regardless of age, with a skill set that has opened doors to many exciting and challenging careers. We still honestly believe that there is a demand for a well-trained office assistant/administrator who is an invaluable resource and the hub of any well organized office,” the letter stated.
Tom Thompson, the college's president, said Stephen Khan, minister of enterprise and advanced education, has asked each of the chairs of the boards of governors of the 26 post-secondary institutions around the province to sign the individual letters of expectation, which have evolved into memorandums of understanding.
Thompson said Khan has given each BOG chair until Sept. 1 to sign the MOUs.
“The letters are subject to institutional review and may be modified in concert with the ministry, and they serve to spell out what is called the mandate for the institution in question,” Thompson said.
Thompson added the mandate at Olds College of providing agricultural hands-on education and applied research has not changed.
“We didn't see anything in the letter of expectation that causes us to raise an eyebrow. It looked fairly straightforward,” he said.
The college is currently drafting its 2013-14 budget. Thompson said a draft of the budget will be discussed on April 25 at the monthly BOG meeting. Thompson said he hopes the BOG could pass the budget on May 23.
Thompson said the college is currently reviewing what the decrease in the provincial grant allocation will mean for the college. All programs, services, staffing levels and contracts are under review, with a view to finding efficiencies and protecting programs, Thompson said.
