SUNDRE — Facilitators had hoped to see more prospective students dropping by the recent open house providing information on a couple of college courses to be delivered in the new year provided enough people enrol.
But their optimism as well as enthusiasm for the post-secondary programs endures. Jon Allan, Sundre’s economic development officer who has played a lead role on the initiative, remains confident there could yet be a surge of enrolment.
“Based on what we’ve been told by representatives at Red Deer College, what happens in most cases is that there’s a rush of people who sign up (at the last minute), which is what we’re hoping will happen in our situation in Sundre,” said Allan.
A few people showed up on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Sundre Community Centre’s boardroom in the span of about three hours to find out more about the two courses: Microsoft essentials and management skills for supervisors.
“We had great questions from those that came,” said Erica Stewart, Red Deer College program coordinator for corporate training.
Prior to the open house, Stewart said two people had already registered for the management skills for supervisors program. A minimum of eight students per program is required to register for each course to go ahead, she said.
"We’ll have to cancel the class if it’s not full before the start," she said.
Business owners seeking to provide development opportunities for employees could potentially be eligible for funding through the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, which if approved covers up to two-thirds of the cost of the courses. Anyone interested in pursuing that avenue needs to apply for the grant 30 days in advance to ensure the funding is approved prior to registering, she said.
Although there is technically no deadline to apply, as students could register up until the day before the class starts if there is still room, she urges anyone who is interested in signing up to do so sooner rather than later.
However, if there are not enough registrations, plans will go back to the drawing board in a sustained effort to set the stage for a permanent post-secondary presence in Sundre, said Allan.
“In the situation that we don’t get enough registrants for either course, and neither is offered, we will re-evaluate the courses offered, and look at offering other courses,” he said.
The partnership with Campus Alberta Central, he added, would not be impacted, although the delivery of programs in Sundre would be delayed.
“We had two people, of the handful of people who came out, who tried to sign up on the spot,” said Allan, adding they sought to register through the companies they work for.
However, due to the special circumstance they found themselves in as employees, he added, “They have to go about signing up another way.”
So, he said, there were two people who wanted to enrol right then and there.
Regardless of whether someone runs a business, was recently promoted, or simply wants to further develop some fundamentals of operating the most commonly used office software out there — Microsoft — the courses represent a great opportunity for local residents to improve their work skills, he said.
Although a couple of people were waiting to get in when the doors opened at about 3 p.m., the total of four who dropped by came within the first half hour, he said.
Based on levels of interest previously expressed through a survey that was conducted last year before the partnership was solidified, “we definitely had hoped there would have been more people that came out,” he said.
“All it means is we keep our fingers crossed and wait for the last-minute rush.”
Should worse come to worst, he said efforts will continue to “get the right formula to work so we can make this post-secondary presence in Sundre a long-term thing.”
The Campus Alberta Central post-secondary presence in Sundre was made possible as a result of partnerships with Red Deer College, as well as Greenwood Neighbourhood Place, which has played an important role in helping promote the program, said Allan.
Stewart said anyone who is interested in signing up or getting more information can either call 403-356-4900, or visit rdc.ab.ca.
