By Cheryl Jahn

College Moves To Address Student Needs

Jul 20, 2018 | 2:20 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Two weeks ago, hundreds of international students at the College of New Caledonia met with members of the college’s Administrative team to air a set of grievances. They were upset over the promise of access to programming, only to arrive at the College on a student visa to find the program filled to capacity, the refund policy as it’s written in the students’ “Letter of Offer,” the probation policy, and other issues. And, this week, the College responded. 

“So moving forward, CNC’s promised us that they will review the business management program and put a cap [on enrolment] this August,” says Harman Dandiwal, the CNC Students’ Union representative. “Also they’ll be hiring two more international academic advisors. They’re going to invest more in the Campus Life fund. They’re also going review the probation policy and so of the other things we recommended. Overall  we’re pretty happy that CNC is working on some of the immediate concerns.”

CNC says it is “actively watching registrations for popular courses in fall 2018 and adding many more sections to accommodate students.” It has also taken measures to improve communications about CNC policies and enhanced the website.

“We’ve responded to students’ concerns about agents. So, we’ve established a process for an agent feedback system, both for students who are already here and for incoming students so if there are any concerns, we can investigate and act on them immediately,” says Chad Thompson, the Acting Vice President of Academics. “And the third point has been increased student services and supports.”

The Students’ Union says there is still the issue of tuition fee increases, which are not capped and can happen at any time for international students. And while the College is making headway in addressing the challenges facing international students, the Union has struck a working group that will have members of Administration as well as students on it.

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“We’re going to have all those students who are passionate about all these causes,” says Dandiwal. “They will also be sitting on the group. We’re going to have three or four students who will be part of the working group who will keep an eye on what’s happening.” 

That group will be meeting next month.