Layoffs Confirmed, CNC Dental Assistant Program Salvaged
Prince George, B.C. – After much deliberation, the Board of Governors at the College of New Caledonia voted in their 2015/16 budget today.
It totaled just over $55 million in revenue and close to that in expenses for a slim surplus of just $1,898.
It required some difficult decisions however, including the suspension of the Aboriginal Early Education Childhood Education on-line program, a decrease in second year Accounting course offerings at the school’s P.G. campus, and a suspension of intakes this year into the Dental Hygiene program.
The Board also announced a plan to transition the Prince George Early Care and Learning Centre to a non-profit society, and to restructure student services at the P.G., Quesnel and Burns Lake campuses.
As a result of these changes, 1 administrative position, 17 operational, and 21 faculty positions have been lost.
CNC president Henry Reiser said the College has proposed a revised Dental Assistant Program that requires Education Council approval which would allow for an intake this coming September.
He added they hope to resume intakes into the Dental Hygiene program in time for the September 2016 intake.
CNC Dental Studies instructor Carole Whitmer said the past few months have felt like “a roller coaster”, and figured she knew how the Dental Assistant program appears to have been saved.
“I believe it was the pressure from the ministry, there isn’t a dental assisting program north of Kelowna or a dental hygiene program north of Vancouver or Vancouver Island,” she said. “And for employment and career opportunities, to close the programs in the north was just crazy.”
Whitmer added she’s “concerned there doesn’t seem to be a firm date for intake to the Dental Hygiene program” adding she’s not sure if “it’s in the 2016/17 Strategic Plan.”
CNC Faculty Association president David Rourke said he was disappointed with all the layoffs but conceded the school’s $2.8 million deficit put the Board in a tough spot.
“The College has been put into a position where they had to withdraw some of the programs and services that it’s committed to over the past number of years. It’s disappointing the funding just isn’t there.”
Comments
The banner at the bottom of this story reads, “« Previous story: Victoria Announces $30 Million for Aboriginal Skills Training”
How’s that for irony.
Although I’m not normally in favor of tuition increases, CNC should look at an increase for specific programs. I’m sure many people would rather pay a little more and have the option of attending than having a program scrapped and having to go to the lower mainland and pay both higher tuition costs and cost of living.
AND why are they duplicating programs other Agencies do ??
What they need to do is have a aboriginal dental program.. Then new buildings would be built, the most modern dental equipement bought. Of course no non natives could attend so only about 2-3 students would be enrolled. But the liberals would be bragging about its success.
Sounds like the Accounting department just got blindsided.
The Clark government prohibits CNC from raising tuition more than 2% per year. Tuition is set when programs are created, and CNC has run some of these programs for decades. So CNC’s tuition has been tethered to a program’s start date, and the identical program started in a different college can (and very often does) charge tuition two or three or times more than the CNC program. Our provincial government knows about this and refuses to equalize the playing field. So CNC students may have done better terms of tuition rates, but even that’s coming to an end because the College is now having to look at program closures in order to keep the doors open. What a s#€%show.
Just been told by one of the faculty members at CNC that the counselling departments at all CNC campuses are being “restructured”. All counsellors have been officially laid off!! Apparently the plan is to lay off all of the professional staff and re-hire lesser qualified staff to provide a much more limited service. The double speak language “restructured” is being used to describe the elimination of the existing counselling program!!
This is the equivalent to keeping an emergency room open by laying off all of the doctors and re-hiring physicians assitants then only providing first aid!!
The CNC board has made a terrible move here!!! Balancing the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable!! Should have laid off a manager or two and saved the professional counselling program. SHAME. Shame. Shame.
Too bad Mayor and Council don’t follow the same line and layoff workers/restructure instead of raising taxes once again.
Posted on Friday, April 24, 2015 @ 7:26 PM by Smiddy
Too bad Mayor and Council don’t follow the same line and layoff workers/restructure instead of raising taxes once again.
——-
That would require a backbone.
axman says That would require a backbone.
————-
Or the fact that the City has control of revenues along with expenses while the College board only controls expenses allows the City other options than slash and burn … obviously to your displeasure
Comments for this article are closed.