College president had plenty to discuss at SACPA
College received $6.97 million in federal funding earlier Thursday
Lethbridge College has generated 60 years of academic achievement and success stories. But college president Paula Burns had reason to look ahead Thursday, as she prepared for a noon-hour presentation to the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs. Earlier in the day the college received confirmation of $6.97 million worth of grants for several of its programs.
The federal funding will help develop a 7,000-square-foot “innovation space” in the second phase of the college’s new trades and technology centre. Officials say the facility, which will include a social science observation lab, a “wet lab” and “some collaboration space,” should be ready for use next spring.
“This fall, the college is opening the largest trades and technologies training facility south of Calgary,” Burns pointed out. “The (federal) funding will be used to develop an innovation space that will enable students, faculty and industry professionals to do applied research that can have a direct impact on regional economic and social sustainability in a wide range of disciplines.”
A smaller grant, $350,000, will support an electrical upgrade at the college’s aquaculture centre, allowing new equipment to be installed and supporting a new research and development greenhouse. That will “allow the college to accommodate the growth of this facility while working with a diverse range of industry partners.”
Both grants will come from the federal Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund. For its operating costs, she told her SACPA audience, the college receives between 48 and 52 per cent of its income from the provincial government.
Student tuition fees cover about 25 per cent of the costs, Burns added, with the college earning additional income through initiatives like custom courses for employees of southern Alberta businesses.
The college opened 60 years ago, she noted, with 38 students and two courses: automotives and office administration. It’s since graduated more than 35,000 students, and today offers about 50 programs.
Enrolment has grown to about 6,500 student per year, Burns reported, including about 1,000 taking part in apprenticeship programs. And many students, like those involved in an innovative southern Alberta agriculture program, will also study at the University of Lethbridge before embarking on their careers.
One of today’s big challenges, she said, is keeping up with the face of change. In some fields of study, Burns said, by the time students are in their fourth year “what they learned in their first year is already outdated.”
Another challenge, she said, is attracting and supporting faculty members to teach new or evolving courses. “So people can work with their passions and strengths.”
Lethbridge College continues to recruit and facilitate First Nations students, Burns said. They currently account for about 10 per cent of the overall enrolment.
International students comprise about five per cent, she added, although their tuition fees are two and a half to three times higher than what Canadians pay.
Those rates are approved by the government, she said, but the students aren’t viewed as a source of revenue. The college wants to see its students exposed to other cultures from around the world. And by flying the rainbow flag during Lethbridge PrideFest, she added, the college also wants to show it’s a safe place for all.
“All our campus is about celebrating diversity.”
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