Thousands drop out in wake of college strike

Province says 10.3 per cent of full-time pupils have left; critic says they were let down

Ten per cent of full-time college students — or about 25,700 — have dropped out rather than return to class following a lengthy strike by their teachers.

And even though “the vast majority . . . chose to stay and finish the semester,” post-secondary Minister Deb Matthews said for those “who did decide to withdraw, we hope you return to college.

“We need your talent and skills in this province and want to keep seeing you succeed. We will work with colleges to support and encourage students to re-enrol.”

Preliminary numbers released by the Ontario government on Tuesday show that since Nov. 1, 10.3 per cent have decided to leave.

In a typical year, college students must withdraw from courses in the first two weeks of school to get a refund. About 2.55 per cent typically drop out in the first two months.

But because of the strike, students were given an additional two-week window to do so after the job action ended, with a deadline of Dec. 5 to apply for a tuition refund and withdrawal with no academic penalty.

“This is the first time this has been offered in the history of Ontario colleges,” said Abdullah Mushtaq, director of advocacy for the College Student Alliance.

“I think it shows that the option is necessary for students — students didn’t sign up for an extended semester, or condensed classes . . . it gave students the ability to take the time to think about what to do and what’s best for them, considering whatever is going on in their life. Lots of students have jobs outside of (school), they have families, they are coming from different careers.”

Mushtaq said he does not expect any faculty job losses because the colleges, unions and ministry are working with students to ensure they “get what they paid for, the education that they are entitled to.”

Sheridan College reports that 1,536 students have dropped out, compared with 667 at the same time last year. At Durham College, 1,186 have withdrawn as a result of the strike.

NDP MPP Peggy Sattler, her party’s education critic, said the government has let college students down.

“These students were backed into a corner,” she said, adding “those that have chosen to remain in class face their own challenges, including in- creased workloads and condensed schedules. Many students will be left struggling to recover financially and academically long after the semester is over.”

At Centennial College, enrolment is down 8 per cent, but many of those students are expected to return next year, said Craig Stephenson, vicepresident of student and community engagement. “Students are not necessarily dropping out as they did in previous fall semesters, but ‘stopping out’ for a limited time period only, with the overwhelming majority of withdrawals — about two-thirds of the total — hoping to rejoin us.”

He called the option an important one “for students who feel the need to regroup, recharge and rejoin a subsequent semester, and it should not be interpreted, necessarily, that students are walking away from their college experience.”

Matthews also expects some students to re-enrol in January and next September.

“It is clear that they have borne the brunt of the labour dispute between colleges and faculty,” said Matthews, the minister of advanced education and skills development. “Preliminary reports from colleges indicate that the vast majority, approximately 90 per cent of students, chose to stay and finish the semester.”

Classes were cancelled for as many as 500,000 students starting Oct. 16, during a strike that stretched into November before the Liberal government ordered the 12,000 instructors back to work.

Both the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the College Employer Council are now taking part in binding mediation-arbitration. With files from Jaren Kerr