Even as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, Canadore says it will continue to plan for the future.
At a recent meeting to update Canadore College employees on the COVID-19 situation and its effect on how business will be conducted, administrators balanced conveying what is known and what remains uncertain when it comes to the direction the school will take this fall and beyond.
What is certain is the student body will not have as much of an international student presence come September. With world travel restrictions in place and student intake cancelled altogether for international students, there will likely be fewer than the typical 500 international students on Canadore campuses this fall.
Meanwhile, Canadore says the first-year domestic student intake for Spring 2020 has been deferred for North Bay campuses but plans are "being finalized for the 900 students who must return to school to complete the practical component of their programs."
Those students will return to campus as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. The school says the international spring intake at Canadore’s Toronto partner, Stanford International College of Business and Technology, is now underway.
“We have been forced to change rapidly,” says Canadore President George Burton. “We all hope the new normal is more a resumption of what we’re used to, which is on-campus activity. Since day one, our priority has been the safety of our students and employees, and the stability of our workforce for as long as possible.”
Shawn Chorney, Vice-President of Enrolment Management, Indigenous and Student Services observes, “We came into this global challenge as a college in relatively good shape which is going to help us. Our returning student number is solid. It didn’t fall off. Students didn’t put their hands up and say 'I’m out.' So, we have a returning student cohort, so far, that is on par with what we expected in our enrolment.”
Chorney adds Candore's fall domestic enrolment confirmations are up for most programs.
“There are certain specific sectors, like aviation, that are tracking down right now. They are highly linked to the health of the industry. And, the aviation sector was growing coming into it but is often a focus of airline struggles and so on. Although that is only a sliver and a component part of that one sector as an example, it does impact consumer confidence, student confidence in coming to study. “
Canadore will, therefore, continue to proceed with caution until actual enrolment numbers are known as it looks to resume full operations in September.
“We have slowed or suspended our infrastructure spending for the upcoming year,” explains Burton, and “approved funding for infrastructure to accommodate the delivery of programs in the fall.”
Burton says Canadore received funding during the early days of the pandemic to help offset immediate costs and is grateful for ongoing government support as Canadore moves to the "new normal."
