After an absence of five years, first-year university classes will once again be offered through the local Southeast College and the University of Regina, beginning with this fall’s semester.
Sheena Onrait, the college’s manager of marketing and communication, said the planning behind the return of this promising option for first-year university students, took about a year.
“A first year general arts (BA) program or a certificate in liberal arts program... is an introductory course for students on a wide variety of subjects such as English, sciences, sociology, economics and so on. It is a 30-hour credit course that can be completed in a year,” she said, and added that all course credits are transferable to the University of Saskatchewan, as well as the U of R and other universities for degree programs such as commerce, education and others.
“The classes will be offered in a blended manner. There will be some face-to-face time with the professors, there will be some video conferences and there will be some online classes or sessions,” Onrait said.
At one time the Southeast College offered the most widely accepted university programming in the province, so, she said, they were very pleased to be able to get back to this once-popular format.
Access to a student adviser at the college campuses in Estevan and Weyburn, where the courses will be offered, makes this first-year course even more attractive and, there will be more face-to-face time and more individual attention for the students who decide to use the Estevan or Weyburn campus option to complete their first year of university studies.
Onrait said it also had to be noted that there could be significant savings for the students and their families, since the student would no doubt be able to live at home for the entire academic year, thus curbing the housing costs associated with attending classes in Regina.
An open house event, focused on admission support and introduction to the classes, is scheduled for the Estevan Southeast College campus, located at the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute on Bourquin Road, on Feb. 23 beginning at 6 p.m. and continuing to 9 p.m.
Interested students are asked to bring their $100 admission fee, in the event they are interested in signing up. They will also be asked to produce identification, high school transcripts or foreign transcripts, if applicable.
The smaller class sizes are considered to be another big selling point, said Onrait, since the maximum number of students will be 25. In the event there are more than 25 applicants, the college will launch their Plan B, she said, which would include a second admission slate.
The college has special awards, scholarships and bursaries available for university students who decide to attend the college campuses for these first-year courses.
Special guests will be attending the open house and admissions evening and Onrait said within the next few months, the U of R will be naming the instructors and professors assigned to the outreach courses.
“If this plan takes off, and we expect it will, just as it did before, we might be able to re-evaluate the programs and offer them at other Southeast College campuses,” said Onrait. But for now, it’s first-things-first in Estevan and Weyburn.
“These are busy times for the campus in Estevan right now. We will have an official launching of the Level 2 electrician courses later on. The Level 1 course for pre-apprentice electricians will be back. The fourth class power engineering courses remain popular, so they’ll be offered again for sure,” she said.
The college is exploring the potential for offering other course options such as office administration and early childhood education classes in response to the local labour market demands.
“If any potential student wants additional information on the university courses, we have some information on our website now, then there is the upcoming open house and they can always phone the college at 306-634-4795 and talk with the student services adviser any time during regular hours,” she said.
Making the first year university experience as convenient and efficient as possible, is the objective, she suggested in conclusion.
