College cuts challenged

Teresa Bird

Gazette staff

PORT HARDY – North Island College will work with the North Island Post-Secondary Education Committee to improve services at the Port Hardy campus, says college president Lou Dryden.

Dryden was responding to a presentation made by three North Islanders during a college board meeting June 25 in Port Hardy. More than 30 people waited outside the meeting room at the college for an hour after the scheduled start due to an in camera meeting by the board. The public was there to show their support for a local campus. The turn out was in response to program and staff cuts by the board to the Port Hardy campus in May.

"I am wondering why the college is not thinking about those 130 kids who just graduated," asked Muffy Jones in her presentation. "We could be offering lots of courses for the whole North Island."

The overall management of the campus would now be directed from Campbell River by Dr. John Belshaw instead of locally.

"I still think someone on the North Island could do the best job," said Stephen Ralph, Port Hardy councillor and chair of NIPSEC.

Following the presentations some questions were asked by the public including the loss of English courses and programs that benefitted first nation students.

Dryden responded based on an in-camera meeting held with NIPSEC and local politicians earlier in the day.

"I felt it was a very positive meeting. We have a common purpose," said Dryden. "Our purpose is to ensure we can offer programs that are needed and wanted here."

Dryden said the courses that had been cut were mostly distance education and have only a few students. He also said he had spoken with Superintendent Kathy Bedard about the Continuing Education program and the college will accommodate the nine students who were enrolled at the end of the school year.

"We are going to work with NIPSEC," said Dryden. "We are going to specify in an agreement what NIPSEC is going to do and what the college is going to do and in a year we will look at it again and see where we are at. I am looking forward to seeing results from the meeting with John and Stephen."

Outside the meeting Ralph was surprised by Dryden's commitment and said while NIPSEC hopes a partnership agreement can be worked out, the group has at this time only agreed to a meeting with Belshaw.