KAWARTHA LAKES-Fleming College Frost Campus in Lindsay saw almost 400 new students enrol in January bringing the total number of students to almost 1700.
The increase in new students was higher than expected due to the fact that twice as many international students accepted offers than was anticipated according to the college.
While that is good news it has presented some challenges. Both Sutherland and Frost campuses are undergoing major renovations, which has impacted available space in the buildings. As well, a tight rental market is making the search for off-campus housing more difficult. “While growth and internationalization are in many ways good for the college and our communities, this exceptional pace in growth is presenting challenges for us. I want to commend our Fleming employees and our many community partners for going above and beyond to welcome and accommodate all of our students. Our Fleming faculty, staff and leaders are working to provide the best quality education and experience for each student. It is more difficult to do that with an intake that is larger than we anticipated,” said Tony Tilly, President of Fleming College. “As of right now, we have two immediate challenges: meeting the needs of this semester, and ensuring more sustainable growth levels for our upcoming summer and fall intakes.”
While international students account for the greatest enrolment growth, Fleming says they also exceeded enrolment targets for domestic students. The growth was spread across all academic areas within the college.
The College has been hiring new staff and modifying classroom spaces. As well, the College has partnered with local hotels to provide temporary accommodation for students seeking rental housing.
The GeoCentre and Environmental Sciences Renewal at Frost Campus has been undergoing major renovation.s including renewing and modernizing the specialized training facilities at the campus, creating new labs. The new spaces will provide state-of- the-art facilities for programs such as Earth Resources Technician, Advanced Water Systems Operation and Management, Aquaculture, and Environmental Technician.
While there have been improvements and upgrades to other parts of Frost Campus, the areas designated within this project have been mostly unchanged since the campus opened in the 1970s. There are increasing constraints on capacity of the programs using these facilities to grow and to meet industry needs. Teaching areas and equipment no longer reflect advances in technology or current industry standards, impairing the college’s ability to attract and retain students, employees and applied research opportunities.
Fleming College has more than 6,800 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and 74,000 alumni.
