鈥淚鈥檝e been with the college for 28 years and one of the reasons I keep coming back every day is because of student success.鈥�

That鈥檚 how Lynn Synotte, responsible for marketing, recruiting and program linkages at the College of New Caledonia (CNC), introduced a CNC success story to 亚洲天堂 Lake council earlier this month.

鈥淭his student came to us working her way through WorkBC funding. We assisted her with her paperwork and supported her through her whole process, and we found out she was homeless,鈥� described Synotte.

鈥淪he was living in her car with her dog, and she had no place to stay. So we managed to support her to find an ideal place that would take her and the dog, and she continued to register in our trades discover program.鈥�

鈥淪he wanted to be a trades person of some sort, but she didn鈥檛 know which one. So she took a little bit of electrical, pluming, welding and carpentry, and she ended up really loving carpentry and graduating from trades discovery,鈥� continued Synotte.

鈥淣ow she is registered in our carpentry program in February and so, to me, watching students succeed like this is why I spent so many years at the college; this is why we do what we do,鈥� added Synotte. 鈥淚 am proud, and we are all proud of the positive impact that the college has made in this community.鈥�

No questions about FTE students

Although 亚洲天堂 Lake council expressed concerns among themselves about enrolment decline at the College of New Caledonia (CNC) during a meeting last August, council refrained from asking questions about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students to the CNC delegation earlier this month.

As part of their presentation to council, the college delegation included a 鈥渟tudent headcount,鈥� but did not release the current number of FTE students. According to the headcount, the Lakes District campus had 81 students in the fall of 2016, increasing to 150 students in the fall of 2017.

The college delegation, which included CNC president Henry Reiser, spoke about the enrolment decline over the past few years, mentioning challenges such as increased competition for public funding among post-secondary institutions, a national shift from rural to urban areas, and a 鈥渟ignificant and steady decline鈥� of the K-12 population in all of CNC communities.

鈥淏ut to us, that just means there鈥檚 more of a need for CNC than ever,鈥� said Reiser. 鈥淭here is significant need for skills upgrading throughout the entire region.鈥�

鈥淭he college is truly committed to the region, residents and the community no matter the size that we serve,鈥� he added.

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