Chronicle 13 14 issue 121

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Playoff push, pg. 29 Volume XLI, Issue 12

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DC updates status of fees

Matthew Jordan The Chronicle

The amount of student member fees flowed to the SA for the first term has been made available. Durham College released a lengthy statement over the school email service, reiterating its position on the SA’s current struggles and providing a brief breakdown of the amount of student fees paid out by the school to cover SA finances. DC and UOIT have been holding the SA’s member fees since September over concerns about the student government. The school’s concerns were the result of a delayed audit statement for the previous school year, since received. The schools have also requested a governance plan, which the SA has yet to comply with. The college and university restated their dedication to en-

sure student services and clubs aren’t affected. To date the college has moved $1,549,554 to the SA. The costs are broken down as follows: $297,496 for SA payroll $597,058 for SA operating expenses $655,000 for the student health and dental insurance plan UOIT has transferred approximately $1,771,900 to date. The college also said in the email that the managed flow of fees would continue until the SA submits all required information to the satisfaction of all parties. To date, the college is still waiting on a governance plan. The email also states the schools’ offer to help the SA overcome its internal strife still stands, and that the school looks forward to re-establishing its relationship with the organization.

@DCUOITChronicle chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

february

11, 2014

Strummin’ Along

Shane MacDonald

CHANGING THE TUNE: Dustan Grant, a nuclear engineering student at UOIT, plays some tunes in the UA building on Feb. 5.

Credit transfers easier with new guide Christopher Burrows The Chronicle Transferring credits from institution to institution has become a lot easier for Ontario post-secondary students with the launch of the ONCAT’s new course-to-course (C2C) transfer guide. According to Durham College President Don Lovisa, who is also the co-chair, the C2C transfer guide allows students to go onto the website, ONTransfer.ca, search your course, and the guide will tell you instantly which institution, college or university will give you credit for the course. “You could put in your diploma, for example, and say ‘where can I get credit, and how much credit can I get?’” said Lovisa. “It will instantly tell you what university will give you credit for your credentials, and now we’re building it backwards (university to college).” The C2C transfer guide was launched on Jan. 20, with 24 of Ontario’s institutions involved and 88,000 credit transfer opportunities. Lovisa says there are now 34 institutions involved and he expects it won’t take long for that number to

Christopher Burrows

MAKING THE SWITCH: Durham College student Nicole Haslam visits the new ONTransfer website. The site, which launched Jan. 20, was developed to help Ontario postsecondary students transfer credits from university to college or from college to university.

jump to 44. “It’s really expanding the whole credit transfer system, which has been an enormous problem in Ontario for many, many years,” Lovisa said about why the guide was created. “And this is really breaking down the barriers for students, it’s allowing students better

mobility. We know that there’s about 21,000-25,000 students per year who transfer between institutions in Ontario.” Lovisa also said that making it easier for students to transfer credits between institutions would save money for them and taxpayers, because students won’t have to repeat

prior learning. “I can think about 10 years ago where if you had a business diploma (for example) from a college, and you wanted to go to university you might get a credit or two,” Lovisa said. “That’s all. Not a year or two, but a credit or two. So you think of the cost of savings to you as

a student. You’re not having to take year one and year two again. You’re saving a lot of money, and that’s what it’s all about; it’s about better mobility.” Better mobility is also one of the reasons why Durham College and UOIT share a campus. “We’re one of the leaders within the system with UOIT, and we have as many students going from UOIT to Durham as we do Durham going to UOIT,” said Lovisa. “Because of our proximity we’ve enjoyed that relationship with students going back and forth, (the students) determining their own pathways.” According to Lovisa, there was a time when universities would say college students couldn’t be successful in a university setting because they need to “re-learn the information from the university’s perspective.” However, with funding from ONCAT, Durham College did a study with UOIT last year in which they compared the GPA of pathway students in years three and four with third and fourth-year university students who started in their program in year one. In all cases the pathway students had higher GPAs.


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