In the story ‘College of New Caledonia budget approved’ published in the Lakes District News’ May 6 edition, http://www.ldnews.net/news/302652541.html, the College of New Caledonia (CNC) had issued 39 layoff notices across all campuses. However, several of these notices were expected to be rescinded prior to their effective date of July 31, 2015.
At the Lakes District campus, a total of 10 employees were given layoff notices back in March 2015. Some of these employees were hired back with reduced hours. At this point, four of the 10 employees actually lost their jobs, according to Matt Partyka, CNC’s Spokesperson.
Partyka said that, although operational (CUPE) employees can be laid off at any point throughout the year, no additional layoffs have occurred since March 2015.
In total, the college issued 39 layoff notices across all campuses this year – 21 for faculty members and 18 for CUPE employees. However, 14 employees – eight faculty employees and six CUPE employees – actually ended up losing their jobs.
Partyka explained that out of the eight faculty members that lost their jobs, three chose to accept the layoffs even though there was opportunity for full-time work for two of them and part-time work for one. Two of these eight employees were from the Burns Lake region.
Out of the six CUPE employees that lost their jobs, four chose not to exercise their bumping rights into other positions, one was on a medical leave and one chose to retire, said Partyka. Two of the six CUPE employees laid off were from the Burns Lake region.
The college has been making a series of cutbacks to address a deficit of $2.8 million in its 2015/16 operational budget.
Back in April 2015, the college’s board of directors had agreed that the family programs offered at the Lakes District campus would be transitioned to other community agencies in Burns Lake such as the Elizabeth Fry Society and the Northern Health Authority.
The college has now confirmed that these contracts will be transitioning in March 2016.
The community social service and health-related programs such as healthier babies brighter futures and early intervention services, known as family programs, have been delivered at the Lakes District campus for several years. These family programs are regarded by college employees and residents as one of the college’s most successful operations.
While the college may receive revenue from these programs, they are not part of the college’s “core business,” explained Partyka.
“The college will focus on its core mandate of post-secondary education in the future,” he said.
The college is also in the process of transitioning from face-to-face instruction to video-conferencing, known as the digital delivery initiative (DDI). This model of distance delivery is based on synchronous, real-time, classroom-based and instructor-led programming, accessed in multiple sites at once.
The college is piloting its DDI in Prince George and Quesnel in 2015-16, while additional funding is sought to support the necessary equipment for the other campuses. The college expects to launch the DDI in Burns Lake and Fort St. James in 2016-17, and in Mackenzie and Vanderhoof in 2017-18.
“Currently our DDI program is in its pilot stages,” said Partyka. “We are offering business classes between Quesnel and Prince George; we hope to expand the DDI programs in the future.”
Partyka said not all programs will transition into the DDI as some programs and some parts of programs are clearly not suited for that sort of model.
Although a counsellor’s position was eliminated in Quesnel and Prince George, Partyka said Burns Lake still employs a counsellor.
The two full-time counsellor positions eliminated at the Prince George campus were replaced with a part-time counsellor (10 hours per week) along with a full-time student success advocate.
“The college will work hard to ensure that any students who need help outside of this availability will be directed to counselling services within the community,” said Partyka.
When asked if the cutbacks were sufficient to address the $2.8 million deficit, Partyka said it is really too early in the fiscal year to answer that question.
“In short, the college always deals with financial challenges due to inflationary costs,” said Partyka. “Unfortunately this is a reality of post-secondary education.”
“We have just started classes for the semester and are still receiving enrollments, so it’s nearly impossible to speculate as to what sort of costs the college will face in the next while,” he added.
Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold is in Vancouver this week advocating on behalf of the Lakes District campus staff at the 2015 Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Check upcoming issues of Lakes District News for more information.
