Kwantlen counts heads, expects record enrolment

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s classes are more crowded this year than ever before, according to a Kwantlen press release.

The 28-year-old institution’s previous record of 17,000 students is about to be shattered, with 14,677 students enroled in courses beginning on or before Sept. 18. Trades programs starting in October, November and December are expected to put the number of students well over the previous record.

Enrolment in university studies, which do not include qualifying studies, trades or technology programs, is 10 per cent higher than last year. All program areas have seen an enrolment increase of five to 10 per cent. There are 11 per cent more course enrolments from students new to Kwantlen than there were last year. The largest growth is in the arts and business programs.

The press release attributed the growth to Kwantlen’s new university status, a new Bachelor of Arts with a Major in English and Bachelor of Science in Integrated Pest Management programs, and changes to the registration system.

Ron Maggiore, Kwantlen’s executive director of strategic enrolment management, said university status creates “greater interest, more applications and more excitement. University status adds value to a Kwantlen diploma or degree without question.”

The increase could only mean good things, he said. More students produces more revenue for the school, and “more tuition allows for the creativity to do more things.”

Maggiore said he isn’t surprised by the enrolment increase, referring to a relationship between post-secondary education attendance and the economy. When the economy is strong, enrolment tends to drop; when it sours, enrolment climbs.

The enrolment increase is not limited to Kwantlen, though the institution has the highest recorded enrolment increase of all schools in B.C.

A recent announcement from Simon Fraser Institute declared a record enrolment of 28,275 students this year, a seven per cent increase from last year.

Most of SFU’s increase is in international students, up 33 per cent from last year, transfer students and a doubling of students in faculty of health and environment.

“There seems to be a trend and increase of post-secondary students,” said Mehran Kiai, SFU’s director of enrolment services. “It’s too early to say if it’s because of the economy or other reasons.”

Kiai believes an improved admissions process and growing reputation are contributing factors to the record enrolment.

Craig MacBride, public affairs officer for the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, was unable to confirm whether there is a trend in post-secondary education enrolment increases but suggested that one may become apparent when final data is collected this November.

“Historically, anytime it’s a recession [enrolment] goes up in universities. I suspect there is a trend,” said MacBride.

Campuses puts focus on fitness and recreation

New fitness and recreation classes are springing up across Kwantlen campuses this year as part of an initiative to get more students physically fit.

Faculty and the Kwantlen Student Association are trying to get the word out about yoga, belly dancing and hip-hop classes beginning this fall, while they brainstorm ideas for intramural sports, other classes and clubs.

Classes already introduced are hatha yoga (a gentle posture and breathing exercise class), power yoga (a cardio- and strength-intensive exercise class), belly dancing and hip-hop dancing.

Hatha yoga was offered last year and saw a moderate response from students. But small registration numbers are complicating the introduction of the new classes. Though hatha yoga and power yoga had enough registration to start as scheduled in September, the dance classes were delayed for several weeks.

Recreation coordinator John Stewart said getting students interested has been difficult, something he attributes to the lack of awareness about recreation opportunities at Kwantlen.

“You have to build a reputation, and once you get that, you get people coming to you to look for recreation programs. It’ll take some time.”

The classes, coming intramurals and clubs are being pushed by the faculty and the KSA to promote mind-and-body health.

“If they’re healthy and they’re exercising, their mind is healthy and they’ll do better in school,” Stewart said. “It’s really important to keep yourself active. You think better and you think more clearly.”

Elmo Lara, a KSA coordinator for the Student Health Improvement Program, is trying to raise awareness about a new running club that is being formed. He works to develop programs that will help students understand the connection between fitness and study success.

“If they’re not physically fit, their brain won’t be working as it should,” he said.

When asked about the relevance of the dance and yoga classes to Kwantlen students, Stewart laughed and said “they were just trying to offer something different. With the hip-hop, they were really trying to focus on something students might be interested in because it’s typically a younger style of [dance].”

The classes also reflect a gender discrepancy, which Stewart attributed to registration. Females register more frequently than males, he said, but intramural sports are generally male-driven.

Stewart is organizing several recreation classes and intramurals for introduction next semester. Ideas so far include a boot camp, kettlebells and a morning yoga session. Suggestions are welcome; contact John Stewart at (604) 599-2307.

Province quietly cuts nursing student aid, other programs

When she considered attending Kwantlen, Merrilee Foster thought about her two kids, six-year-old Karsten and 12-year-old Kayla. She thought about her two jobs. She thought about the burden of paying back student loans. She knew there would be sacrifices – but she knew she had the ability to help people.

The 39-year-old single mom took the plunge and applied for Kwantlen’s home support resident care attendant program.

She chose that program because, four-and-a-half years ago, Foster learned that her mother had cancer and took care of her at home.

“I didn’t have any training, but, of course, it’s your parent and that’s what you do,” she said.

When her mother passed away years later, a doctor took her aside and said what she did was amazing: not many people could emotionally and physically do what she had done. “I thought there’s gotta be more to my life than what I [was] doing. There’s gotta be a positive. So I decided this was the route that I was gonna take.”

As she made plans to attend Kwantlen, Foster knew student aid “was everything.” She told the financial aid office that she thought she was crazy. But the financial aid staff told her “there’s so much out there you’re eligible for. Just jump in and do it.”

Foster called a government official in Victoria for help completing an application for a health care bursary. “She walked me through it and reassured me, so I could sleep at night,” recalled Foster.

Weeks later, she received a letter in the mail saying that funding had been eliminated.

The B.C. government eliminated $16 million in student aid this summer. There was no official announcement and word only reached the public on July 22, when a leaked document listed the programs that were to be immediately and quietly cut. They were the Permanent Disabilities Benefits Program, the Debt Reduction in Repayment Program, the B.C. Loan Reduction for Residential Care Aide and Home Support Worker Program, the Health Care Bursary and the Premier’s Excellence Award Program. Funding for the Nurses Education Bursary was reduced.

Ashley Fehr, the KSA’s chairperson and director of academic affairs, said, “It just makes me sick. It’s disgusting.”

Fehr said 25 per cent of full-time Kwantlen students depend on some form of student aid. Because Kwantlen has a large nursing program, the university will be hit harder by the cuts than most schools. Fehr is already seeing the impact at the KSA office in Surrey, where students are telling her they don’t know when they’ll have time to complete homework because of the need to work. She expects to see more stressed-out students than usual this year because of financial hardship.

The decision to make the cuts, said Fehr, is “short-sighted because education is necessary for economic recovery . . . We’re going to have a lower-educated society.”

“Any cuts right now are just a wrong, wrong decision.”

Dr. Claudette Kelly, Kwantlen’s dean of community and health studies, said the cuts are “unconscionable in a time when there’s such a demand for health care workers.”

Foster, who still has to account for groceries, her mortgage and the usual mom-related expenses, decided she would tighten her belt and manage, because she wants badly enough to do the course. She refuses to worry about finances because “If I start worrying about it now, I’ll be consumed by it.” But she’s worried about the future of B.C. health care.

Foster said B.C. residents will continue to need health care, but there may not be enough workers, or the workers won’t be as qualified.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be the only cut to bursaries and grants.”

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