NU winding down Brantford campus
In the wake of changes to funding for education programs, including the reduction in the number of spaces available for education students, the partnership in Brantford between Nipissing University and Wilfrid Laurier University will be ending. Nipissing University is winding down its operations in the city. Students currently enrolled in the joint program will continue their studies for the next four years, as they work to complete the five-year program, and will continue to enjoy the same level of support and commitment that they always have. Nipissing University will continue to have faculty and staff at the Brantford campus as the students finish their degrees. There are currently 875 students enrolled in the joint program in Brantford, with 200 in their final year.
The two universities began a partnership in 2002, offering a joint integrated concurrent education program that was unique in the province. Students earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurier and a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree from Nipissing concurrently in the five-year program.
Recent changes to the provincial funding mechanism necessitated the two universities revisit the initial partnership.
In 2009-10, Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU) announced a cap on the number of funded spaces for BEd students. In 2013, MTCU announced changes to BEd programs in Ontario including doubling the length of the program and the practicum requirements, effective 2015. Funding per student was also reduced by one-third.
“The joint program was very successful, but the current funding environment has altered its financial sustainability dramatically,” said Dr. Michael DeGagné, Nipissing’s president and vice-chancellor. “The number of BEd students Nipissing can graduate each year has been reduced, and we are in a better financial situation by welcoming more students to our North Bay campus.”
“We have been meeting regularly with our colleagues at Laurier since the early fall to try to draft a new agreement, but the reality is that the pie has shrunk and neither side could find the room to maneuver to a new agreement that would be financially sustainable. They have been a fantastic partner and we look forward to working with Laurier again in the future,” added DeGagné.