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Algoma U sees light at end of tunnel. It's not New Jersey

After some tumultuous months marked by administrative staff changes and plummeting enrolment, Ontario's littlest university may have turned the corner.

After some tumultuous months marked by administrative staff changes and plummeting enrolment, Ontario's littlest university may have turned the corner.

"My view is that the worst is behind us, " said Armando Plastino, chair of Algoma University's board of governors, at a meeting last night.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel and I don't believe it's a train coming from the opposite direction," Plastino said.

Board members were visibly relieved at a disclosure from President Craig Charmberlin that the all-important full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrolment metric is expected to be down just 5.73 percent in 2015 over last year.

That's almost three percent less than the budgeted 8.5 percent drop.

The enrolment dip is happening across Canada and every Northern Ontario university is in a similar bind, Chamberlin said, adding that he wants to meet with other Northern Ontario presidents to compare notes.

Algoma U departments experiencing growth in the fall-winter session include law/politics (up 22.5 percent), biology/chemistry (9.63 percent), fine arts/music (12.24 percent) geography/geology (9.59 percent) and psychology (4.48 percent). 

Enrolment is up slightly for international students and at Algoma U's satellite campus in Timmins.

It's down significantly among first-generation students whose parents or guardians didn't complete college, university or an apprentice program.

Enrolment is also down for domestic students, Sean Dwyer, vice president of finance and administration, reported.

$4.5 million lost in bad investments

With extra tuition revenues resulting from better-than-expected overall FTE enrolment, the university posted a $315,000 surplus.

The board of governors agreed last night to allocate the surplus funds to future capital projects.

Dwyer advised that Algoma U had written off a $4.1 million loss from the sale of its downtown Windsor Park residence, and $363,000 from the sale of a residence associated with its ill-fated satellite campus in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Tim Horton's on campus

In other news, there's a lot of renovating going on right now at Algoma University.

Governors agreed last night to install new LED lighting in the Arthur A. Wishart Library.

President Chamberlin referred to a number of other renovation projects:

  • converting WW105 (the former fine arts space) into a computer science pod
  • creating offices for the sociology department in the former Health Informatics Institute space
  • redesigning the west wing classrooms (WW 101, 102, 103)
  • refurbishing the Shingwauk Auditorium
  • building a Tim Horton's on campus

What's next?


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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