Province spends $2.8M on Sault College and Algoma University (4 photos)

NEWS RELEASE

DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP

“These investments through the Productivity and Innovation Fund and the College Financial Health and Sustainability Grant will help put Algoma University and Sault College on more sustainable financial footing while improving the learning experience for our students,” said Orazietti.

“Our government has also made significant investments in improving infrastructure at both Algoma University and Sault College with new academic buildings and increased program funding, so that more students have the opportunity to gain a post-secondary education and contribute to the local economy.”

As part of the Productivity and Innovation Fund, Ontario is investing more than $47 million to support 120 projects at colleges and universities across the province. 

The Productivity and Innovation Fund will support productivity initiatives and strategic collaborations to improve the quality of learning for students and reduce costs for institutions. 

Projects locally include:

• Algoma University - $124,300 – First year student success programs
• Algoma University - $374,750 – Building organizational capacity in data mining and analysis
• Sault College - $200,000 – Enhancements in the Aviation Technology Flight Program
• Sault College - $300,000 – Implement process to prioritize program and academic services

“This funding will not only help us to develop programs that will ensure a smoother transition to University for non-traditional students, but will also enhance our information technology systems to allow for better data-driven planning around academic programming and services,” said University President Dr. Richard Myers.

“This will improve graduation rates and help to ensure that our students have the best possible success rates post-graduation.”

The College Financial Health and Sustainability Grant is investing more than $10 million to support 39 college projects.

The grant is available to 11 colleges to help them develop strategies that address key challenges, such as reducing energy and maintenance costs and improving data management and IT systems, so they can focus their resources on core priorities. Local project includes:

• Sault College - $909,000 to develop a shared enterprise resource planning system with Niagara College and establish a shared service centre to create operational efficiencies.

“These investments through the Productivity and Innovation Fund and the College Health and Sustainability Grant help to support significant projects at our College and drive community and economic development,” said Dr. Common, president Sault College.

“This funding will ensure that Sault College continues to expand partnerships, increase efficiencies as well as enhance programming and course delivery for our students. Thank you to the Ontario government for their continual support and generous contributions to the continued growth and success of our College.”

In addition, the provincial government is also investing $27 million in 31 multi-institutional projects that involve several colleges and universities. 

These projects include: 

• Sault College (lead college) and Niagara College - $956,425 to implement Enterprise Resource Planning College Alliance to leverage existing system expertise and drive down costs associated with independent implementation

• Humber College (lead college) with Sault College and 22 partner colleges - $200,481 – develop process to acquire software licenses for all college partners

• Fleming College (lead college) with Sault College and 22 partner colleges - $182,781 – to carry out an environmental scan of current IT disaster recovery planning practices and develop a set of IT disaster recovery tools

• University of Toronto (lead university) with Algoma University and 20 partner universities - $2 million – to procure space management software to replace old, unsupported systems with a solution that will add capacity to effectively manage space on university and college campuses

Providing students with affordable, world-class postsecondary education that equips them with the skills they need to succeed is part of Ontario’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.

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