Federal grant gives hope to Algonquin

By Julia Vorob'eva

voro0006@algonquincollege.com

On the 27th of January the federal Government is scheduled to announce an economic stimulus packaging worth about $40 million.

Robert Gillett, president and chief executive of Algonquin College, says that while everybody is competing for the same dollars, university and college funding should be a part of the stimulus packages, because a skilled labour force increases national productivity.

Algonquin for one could make good use of additional federal funding. Over the next three years Algonquin College will have to raise $13 million to pay for the Centre for Construction Trades and Building Sciences (CCIBS) project across Woodroffe Avenue.

The new building will eventually accommodate 600 students’.

This money will help solve the capacity problems at the Woodroffe campus, said Deborah Rowan-Legg, vice-president of Algonquin College Student Services. And right now the college is at a difficult time.  

“We certainly do know that there is not enough space for students’ social space,” said Rowan-Legg. “Both social interaction and academic are important for students at Algonquin.”

When the new building is built, there will be more space at Woodroffe campus for more faculties and students, said Rob Nettleton, the president of the Students’ Association.

 Since the beginning of the year there have also been complaints from students about not having enough seats in classrooms. “I could find a chair, but classrooms were too small. So, I could not find a place where to sit,” said a business administration student, Andrey Zhuravlev, 18.

But what usually happens is that there are new students who apply late and returning students who come back late. So, there might be some changes in the timetable as well as the classroom capacity.

Still, before the new building is built, there is a gap of two studying years in between.  The Registrar’s office is already trying to extend the period for timetable changes. Algonquin College will try to avoid lengthy gaps between classes.