Indigenous student success program launched by Algonquin College and Cambrian College
Posted on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016
An innovative program that aims to enhance Indigenous student recruitment, retention, and success is underway at Algonquin College and Cambrian College. Both institutions will be working with Indigenous communities on a new Indigenous Student Performance Success Program focused on producing research that will identify factors that help or hinder Indigenous students as they pursue postsecondary studies at each institution. On Monday, November 21, at the Higher Education Summit in Toronto, Algonquin President Cheryl Jensen and Cambrian President Bill Best signed an agreement that will enable the two Colleges to collaborate on research that will enhance the postsecondary experience for Indigenous students.
“This agreement will provide critical context to better understand the changing needs of our community and is a promising step forward that will allow our institutions to better understand and work with Indigenous students. Our joint focus will be especially useful in terms of understanding student success, which is critical in terms of making plans for the future for all of our campuses,” said Cheryl Jensen, President of Algonquin College. “We are looking forward to a productive relationship with Cambrian that really makes the needs of Indigenous learners at both Colleges the priority that we believe they should be.”
Speaking about the impact of the agreement, Cambrian College President Bill Best explained: “Our collaboration will enable us to gain a deeper understanding of how we can make it easier for more Indigenous students to access and be successful in their studies. Our teams have been collaborating and sharing best practices in attracting and supporting Indigenous students from diverse regions and communities for some time now. We are pleased to sign an agreement that will formalize our collaboration in support of our shared goals.”
The Colleges have committed to collaborate through the Indigenous Student Performance Success Program for the next five years.
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Media Contacts:
Ruth Dunley
Communications Officer
Algonquin College
613-727-4723 ext. 6452
613-406-0970
dunleyr@algonquincollege.com
Lynn Bulloch
Communications Officer
Cambrian College
705-566-8101, ext. 6375
lynn.bulloch@cambriancollege.ca
About Algonquin College:
www.algonquincollege.com
The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in more than 185 programs. Based in the Ottawa Valley, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario.