Sometimes it feels like Camosun College is at a crossroads, wondering which way to go next. Will the institution focus on trades and job-skills training, or will it be more arts-based? What is the role of international students? How do the college’s sports teams fit into all this?
We thought we’d wrangle a range of people—from Camosun students to Camosun College Student Society employees to the college president—to get their thoughts on where the college should be heading in the future.
The responses varied from unexpected, like the merging of two campuses into one, to common themes, such as a hope for more funding from the government. Whatever paths the college takes in the future, one thing is clear: there are a lot of very passionate people—staff and, importantly, students—guiding the way.
Pascale Archibald
Nexus newspaper student editor/Camosun College student
I would like Camosun College to stay realistic about what it is and what it has to offer students. There should be no delusions of grandeur here; there should be a line in the college mandate stating that it is not a university and that that’s a-okay.
It is a college, and for many students that means that Camosun is just a stepping stone to get to another institution. But for some, Camosun is a place where they can start and end their educational career. It is a place where students can actually get training for on-the-job skills, practical skills that will make the Camosun-trained student be chosen over a theory-filled university graduate.
I like to believe that Camosun will remain doing what they do best, and keep training students in practical things, while staying small, quaint, and innovative. It seems that whenever I hear an update on youth in the workplace, all I hear is that students do not have appropriate training for the job force. At one time, a young twenty-something could graduate with a degree—any degree would do—and they could get a job, and have on-the-job training, or so I’ve been told.
That, unfortunately, does not seem to be the case anymore, and, as a result, the need for institutions like Camosun, I believe, will only grow in the future. It’s a good thing to attend a college like Camosun; this is where people get that much-needed practical training that everyone seems to be calling for.
Sherri Bell
Camosun College president
I envision Camosun’s future to be one where every graduate walks across our convocation stage with the knowledge and self-confidence that they can indeed challenge and change our world.
We’ve recently completed our new Strategic Plan for the college, which is our guide, our mandate, over the next five years, to build on, improve, and create truly life-changing learning opportunities for our students.
The student experience is one of our main goals through this plan. We are still working on what the complete “student experience” actually looks like, but one of our key focuses is to improve on our experiential learning opportunities. Experiences like co-op education, internships, practical lab work, and field-school opportunities abroad—we want to take these applied-learning options to a new level so that as many students as possible have the opportunity to directly connect their classroom education to tangible real-world experiences.
Supporting creativity and innovation for students is another of our major objectives. For example, we are now developing an interaction lab at Interurban campus. This lab will focus on solutions-based learning as industry clients bring their real-life product challenges to the table for analysis and creative, technical problem-solving by our students.
Camosun College is a special place, and I truly believe our future is one where every student is actively engaged and encounters that “aha” moment. Those moments may take place in a classroom or in the community or while tackling important issues such as sustainability and truth and reconciliation. Camosun students will be well prepared and will contribute to our ever-changing world.
John Boraas
Camosun College vice president, education
I’m excited about the future of Camosun College—one in which Camosun continues to be a college of and for the communities we serve, stepping up to meet the needs and aspirations of the learners we serve.
I envision our future to be one in which our understanding of community has grown—where we are a leading college in British Columbia’s aboriginal communities; present in Victoria’s social agencies and supporting access to education for those with challenging circumstances or finances; and continuing to graduate learners in a variety of fields that are ready to contribute to the local and global opportunities of tomorrow.
I envision growth to include a burgeoning school for the arts. Learning that includes enhanced opportunities to partner with local agencies, business, or industry to apply learning is the norm.
The demand for technology programming continues to multiply, and we have grown the technology programming to meet learner and industry needs. Victoria as a tourism destination continues to support the college to deliver a greater range of hospitality- and tourism-related courses. Our commitment to health and human services programming remains strong, with a growing connection to community and inter-professional approaches to training as well as an expanded role in preventive health.
Our commitment to program excellence is strengthened, as is our ability to provide expanded services for students—at the front end of their entrance to the college as well as while they complete their studies.
We continue to grow the number of dual-credit students who begin their education at Camosun while completing their high-school credits. We will continue to invest in existing programs as well as the programs that emerge over the coming years. Spaces for synergistic learning will be a priority for the college’s planning as we create learning labs for students to socialize and learn alongside faculty, staff, and other students, as well as administration.
I also hope that we continue to see students who value critical thinking and contribution to society and who continue to criticize and challenge college and other leadership. I also hope that we see growth in the funding for the important work being done in post-secondary education.
Rachael Grant
Camosun College Student Society external executive/Camosun College student
When asked what I would like to see for the future of Camosun, I’m conflicted. There is the ideal, but the reality I see coming to pass if we continue on the path we are currently on is also worth mentioning.
I often hear feedback about how things could be better at Camosun, and the financial aspects of being a student are always predominant: the high cost of parking, food, and student fees.
Another common criticism is the lack of means to connect with other students. We need to see a Camosun that is structured in a way that allows more opportunities for students from any field of study to connect. We currently have no spaces for students to socialize, like campus residences or a pub.
The cost of attending post-secondary is rising, and students with lower income are being left behind. Government funding continues to decrease, putting the expansion of program offerings, campus facilities, and student life on hold. Should this trend continue, the student body at Camosun would shift primarily to individuals already capable of paying for school without incurring student debt.
We need a Camosun that is adequately funded by our government. At the end of the day, the Camosun I’d like to see is one that fosters a post-secondary experience that is not a product to be purchased. Students should not be seen as consumers, and education should not be seen as a commodity.
Adam Marsh
Nexus newspaper student editor/Camosun College student
It’s important to keep the college well rounded academically so that it remains well rounded in other aspects, including, if I may be boldly vague, its overarching humanity, because the people that roam Camosun’s halls and fill the cafeteria line-ups at lunch are the people who make the college what it is as a whole.
We don’t see the college’s board of governors at work, but if the board didn’t have a well rounded group to work with… you can fill in the blanks.
Some of the best and most enlightening conversations I’ve had have been with students who have transferred from Welding or Engineering into the humanities or arts. Why? Because they think differently from me and therefore can educate me in a way that I (and many of my English-major classmates) can not. It’s the value of education, after all, to be able to choose how to think about any given scenario that is placed in front of you.
It’s an issue that is a whole lot bigger than the college, but it starts with this: giving students a chance to be heard. My opinion is one of thousands at the school, and my opinion matters if you want it to, or if it is backed up by a number of students so great that you can’t ignore them saying the same thing.
So in the future, I hope there will be more of this: a chance for students to be heard in a way that may or may not advocate change, or to say something direct that undeniably forces an inventory.
Graham Matthews
Camosun College Recreation and Athletics Coordinator
I know this is not reality, but in a dream world, or possibly far into the future, Camosun would consolidate into one central campus. In my perspective, this would enable more efficient use of college resources and funding. It would also create a real sense of campus community, allowing for better communication and connection between all college employees and students.
A vibrant college with residences and a new health building (which is currently in the planning stages) at Interurban, plus new student centres on both campuses, focused on student activities—social, spiritual, recreational, fitness, intramurals…
Opportunities to assist students in maintaining a balance between academics and the challenges of everyday life while on campus.
The completion of the vision for the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE) on the Interurban campus, with the addition of the third gym and expanded fitness, classroom, training, research, office, and storage areas. It’s desperately needed, as all programs (including academic, athletic, and community) are outgrowing the current facility space at PISE.
The addition of Chargers intercollegiate men’s and women’s soccer programs and other sports at the college.
I hope the college continues to focus and build upon creating a meaningful and positive learning and working environment for students and employees.
Michel Turcotte
Camosun College Student Society executive director
I want Camosun’s future to be bright, inclusive, progressive, and relevant. I dream of a day when the government properly funds education, when all students do not pay tuition, and when full-time students receive a study support grant to attend school (it currently exists in Scandinavia). I want to see the day when international students are welcomed solely for the diversity and cultural enrichment they bring to our campuses, rather than as a needed source of institutional revenue.
I want an institution where courses and programs are responsive to the needs of the community and where the main motivation behind course and program change is not to increase tuition revenue. I would love to see a college where students have more than token representation on the board of governors and education council, and where they receive academic credit for participation in governance activities.
My vision of the future includes students not having to work three jobs to pay their way through school and where they have the time to participate in on-campus activities. I want to see a college where “student life” is more than just a buzzword to be thrown out from time to time, and where there is a vibrant and fun life outside of the classroom. Most of all, I want a campus where there is mutual respect at all levels and where students again have the time and freedom to regain their traditional role as the social conscience of the nation.
I hope to again see a day when many students are engaged in political and social causes, and when they feel the freedom to challenge prevailing orthodoxy and hold those with power to account.
Geoff Wilmshurst
Camosun College vice president, partnerships
Camosun’s amazing history has provided us with the essential framework for the future. We are already the most comprehensive college in British Columbia, and my wish would be that we remain that way with even greater scope in the future. Our educators are some of the best in the province; every student survey, domestic and international, ranks our instructors as one of the top reasons to study here. We need to continue to support our academic team to continue to provide education excellence.
In the past five years, Camosun has witnessed the tripling of the number of international students, representing more than 70 countries. I am really proud of that diversity and think it’s key to the future success of any post-secondary institution in Canada. My hope is that we’ll see even greater diversity going forward, including seeing more of our Canadian students taking up the opportunity to study abroad through Camosun’s many overseas programs.
Camosun offers some of the most unique courses and programs in Canada. Our Engineering Technology programs are just one example of this. Nowhere in Canada is there an equivalent program that can land a student at UVic or UBC after just two and a half years. We need to design even more of these incredible pathway opportunities that will continue to give Camosun the programming edge in terms of both quality and innovation.
Camosun has been shy to trumpet its successes beyond Vancouver Island. We are among the largest colleges in BC and one of the largest post-secondary institutions in the province, larger and more comprehensive than many of the province’s universities. It is my hope that, while continuing to serve our community, we can also reach out to the other regions of BC and Canada to become a college of destination.
Joan Yates
Camosun College vice president, student experience
This has been a wild summer. The world is dealing with major issues that have consequences beyond what we could imagine—think of Brexit, Louisiana, Munich, Trump’s rise, new global statistics outlining even higher youth unemployment, Turkey, and on and on. It can be hugely overwhelming, especially as much of this is not good news.
So what do we do? Well, folks way smarter than me talk about how the best way to counter many of these issues is by ensuring that people are educated so that they see all sides, bringing reason to these crazy times. An educated society really is the only answer. And that’s where we all play a role here at Camosun.
It’s not just about jobs, although a strong and skilled workforce certainly offers stability; it’s also about us all doing the work needed to think and then act in ways that support what we want for this world. That’s what we do at the college every single day.
For example, there’s planning underway for how the college addresses the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the wrong done to generations of aboriginal people in this country. It’s hard work but is an important example of how we at Camosun can begin to move things in the right direction.
So if I look at our future, what excites me most is the opportunity for positive change. That can be big and global in nature, but much of the change that I find the most inspiring is smaller. It’s about changing ourselves to be better. And it is very personal. From the individual to a society, people here create ripple effects for our community. Being part of this is what Camosun is about. For our future, we need to get even better at this, because goodness knows the world needs it.
And that, I think, is where the hope lies.