Great Plains College has announced a series of changes in response to a funding cut in the recent provincial budget.
The College announced late this afternoon the SunDogs Basketball program will be suspended for the 2017-2018 season, however the Volleyball program will continue as planned.
The college also announced reduced instruction contracts for staff in various college locations in response to mandated changes to the Adult Basic Education program structure plus a changed funding policy for English as a Subsequent Language (ESL).
Other budgetary reductions include the downsizing of the Rosetown Program Centre and adjustments to some of the service and support staff positions across the organization.
“Given the five per cent cut in operational funding, along with the other reductions in various program areas, difficult decisions had to be made,” David Keast, President and CEO of Great Plains College stated in a press release.
The impact of the provincial budget is also being felt in the Saskatchewan Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing program which had been offered at the Swift Current Campus. The University of Regina informed the college earlier this year that they are changing the delivery model of the program.
Students had been able to complete their entire four-year degree in Swift Current, but now students are required to take the first three years of the course in Regina or Saskatoon with the option to complete their fourth year in Swift Current.
Great Plains is providing the new option of a year of pre-nursing and/or the Practical Nursing diploma program before transferring into the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
“Our goal in dealing with deficit reduction was, and will continue to be, to protect the core business of the college and to mitigate the impact on students,” said Keast. “We’ve done the best we can on this front, given that we had very little to work with.”
