Nicholas Donaldson
For the first time this fall, the Rainy River District campus of Confederation College will be offering the new Community Integration through Co-operative Education program (CICE).
The program focuses on building academic and social skills to help students who normally would not be comfortable in an academic setting transition into either further schooling or the workplace.
Although this will be the first year in Fort Frances, the Dryden campus ran the program for its pilot year last year while the Thunder Bay campus has offered it for a few years now.
“I was just there [in Thunder Bay] meeting with a co-ordinator a few months ago, and she said what they are finding is that the students get really comfortable being on campus and then some of them actually do transfer into full-time programing,” local campus manager Sandra Turner told the Times.
“There is the possibility of moving into a regular full-time, post-secondary program if you want to and that’s basically what’s it’s designed for,” she noted.
“To get comfortable in the workplace, to get your résumé where it needs to be, your interview skills all while experiencing the post-secondary world.”
The two-year program here will have spots for three students this fall.
Potential students can apply through the Ontario Colleges website just like applying for any other program.
Although the program is geared for students with special social or intellectual challenges, Turner stressed it will be like any other, with opportunities to participate in the campus life via access to the student lounge and the chance to run for student council.
The students also will have their own class space, computers, and an integration facilitator “to support them in the classroom with tutoring, modified assignments, note-taking, anything like that,” added Turner.
“Also, the smaller class size allows students to work closely with the integration facilitator and their instructors, ensuring each student gets the support they need to succeed in the program.”
Turner said the students will have a mix of the core CICE courses, but also get the opportunity to choose courses from different programs to try out, along with different work placements over the course of their studies.
“They really get to choose what kind of program they want to go into-they are not stuck in one program, it’s like a sampler,” Turner explained, adding they may start with culinary studies one semester and then decide to go into business the next.
The admission process already has started but Turner said it’s not too late to apply and spots are still open.
“We are very excited about the program here,” she enthused. “And I think it is going to be a very great thing for the community.”
Without this program, Turner said students looking for this opportunity would have to relocate to Thunder Bay and be away from family and other social supports that would help them succeed.
Here in Fort Frances, they gain the benefits of a smaller campus and smaller class sizes.
“They are finding that students that need a little bit more of the social support, and it can be intimidating going to a big campus like that, when they have that integration facilitator and those other students that in that same kind of program, it’s really helpful to transition them into college life,” Turner noted.
“It is definitely not too late to apply for this program for this year,” she added.
“But we encourage people to apply soon so they can make plans to start in September.”
Turner said anyone wishing to learn more about the program, or who needs help applying, can contact her at 274-5395 ext. 4813 or via e-mail at Sandra.Turner@confederationc.on.ca
You also can drop by the local campus (located adjacent to Fort Frances High School).
