'We just want to be a world-class college,' says NSCC president as college looks to the future

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

As assemblage officials crossed the state proceed to enactment done what the fallout of Bill 12 means for them, the president of the Nova Scotia Community College knows what it does not mean for his institution.

"We person nary aspirations to go a university," Don Bureaux said successful a caller interview.

"We conscionable privation to beryllium a world-class college."

Although overmuch of the attraction Bill 12 — An Act Respecting Advanced Education and Research — received arsenic it was being debated astatine Province House centred connected its ramifications for the province's 10 universities, the measure besides made changes to Research Nova Scotia and the Community Colleges Act, the second of which governs the NSCC.

Those changes see giving the liable furniture curate the powerfulness to springiness binding directions to the NSCC committee respecting policies, programs of survey and services, and property, gross and concern affairs of the college.

Changes not a surprise

Bureaux said nary of that caught him oregon anyone other astatine NSCC by astonishment due to the fact that of conversations they were having with authorities officials successful the lead-up to the Progressive Conservatives introducing Bill 12 this past winter.

"Quite frankly, galore of the changes that impact our enactment were housekeeping," helium said.

"We were operating nether those rules of engagement anyway."

To observers, possibly the biggest alteration successful Bill 12 for NSCC is the quality to assistance undergraduate degrees if authorized by the provincial furniture and definite criteria are met.

Bureaux said it's becoming much communal for colleges crossed the state to assistance degrees, but if it happens astatine NSCC, it would beryllium focused connected workplace-driven needs and done successful a mode that does not chopped into the enactment already happening astatine universities.

• N.S. authorities outlines precedence areas for probe funding

• Academic leaders condemn Bill 12 as menace to assemblage autonomy

He gave examples of degrees related to precocious manufacturing, mining operations and the water assemblage arsenic immoderate of the offerings astatine different colleges.

"For the astir part, they're precise applied degrees that are conducive and aligned with the applied learning environments that beryllium astatine colleges," said Bureaux, adding that conversations astatine NSCC astir what could beryllium offered determination are lone conscionable beginning.

"Right present there's nary definitive plans arsenic to what degrees we'd connection and we'd privation to beryllium precise alert of the 10 universities successful this state that we enactment precise intimately with — that bash a large occupation — to marque definite that we're adding and not duplicating oregon competing with the pre-existing degrees that are successful the province."

Even without adding degrees to the college's offerings, determination are yearly reviews to guarantee the programs that are disposable conscionable the needs of students and the state much broadly.

Always evaluating programme offerings

Officials astatine NSCC precocious announced the euphony concern programme would beryllium placed connected clasp and respective campuses volition not connection the concern medication diploma programme successful the coming semester. In some cases, debased enrolment was a driving origin successful the decision.

"We marque definite that we person programs that students privation to enrol in, that the system needs successful presumption of workforce improvement and that those jobs are contributing to the priorities of the state of Nova Scotia successful presumption of wherever the system oregon nine is going," said Bureaux.

In caller years, that's meant a "dramatic increase" successful request for grooming successful the health-care and skilled trades sectors. Bureaux said students are coming to NSCC with the anticipation that erstwhile they implicit their grooming determination volition beryllium a bully occupation waiting for them successful Nova Scotia.

The provincial authorities has called connected the assemblage periodically to summation opportunities for programs specified arsenic continuing attraction assistants, aboriginal puerility acquisition and successful the operation trades to conscionable pressing employment needs successful the province.

Bureaux said the determining origin successful whether those programs tin accommodate much radical comes down to a operation of disposable space, module and, successful the lawsuit of skilled trades, disposable apprenticeship agreements.

In immoderate cases, programme enlargement tin beryllium accommodated done creativity.

Some semipermanent attraction facilities that request workers person partnered with the assemblage to supply learning abstraction for students who could spell connected to go aboriginal employees.

"They really tin beryllium grooming connected tract with dedicated classrooms astatine their facilities that would let for that integrated learning to happen," said Bureaux.