Confederation College is seeing a huge increase in the demand for distance education.
President Kathleen Lynch says virtual learning is up 72% this year.
Lynch says the ongoing shutdowns have actually been a blessing in disguise.
“We know now we can offer more programming across the region, and we plan to do that next Fall. You can look forward to some new programming because things that people didn’t think were possible, now we know now are possible virtually,” says Lynch.
Lynch says their team tries to shape programming to meet individual community needs.
One course they are looking at is an online Personal Support Worker program. Lynch notes there is a shortage of PSW workers across Ontario, including in the northwestern.
Lynch says the change in learning has come at a limited cost.
“We have used our existing learning platforms and existing infrastructure to do our distance education. And we continue to offer more programming through our distance education. So a lot of people like the flexibility there.”
