As if getting into college isn’t hard enough, grade 12 students now face an increased number of mature student competitors. The number of college applicants this year is up 14 per cent (Source: Colleges Ontario), with a 20 per cent increase in applications from mature students. With last year’s recession, more unemployed adults turn to post-secondary education, considering it a more productive use of their time and something that will hopefully lead to a new job.
This causes concern for grade 12 students hoping to attend college in September 2010. There has been an 8.6 per cent increase in grade 12 applicants with no special consideration promised to these students. If they aren’t accepted into a college, they face a work industry with fewer jobs available and have only a high school education to post on their resume.
What might this mean for college applicants? Colleges will likely increase the cut-off mark for admission. Other admission requirements may be more demanding and colleges may expect higher quality.
There may not be an easy solution for grade 12 students desperate to get into college, but colleges recognize this issue requires their attention. Unfortunately, it will take time for colleges to find or create the space necessary to accommodate more students. Accepting more students requires more space and more teachers. And some classes, particularly upper-year labs, are best meant for a limited number of students; this means there are more students competing for a class whose size is not changing.
Colleges say they’d need more than $160 million to make the changes necessary to accommodate the enrolment increase. This number includes the cover of last year’s high enrolment, which has yet to be funded. Premier Dalton McGuinty says the government will be sensitive to this issue when designing the March budget, while Jim Wilson, Progressive Conservative critic for colleges and universities, feels the government is unprepared to resolve this problem.
There is hope. John Milloy, the minister of training, colleges and universities, points out the increase in applications is good news as colleges aim to increase student enrolment. One can only assume, then, that colleges welcome this change and will do their best to act accordingly.
Should high school students be granted precedence or do adults requiring more education deserve more attention? Perhaps this changes nothing; admissions officers should continue to select those most qualified.
By Marisa Baratta
Blog Writer 2009-2010, Change Tomorrow’s World
