Enrolment up at some northeastern Ontario colleges

Colleges across northeastern Ontario are reporting a small increase in student enrolment his year.

Officials at Canadore College, Sault College and Northern College are all reporting an increase in student numbers in the range of one to two percent. Fred Gibbons, president of Northern College, says each year programs are reviewed and some are suspended because of market demand and to ensure students will get work placement in the community.

"Artificially, numbers can appear to be lower because of programs that we've chosen not to run in a given year. However, not withstanding, we're showing a bit of growth over last year," Fred Gibbons,

Canadore College in North Bay is projecting an increase of between one and two percent despite a decrease in students they experienced last year.

"We have been evolving and changing our program mix and so we are striving to have these modest increases that are sustainable at the college," said  Shawn Chorney, vice-president of enrolment management.

However, Cambrian College in Sudbury is predicting its number will stay the same.

"We had some changes to our program mix, as a result, you know, we adjusted our projections accordingly," said Adam Dusome, Cambrian College’s registrar.

Dusome says some programs have been suspended and a few others have been added, but at least nine are no longer offered.

All college officials say concrete numbers will be available toward the end of September once student registration is complete.