More than 2,000 Algonquin College students receive tuition refunds after strike

Algonquin College has provided rebates to 2,063 students who withdrew from programs after a five-week strike cut into their semester.

Ontario's Ministry of Advanced Education confirmed Tuesday that nearly 25,700 — or 10.3 per cent of Ontario's roughly 250,000 full-time Ontario college students — asked for, and received, their money back after the strike.

Minister Deb Matthews said those figures are still preliminary and could change as further numbers are reported by Ontario's 24 colleges.

Algonquin college issued a statement on Tuesday it is working with students who want to re-start their semester —
"whether in the current academic year or beyond."

Only 25 per cent of the 2,063 Algonquin students who withdrew said they are interested in returning the following semester, the school said.

Teachers at the colleges walked off the job on Oct. 16 over a number of issues, including salary, benefits, measures to address concerns affecting part-time workers and faculty's ability to make decisions as to how they teach their courses.

Talks between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the College Employer Council repeatedly failed to make any progress and the province passed back to work legislation to end the job action in November.