Tag: Keyano College

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Economic Ft Mac

Budget Cuts at Least Partially Responsible for Resignation of Keyano College President Kevin Nagel

The Keyano College president and CEO, Kevin Nagel, has resigned and the resignation is at least in part over budget cuts and financial struggles. Nagel took the position of president at the college in 2011, and the decision to resign was made after careful consideration. The Board of Governors received Nagel’s resignation last Monday. A press release by Kara Flynn, the board chair, stated “The Board of Governors would like to thank Dr. Nagel for his contributions to the College and the wider region. (We) wish Dr. Nagel well in his future endeavours.” The college has seen declining revenues as oil prices have dropped in recent years, because industry training services n longer have the same demand that they did just a few years ago and fewer people training for lucrative oil industry jobs.

Forecasts for revenue at Keyano College have declined by 20% over the last two years. During a recent Friday Board of Governors meeting the school discussed goals and set a spending reduction. The goal is to cut spending back to $68 million instead of the amount of $81 million that was spent last year. Nagel quickly came to the defense of the financial approach that the college has taken when he gave an interview to Today, an interview that occurred just a few days before Nagel tendered his resignation. In the middle of 2015 Keyano College let 21 staff go and cut out 12 programs that were previously offered because of the struggling economy and low oil prices, and further cuts have been needed so the college can stay financially stable.

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Economic Entertainment Ft Mac

Fundraising Gala by Keyano College Raised More Than $300,000

Keyano College, fundraising

An annual high class fundraising gala by Keyano College has managed to raise $320,000, but this is less than what the event has drawn in on previous years. Last year the gala drew in a little over $400,000, and in 2011 over $500,000 was raised for the event. The foundation behind the event has said that the results were impressive in spite of being less than years past. Keyano College Foundation board vice-chair Tony Mankowski issued a press release that included the following statement “The tremendous support we have received is an important reminder of how generous our community is, even during difficult times.” The release also stated “I would like to thank all our partners, donors, and friends for supporting Gala. Their commitment to Gala, and to the activities of the Foundation year round, is an important investment in the future of our community, as Keyano graduates go on to become nurses in our hospital, teachers in our schools, and trades people at site.”

The proceeds from the event will go to the Keyano College Foundation. According to the foundation money raised will be utilized in order to “support students, programming, athletics, theatre, and infrastructure improvements at the College.” Keyano College vice president of external relations Therese Greenwood explained “We’re very happy with the results, and the key number for us (is) that 90% of our sponsors stayed with us this year. What that shows it that the community remains committed to Keyano College.” The headlining act at the event was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a Grammy award winning group from the USA . The individual ticket price was $350 and there was also fundraising through auctions and corporate and industry sponsorships. More than 1,000 people showed up for the gala.

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Campus Redesign Plan for Keyano College Sees Time Line Changes

campus redesign, Keyano College

Keyano College’s aggressive campus redesign plan is being put on hold at the moment because of struggling economy and future uncertainty surrounding the region. The plan, the Campus Development Master Plan, was very ambitious and included redeveloping a majority of the college campus by the year 2020, but that is no longer the case and things have stalled at this point. Matthew Harrison, the spokesperson for Keyano College, said “The (plan) is quite ambitious. It was also completed prior to the changing economic and political landscape…with these changes, it’s safe to say that timelines have changed. We’re really in a holding pattern to see how the economy settles, and also what happens politically (in the) upcoming provincial budget.” All universities and colleges in Alberta are required to produce a master plan.

The Keyano College Master Plan with the ambitious campus redesign was last updated in 2014. The plan called for the creation of a student residence that included two towers and a modern appeal, as well as a redeveloped and redesigned quad area on the campus. Other changes were also in the plan, such as upgrades to the Suncor Energy Industrial Campus. The Clearwater campus building is also included in the master plan for Keyano College. Harrison stated “It’s hard to predict, but we’ll just have to take it one day at a time. And whether or not those projects kick into gear a few months down the line, or maybe it’s delayed a year, who knows. But that’s the good thing about the planning document — it’s something that’s flexible.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Additional Degree Programs Now Offered by Keyano College

Keyano College, degree programs

Keyano College has added two more degree programs in order to assist the local community and provide programs that are relevant in the area. This means that students can choose from 4 different degree programs now instead of the previous two. The school explained that the new programs were added to meet local demand. The new programs are the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and the Bachelor of Business Administration degrees. According to Keyano College academic affairs vice-president Catherine Koch “The employability is better with a degree level than the diploma level in our local market.” Keyano School of Arts, Science, Business, and Education Dean Guy Harmer said “We have had a diploma in Environmental Technology for a while. And all of (our advisory board) told us that they would prefer to have bachelor’s degrees.”

The advisory board of Keyano College which recommended the new degree programs is made up of industry partner representatives. This includes representatives from Syncrude, Suncor, and other oil and energy companies that operate in the area. Both of the new degree programs are offered in partnership with Alberta Universities. Harmer explained “We’ve been building this room with giant 80-inch monitors, so you’ll be able to see the professor in the class at Mount Royal and they’ll be able to see us. When you ask a question, your face fills one of the monitors…in that way, you always see whose talking, as you would in a normal classroom. We’re interested in having a set of programs that you can finish at the baccalaureate level so that you don’t have to leave town. When you’re sending people away, chances are they might not come back.”

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Economic Ft Mac

More Staff Layoffs at Keyano College

Keyano College, staff layoffs

Keyano College has announced additional staff layoffs in a second round of cuts intended to help manage expenses and stay competitive in the current economy. The Trades and Industrial Safety Certifications classes have been cut, and these cuts and staff layoffs are a response by the college to increasing financial pressure as the local economy is still in a decline. Keyano College announced the cuts and cited various reasons for the cancellations and layoffs. The classes saw a declining demand, and the college is facing shrinking revenues. The economic downturn in the region was responsible for the previous and newest cuts according to Keyano College academic vice president Catherine Koch. The college has seen declining revenues from the services that were offered to the energy industry nd industry employees, making the latest cuts the obvious choice.

The most recent staff layoffs at Keyano College included 4 instructors and a coordinator, plus 8 positions of support staff. This means that the number of employees laid off by the school since the beginning of the year now stands at 31. According to Keyano spokesperson Matthew Harrison “When you have a cut in programing, you have to also align the different services and operations that you have as a college as a whole. So we did have a reduction in staff there.” Catherine Koch also reported that the certification programs that were cut by Keyano College can be found in other places in the community. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to make a cut if we were the only provider in the region and people needed it for their jobs.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Cutbacks at Keyano College Will Affect Programs and Staff

Keyano College, cutbacks

Keyano College has been forced to cut staffing levels and programs due to the current financial situation, and a dozen academic programs and 18 staff will be cut in order to reduce costs. The programs involved will be suspended, and some may be permanently terminated. The budget issues would also cause 18 staff members to be laid off. Keyano academic vice president Catherine Koch explained “There was no choice in making these decisions. There really wasn’t. These decisions had to be made in order for us to have a budget ready.” Koch discussed provincial regulations which require that the college has a balanced annual budget. Revenue has not kept up with expenses recently, and future expenses that include raises in new collective bargaining agreements have made the cutbacks necessary.

The cutbacks at Keyano College are necessary, and they are another sign that financial difficulty has hit the area hard. Koch explained that tuition and provincial government revenues were not sufficient to fund all of the operational costs for the college so offsets had to be found. “Because (companies) are not spending money on professional development, our training revenues are down. The other revenues that we get through corporate training, and exam fees and things like that, they have fallen off significantly.” Student association president Diana Cretu “Looking at the bigger picture, and looking at potential international student tuition increases, or even mandatory non-instructional fee increases, something needed to be done. The decision to suspend low-enrollment programs comes as a better alternative for our students.”