TIMMINS, ON: Northern College is pleased to welcome an impressive cohort of students, many of whom will be studying in hybrid delivery methods this Fall, with on-site applied experience being taught in labs, shops, and classroom spaces, while some theory will be taking place through distance delivery, as the College returns to what it is calling a “new normal.”

One of the learners joining the ranks of College student is Ben Hatton. A resident of Iroquois Falls, Ben won a grand total of 17 awards when graduating from Iroquois Falls Secondary School this past June, and has chosen Northern as his post-secondary destination. Hatton is currently enrolled in the Motive Power Technician program at the Timmins Campus stating he has a passion for cars.

“I chose Northern for a few reasons. The first reason is that attending Northern meant that I could stay at home and in my community. I also chose Northern because one of my friends is currently attending and has shared nothing but positive things about his experience,” said Hatton about his choice of colleges.

Among his many awards, Ben has won one of the College’s Board of Governors Entrance Scholarships. This year, 30 of these entrance scholarships, valued at $1,000 each, were given out to students graduating from high school students or an adult education center across our region, totaling a monetary value of $30,000 in awards.

“It was our intention to further support students in the region who we know have many choices of where to go for their post-secondary education,” said Doug Walsh, Chair of the Northern College Board of Governors. We are pleased to see that high school students like Ben, who have been recognized for high achievement at the high school level, are continuing their education and doing so with us.”

“It is our goal to incent leaders like Ben by offering this scholarship that they will choose to study, stay and work in the North to build future workforce capacity and sustainable communities. We congratulate each of these students, thank them for choosing to study at Northern, and wish them well in the next leg of their journey – studies at the College in the post-secondary or at apprenticeship level,” added Walsh.

“The trend we are seeing is growth for our organization, which is both exciting and promising to see for the region,” said Dr. Audrey J. Penner, President and CEO of Northern College, of this year’s application and enrolment numbers. “Those living in the area like Ben from Iroquois Falls are considering staying local more and more as a result of both the high quality of the education we offer as well as the ability to stay safe and be surrounded by a strong and established support system here,” she stated.
While the College is noting higher enrolment from those in the region, it is also noticing a growing number of learners wanting to get out of high population density areas such as larger urban cities as they begin to travel North.

“We are seeing that migration from the southern area of the province to the North is happening as a result of the pandemic over the past year and a half, and the physical distancing and quality of life we can provide here in the North, where there is literally more room to expand, spread out, grow and be, whether that be in the classrooms, on the campuses, in communities and in nature. This is allowing folks to breathe easier about rates of infection and risks of contracting Covid,” added Penner. “We call that as added benefit as part of the Northern Experience,” she stated.

The College is also one of the few in the system who has been selected to participate in the rapid antigen swabbing pilot which allows anyone who suspects they may have Covid due to sniffling or feeling under the weather, to quickly swab the inside of their noses to check their status. This is coupled with an electronic pre-screening free tool called iCent for students and employees. Visitors from the public as asked not to come on campus to further protect transmission of Covid-19, as it helps keep numbers down.

Northern’s suite of Emergency Services Programs rank amongst the highest area of enrolment growth for the College, seeing a 24 per cent increase in students for the fall 2021 semester. Trades and Technology saw 13 per cent growth, with Northern’s welding programs are witnessing 16 per cent growth.

To support these students, the College has launched a new Scholarship, Bursary and Award (SBA) application portal that will be open for the first three weeks of classes to allow students to qualify for an even greater amount of financial support.

“We know that financial support is one of the highest indicators of the ability to complete one’s College certificate, diploma or degree,” says Penner, “and that Northern boasts one of the highest ratios of scholarships per student, including entrance awards like the one Ben has won. With our new, more inclusive and intuitive student award application platform, we are anticipating that an even greater number of students will be able to access these financial incentives.”

Students cite financial support as a key factor for success, as it allows them to concentrate on their studies more, work at their part-time job less, and not stress as much about how to pay rent, groceries or utilities while studying.

Because of the high performance of its endowment portfolios this past year, the College decided to increase the number of scholarships, bursaries and awards it distributed, awarding over $700,000 this past year, along with other student financial supports, such as redirected the Covid assistance it received from the government in 2020 to each of its full-time students.

“I feel really good about my decision to attend Northern, and am excited to begin my studies,” said Ben about the new school year.

There is still time to apply for some of Northern College programs and space in some classes.

Other recipients of this year’s Board of Governors Entrance Scholarship to Northern College include graduates from the following 18 high schools or adult education centers in the region.

Ecole Catholique Noveau Regard (Cochrane)
Ecole Secondaire Cochrane Highschool (Cochrane)
Iroquois Falls Secondary School (Iroquois Falls)
Ecole Secondaire Catholique L’Alliance (Iroquois Falls)
Kirkland Lake District Composite School (Kirkland Lake)
Ecole Secondaire Catholique Sainte-Marie (New Liskeard)
Timiskaming District Secondary School (New Liskeard)
Roland Michener Secondary School (Timmins)
O’Gorman High School (Timmins)
P.A.C.E. Centre (Timmins)
Ecole Secondaire Catholique Theriault (Timmins)
Ecole Secondaire Publique Renaissance (Timmins)
La Clef (Timmins)
Timmins High & Vocational School (Timmins)
Ecole Secondaire L’Envolee du Nord (Kirkland Lake)
Ecole Catholique Georges – Vanier (Smooth Rock Falls)
Centre d’Education des Adultes (New Liskeard)

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