Laurentian Barrie students demand fairness in program completion

BARRIE, ON, Feb. 16, 2016 /CNW/ - Students at Laurentian University's Barrie campus are demanding the school ensure all students can complete their programs on campus in light of the school's announcement that it will be closing it's satellite campus. The decision to close the campus was made by the university's Board of Governors on February 12, and Laurentian students at the Barrie campus were neither consulted about nor informed of the decision prior to it being made.

"We were shocked to learn that the university had made such a massive decision without consulting or informing students ahead of time," said Jeremy Ross, President of the Laurentian Students' Union at Barrie. "This decision negatively impacts students' academic lives and will leave many scrambling to figure out how they will finish their program before the school completely closes its doors."

Laurentian University announced that it had developed a series of academic accommodation plans to ensure students would finish their programs and graduate before the May 2019 deadline. While some students will be able to complete their degrees on time, there are still 219 students who will be forced to find alternate paths towards graduation. The university has offered to arrange online and distance courses for these students, help them move to Sudbury to complete their program at the main campus or transfer to another university, all options that damage the quality of education they will receive and uproot their personal lives.

"Laurentian University has a responsibility to all of it's students to ensure they can graduate from the program they started on the campus they started it on," said Ross. "Anything less would punish these students for decisions they never made and circumstances they cannot control. Laurentian University must commit to ensuring all students at the Barrie campus can finish their degree there."

The Laurentian Students' Union is the central students' association representing all Laurentian University students at the university's Barrie campus.

SOURCE Laurentian Students’ Union

Jeremy Ross, President, Laurentian Students' Union, [email protected] or [phone]