Fleming College says 743 full-time students have withdrawn from classes as of Dec. 5 from its campuses in Peterborough, Lindsay, Haliburton and Cobourg.
“Representing about 12 per cent of full-time student enrolment,” said Fleming spokesperson Laura Copeland.
Ontario college faculty went on strike for five weeks until the province passed back-work-legislation in November.
Eighty-one per cent of the withdrawals at Fleming are first semester students, Copeland said
“In a typical year, 20 per cent of students withdraw from classes between first and second semester,” she said. “We are currently at 18 per cent for both strike-related and non-strike-related withdrawals.”
Because of the labour dispute, Fleming’s first semester will now end on Jan. 8 as opposed to Dec. 15.
“We are expecting a large number of students will re-start their program (or change to another Fleming program) in January or September,” said Copeland.
Students had until Dec. 5 to apply for a tuition refund. Final provincial numbers have yet to be released.
Fleming is also trying to assist students with a number of services including a child-minding service from Dec. 11 – Dec. 22 and children’s day camps from Jan. 2 – Jan. 5.
The college’s housing department is also helping students who live off campus acquire housing due to the re-jigged academic schedule, in particular for international students.
Fleming offers online resources for off-campus housing that is available for landlords as well as students through places4students.com. Fleming also provides resources and support for current and new landlords.
“This is a great opportunity for community members that have rented to students in the past or have been thinking about renting,” said Kelsey Doherty, off-campus housing co-ordinator. ” We encourage you to get in touch with us to learn more.”