Saskatoon School of Horticulture ordered to cease operations

The Saskatchewan government announced on Wednesday it will not be renewing the registration of a school in Saskatoon.

According to David Boehm with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education, the Saskatoon School of Horticulture violated the rules that govern private vocational schools in the province and demonstrated a pattern of non-compliance with regulations.

Boehm said there have been a number of formal student complaints about the school, including three in July.

“Students raising concerns about their classroom experience,” he said. “Perhaps not being consistent with what was described in the program syllabus or what was on the website.”

Taylor Burnett attended the school in 2018, but left after just one year after feeling dissatisfied with her studies.

“Something was amiss, it just wasn’t as professional and what we had hoped for and what we had paid for,” she said.

Boehm said in the last two years, the ministry has been trying to help the school make changes.

“We made a concerted effort to work with the school to make sure they understand what the concerns were, to make sure they had an opportunity to change their programming and change their delivery,” he said.

WATCH (June 2019): Saskatoon Public Schools eliminating positions due to funding shortfall

1:35 Saskatoon Public Schools eliminating positions due to funding shortfall

The measure prevents the school from accepting new students, and current students are unable to apply for student loans, officials said.

The Saskatoon School of Horticulture issued this statement: “we adamantly disagree with the decision and will be taking further steps to refute this decision as it does not reflect in any way the value of the education at this post-secondary college.”

Boehm said they have not refused to renew a licence in the last 10 years in Saskatchewan.

“We do not take these situations lightly,” he said. “We recognize that this will have a major impact on the students involved but we do have protocols in place to reach out to work with each of the students and help to path find them other opportunities.”

Burnett said, unfortunately, this closure didn’t come soon enough and she cautions other post-secondary students to do their research about the school they’re planning to attend.

“Get your information first,” she said. “Go online, look at the reviews, and talk to as many teachers as you can talk to any previous students.”

The ministry said it will contact those affected this week and try to minimize the impact on students.