Medicine Hat College adding two new programs to Brooks campus

“We had a campus that had been under utilized for a few years,” said Henning. “And, we knew that it was going to need to be moved to a stance of being sustainable and meeting those needs.”

The new programs will be in the fields of social work and health care, and will involve a mixture of in-person and online classes.

The social work diploma will be for students working full-time jobs during the week, with face-to-face classes on alternating weekends and the option for online classes for elective courses.

Interim Vice-President of Academic Dr. Sandy Vanderburgh said this move will help ease strain on the main campus, while providing flexibility for Brooks students.

“We have wait lists here currently at this campus, we’re drawing students from that region down to Medicine Hat. So, we’re going to be launching that in a mixed-delivery format on Friday nights, Saturday, and online format.”

Enrolment at Medicine Hat College for the 2017-18 school year is around 8,000 students, though the Brooks location boasts less than 300 students or less than four-percent of the overall population.

According to Vanderburgh, it’s necessary for the College to keep up with how students are learning in 2017.

“Students are not traditional learners anymore in terms of they have work, they have families,” he said. “For us, [it’s] just giving those opportunities to let them access programming at times and places when they can do it, not so much when we schedule it.”

Students in the social work program will be able to earn a diploma in two and a half years, while there is no timetable for the health care aide program, which will see the curriculum set by Alberta Health Services.

The health care program will return to Brooks after a multi-year absence, due in part to the overwhelming demand for health care workers in Alberta.

“We have a lot of medical needs and other needs that come around aging and wellness,” she said. “As well, health care is always going to be a major emphasis in all the work that we do.”

As part of the Brooks campus revitalization, Vanderburgh said they’ll also be offering courses to local high school students.

“We’re looking at, in the new year, at dual-credit opportunities with the local school districts.”

Members of the College will be meeting with the Grasslands School District in January to iron out more details regarding college credit courses for high school students.

By establishing partnerships with local stakeholders, Henning added it’s a good fit for improving education in Brooks.

“It meets the needs of the learner, it meets the needs of the community and the communities that we serve.”

Both courses at the Brooks campus will be ready in time for the fall of 2018.

by Scott Roblin

Medicine Hat College adding two new programs to Brooks campus

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