FNUC Disputes Reported Decline In Enrolment

FNUC Disputes Reported Decline In Enrolment

Monday, September 17, 2007 at 16:08

 

 

An official with the First Nations University of Canada is disputing a report that says enrolment is significantly down at the school.

 

In a report on CBC Radio last week, statistics supplied by the University of Regina suggested enrolment at the FNUC had dropped by roughly 400 students over the past three years.

 

FNUC vice-president Al Ducharme says that’s not true.

 

He claims the enrolment figure for the school this year is 1,120 — 70 fewer than last year — a drop Ducharme calls “minor”.

 

He says there there’s no reason for alarm, and says that kind of decrease is in line with what the province’s two other universities have experienced in recent years.

 

Ducharme says the drop is being felt mainly at the Saskatoon campus, while enrollment in Regina and Prince Albert is steady.

 

Meanwhile, Ducharme says his school plans to sit down with Indian Affairs this Thursday to talk about ways of addressing the institution’s $1-million operating deficit.

 

Ducharme says the FNUC hopes it can one day lobby directly with the provincial government when it comes to its funding allocation, like other universities, and not have to go through Indian Affairs.