Study to establish a "virtual" university to serve northeastern Ontario region
The new Northern Ontario School of Medicine (http://www.normed.ca) early beginnings talked about having a virtual campus in each community across this vast region. Now the faculty and students all work out of Thunder Bay and Sudbury except for the traditional community learning experiences for those who will venture outside of these comfortable urban environments. Maybe the proposed Ontario Northeast University (ONE-U) will get it right and actually invest in staff and facilities in the remote communities.
From http://www.timminspress.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentID=27753&catname=Local+News
New university planned for the North
By Trevor Terfloth - Timmins Daily Press - Friday, April 21, 2006
Higher learning for the North received a boost Thursday, with several organizations joining forces to help make the dream a reality.
The Ontario Northeast University (ONE U) project officially kicked off, with a mission to make innovative education available to the region’s population of more than 110,000 people.
Dave McGirr, president of the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC), said this area of the province has much to gain.
“This regional project will help enhance post-secondary educational opportunities, increase training, and sustain the population throughout Northeastern Ontario,” he said. “We look forward to working together with our regional partners in order to develop this initiative. ”
The TEDC is sponsoring the steering committee that will determine the feasibility of such an endeavour. Planned Approach Inc. will conduct the study.
When completed, ONE U would serve the District of Cochrane, the James Bay Coast, and Northern portions of the Temiskaming and Sudbury districts.
The concept is a decentralized university initially, using telecommunications links to meet the needs of each community. It would utilize existing resources and establish partnerships with Northern university and college programs.
Esko Vainio, committee chairman, said it isn’t a brand-new idea, however, he admits it promises to be a challenge worth taking.
“It’s been in the works for several years, but it’s obviously come to fruition now,” he said. “We’re ready to go with a needs analysis in order to look at ways we can deliver university education to this part of Ontario.”
A recent Porcupine Health Unit profile showed only 10.2 per cent of the population in this jurisdiction aged 20 and over had a full or partial degree, compared to 26.3 per cent for the rest of the province.
The ONE U study will also evaluate the requirements of stay-at-home parents, workers and entrepreneurs who might be unable to obtain a university education otherwise.
Northern francophones already have a similar model through the Universitie de Hearst, which has campuses in Timmins and Kapuskasing.
Vainio said today’s technology allows a school to do things that couldn’t even be imagined in the past.
The committee has short-, medium- and long-term plans for ONE U, he said.
“We need to do it in various steps,” he said. “There’s a lot of possibilities.”
A public-needs assessment survey will soon be released and the committee urges all residents to respond with their needs and desires for university education.