Sask. Polytech programs switch cities, students question path forward

Students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic are dismayed by sudden relocations of programs at the post-secondary institution. Keenan Sorokan reports.

Students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic are dismayed by sudden relocations of programs at the post-secondary institution.

Late last month, students in the electronic systems engineering technology program were sent an email saying the program would move from the Saskatoon campus to Regina at the start of the next school year in August.

Now, students like Alex Loewen who are halfway through the two-year program are having to choose between education and their families.

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“I have two kids under ten — a six-year-old and an eight-year-old, and a wife with a career and a house and a family and established life in Saskatoon. And moving, without warning, to Regina, is not an option,” he said.

The Instrumentation program in Moose Jaw will also move to Saskatoon as part of the changes.

Loewen and fellow student Timothy Carlow say the changes came as a shock and have far-reaching impacts, since many students in their program are not teenagers fresh out of high school.

Loewen was laid off from the University of Saskatchewan when budget shortfalls there forced him to find a new job. As a man in his late thirties, he ultimately landed on the ESET program because it’s offered in Saskatoon and good job prospects.

Carlow was an automotive mechanic before a workplace injury forced him to leave that career behind and search elsewhere.

Many other students have had to rely on family supports to make ends meet, he said.

“A lot of our classmates have had to move back home with their parents to be able to afford to do this, as is. And those support systems, both financially and emotionally, are not available,” said Carlow.

“So it has both a cost effect where you’re going to have to break leases or find alternative accommodations down there, but also the emotional aspect in your relationships.”

The changes will affect roughly 100 students when implemented. It’s the latest operational change after successive rounds of layoffs over the last 18 months.

Last week, 23 employees were laid off after more than 100 employees were laid off last year.

With so much change happening in a short period of time, confidence in the institution is waning for people working across the province. Now with programs moving, the faculty association fears longtime, foundational instructors won’t move across the province with their respective programs.

“I’m really concerned that the institutional loss of knowledge if these generational instructors decide not to go with the program,” said Michelle Downton, the president of the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Faculty Association.

“I’m concerned about the sustainability of teaching these important courses that support the economic prosperity of our province.”

Carlow and Loewen said polytechnic administrators blamed the decision on a government mandate in a meeting with students shortly after the announcement.

They say the school dismissed any solutions pitched during the meeting and told students all other alternatives had already been explored and online classes were not an option for the hands-on learning required for the program.

The Ministry of Advanced Education told CTV News that Saskatchewan Polytechnic operates as an autonomous institution, making its own decisions related to staffing and program delivery.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic declined to answer any questions, and said “comprehensive supports are available to ensure students receive the guidance and resources they need during this transition.”

Downton fears decisions like this will turn more students away from campuses and turn more instructors back to industry.

“I always remain optimistic about the future of Sask. Polytechnic, but I do think there are choices that are being made that may have unintended consequences,” she said.

For Loewen, this 250-kilometre rug-pull will be the end of his education.

“I have to choose between finishing my education and staying with my family,” he said.