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<\/a>A second Camosun faculty member\u2014also speaking on condition of anonymity\u2014adds that students\u2019 lack of information results in unsatisfactory class selection.<\/p>\n
\u201c[T]hat ability to make an informed choice about which course you want to put your time and energy and passion into, I think, is really stripped away… which I think is really unfair for a student,\u201d says the second faculty member.<\/p>\n
Camosun registrar Scott Harris acknowledges that students should be well-informed before selecting classes. He says, for this reason, Camosun has created new tools for students to better verse themselves in class syllabi, a consolidation of all historical course outlines and syllabi available on Camosun\u2019s website. Additionally, the college is working on further assistance to better define academic information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other thing that we\u2019re doing to help students make informed decisions is, especially for those students who are in open programs like University Transfer, that aren\u2019t as prescribed as another program, like a Nursing program, for example, we are finalizing recommended study pathways to bring real clarity to those open programs and make it easier for students to select courses that fit with their aspirations and that they\u2019ll actually able to be transferrable to other institutions depending on their goal,\u201d says Harris.<\/p>\n
The first faculty member says that a lowered 80-percent refund has the potential to cause long-term consequences, limiting students from registration. They say this disadvantages marginalized students to a greater extent.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcademics is, as we know, fundamentally entangled with privilege and finance expenses. And so reducing, taking away that 20 percent of tuition, if the course is something like $460… is a significant amount of money, which could affect the student\u2019s ability to take another course in the future. So they might not be moving laterally within Camosun, they might be fully dropping the course from that semester course load and then losing out on that 20 percent. In the long term, if that happens more than once, that can be a significant amount of money that they\u2019re losing that they could be using toward tuition in the future, toward their program, other courses, whatever the case may be,\u201d they say. \u201cThat is my personal concern for students because tuition is increasing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris says Camosun considered financial concerns, and as a result ensured the policy features broad financial criteria, such as students applying for financial aid, students with sponsorships, and students with tuition of less than $250. However, Harris stresses student accountability and making attentive decisions for themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201c[W]e\u2019re really trying to give our students agency as adults to make informed decisions… We want students to make purposeful decisions as early as humanly possible so that what they\u2019re taking actually aligns with their future academic or career goals. And so there\u2019s a number of ways that that can happen,\u201d says Harris. \u201cIf they\u2019re in an open sort of enrolment program like University Transfer and they\u2019re not sure, I would highly encourage those students to be working with an academic advisor, because not only will the academic advisor help them choose the right courses that can transfer, but they also might have some of that additional context about which instructors might suit their learning style the most, et cetera.\u201d<\/p>\n
As well, the first faculty member is concerned that the policy unequally impacts neurodivergent students who may face a wider range of repercussions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we take into consideration a student who may have some neurodivergence, which is something that we see a lot at Camosun… If a student realizes that by the second or third day that they\u2019ve sat in that class, this does not work for them, then it can affect not only their ability to either drop the course or to take another course, but affects their anxiety levels, their ability to even learn the material,\u201d they say. \u201cSo there are a lot of different ways that it can affect a variety of students\u2019 learning approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris emphasizes the available support resources for neurodivergent students and students registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL), saying utilizing these tools can alleviate difficulty in the classroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut [CAL counsellors, academic advisors] are all things that need to occur sort of before the beginning of the term anyways,\u201d he says. \u201cSo the earlier students can be engaging with those support resources to make good, informed decisions, I think the better.\u201d<\/p>\n The first faculty member feels that Camosun\u2019s policy is exclusively explained in overly technical language, resulting in ill-informed students. They argue that information is unfairly inaccessible for young Camosun students and students returning to education after several years.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this policy, because it\u2019s not explained anywhere, it is in the academic calendar, buried under really technical language that even I had to… really tease apart carefully to understand what the implications are. So I think this policy is capitalizing on students\u2019 lack of awareness of tuition policies rather than actually fulfilling the values that the college claims to have for students and supporting its students,\u201d they say. \u201cI think it\u2019s doing the opposite, and I think that\u2019s really against the ethics of a huge swath of folks who are working and teaching [at Camosun].\u201d<\/p>\n Harris says he believes the college over-communicates. He refutes the claim that the language is too technical, saying that communication from the college to students has been refined with technology like ChatGPT to allow information to be comprehensible at a grade-school level to be easily accessible to all incoming and returning students.<\/p>\n \u201cWe actually had [Camosun student agreements] rewritten last year. They were coming out at around a Grade 12 readability level, and so we had those redone to a Grade 7 or 8 readability level. So we\u2019re very mindful of that. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re ignoring those students. We\u2019re definitely trying to be extra proactive with those students,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re working with the School of Access to make sure the right kinds of information gets communicated out to the learners based on their expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n Both faculty members would like to see a change in the deadline policy that includes more freedom for students\u2019 flexibility and is more focused on learning and less on the college\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n \u201cWith inflation and with this policy change in the add\/drop, that hugely affects students\u2019 ability to be a part of Camosun College,\u201d says the first faculty member. \u201cAt the expense of students\u2019 ability to enrol, maybe long term or in a consistent way… It\u2019s making students bear the brunt of Camosun\u2019s need to balance the budget and to maintain the bottom line. I think that really goes against the general mission of a community college at large.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris confirms that the policy change was made in part to combat financial loss. He says that while the previous policy had benefits, it was no longer feasible.<\/p>\n \u201cThis change also brought us in line… We were the only college in British Columbia that had a 100-percent refund after the start of the term, and it just wasn\u2019t fiscally sustainable for the college. We\u2019re trying to ensure that Camosun is here in 50, 100 years. And so we\u2019re trying to make sure that we\u2019re being as fair as possible while also ensuring that the college is sustainable. Every time a student registers in a course and holds that seat into the term, there\u2019s fixed costs associated with that and that won\u2019t always be able to be backfilled by another waiting learner,\u201d says Harris. \u201cSo that\u2019s why we landed on the 80-percent refund, which is also one of the highest in the province.\u201d<\/p>\n The first faculty member recognizes Camosun\u2019s effort to support students. However, they hope to see a change in the deadline policy to further that support.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is important to note this, that fundamentally, I\u2019m not against Camosun itself. I think Camosun does excellent work at supporting students,\u201d they say. \u201cI have met some of the most dedicated instructors and student support staff here… The issue is with the policy and the priority of balancing the books rather than stewarding the students and taking care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n