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20 per cent expected to spend two years in Grade 12

BY DIANE GILHULA The double cohort, when two years of secondary school students graduate at the same time, will not be a one-year phenomenon. Its effects will be evident for the next 10 years.
BY DIANE GILHULA

The double cohort, when two years of secondary school students graduate at the same time, will not be a one-year phenomenon. Its effects will be evident for the next 10 years.

This is what a group of students and parents were told at an information session Tuesday evening at St. Charles College, sponsored by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

The session was intended for senior students applying to college and university for September 2003.

The final class of students from OAC (formerly known as Grade 13) will graduate this June and will be competing for university and college places with the Grade 12 graduating class.

The Ontario government is committed to providing post-secondary places for each of the 89,000 eligible Grade 12 and OAC students, but there will be a shortage of spaces in some courses.

Students were told to expect fierce competition to get into all professional programs such as nursing and physiotherapy as well as Laurentian University?s sports administration program.

Maurizio Visentin, a guidance councillor at St. Benedict?s School, said it is unlikely that there will be double the enrolment at colleges and universities in 2003. This is because not all eligible students will go on to college and universities next fall.

Some students, about 20 per cent, are expected to take the final year of high school over five years instead of four.

He said these predictions have been borne out at St. Benedict?s where an internal survey shows 20 per cent of its Grade 12 students intend to return to high school next fall.

These students will be returning to take an extra year to complete the required 30 credits, to do more subjects, and to improve their marks by re-doing courses.

OAC students have had five years to complete the required 30 credits.

The fall if 2003 is expected to be a ?bottleneck,? said Visentin. But there could be more years of ?enhanced enrolment? till at least 2013

Students and parents are being advised to deal with the stress of the double cohort in various ways. It is very important that students this year have a ?wish list? that includes alternative programs at several universities in case plan A or B falls through.

Visentin told the audience, students are also advised to apply to schools outside of Ontario.

Rather than continuing their education directly out of high school, some young people may opt to travel or work for a year, he said.

These are some of the many factors contributing to the ?enhanced? or increased enrollment over the next 10 years.

The job outlook is also looking very poor for those who do not have a college diploma or university degree. It is expected that more and more students will be going to post secondary institutions as fewer jobs will be open to young people without post secondary education.

A 70 per cent average will give students admission to arts and sciences programs at Laurentian University this fall, said Charles Fink, who is manager, liaison services at the university.

Fink told parents that students from Sudbury did get preferential treatment.

Fink also said it is going to require a higher average, due to the double cohort, to get into the sports administration, sports psychology, nursing, midwifery and other professional programs at LU.


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