Importance of UNBSJ - Part 2
Humility has never been one of my strengths. Maybe this is why I think having university students in a community is good. I took business and economics at UNB Saint John and was part of the co-op program.
I worked in Saint John as a business co-op student and tried to bring what I was learning in my classes along with a young person's perspective to the companies I worked for. One of my co-op employers was Enterprise Saint John. ESJ often draws from UNBSJ students and NBCC students to compliment its full time staff. Without strong business programs in the region ESJ and Enterprise Charlotte will not be able to attract as many students interested in advancing their communities to work at supporting business initiatives.
Similarly, companies like Moosehead will likely attract fewer qualified interns without business programs in the area.
University students in Saint John also contribute to cultural and charitable ventures ( I believe the current SRC president at UNBSJ is heavily involved in Pro Kids and I know of a recent grad that did a lot of work at the Saint John Arts Centre).
Perhaps polytech students will work well in the community. Perhaps university students from other areas will fill skill gaps during work terms. However, there is far more certainty that students from the existing UNBSJ system do and will fill this roles.
---Edit---
Here are two more examples from my experience. First, for a fourth year business class (that would not presumably be offered at a polytechnic) I was able to write a business plan for a non-profit group that acted based on the plan and has received a lot of good press since that time. Second, for an upper level economics course I completed an economic impact assessment for a local secondary school to help in its administrative efforts. I can't picture these two projects being completed by students going to schools outside of the city.
2 comments:
Polytechnics Do offer 'fourth year business courses', they offer everything that universities do. In fact, most polytechnics include the word 'university' in there somewhere. The two guys who wrote the report even admitted that its too bad they picked that word, since the problem seems to be that its so new that New Brunswickers completely misunderstand what it is.
The only real debate, I would think, would be as to whether some of the programs at the school would be discontinued. That would include things like GED and High School training, and stuff like roofing and painting.
However, many universities are already spreading into 'general interest' areas-anything to make a buck. But go look at the comm college calendar. Many of the programs are already university accredited courses and programs.
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