WWYD College son? Update 1st post

[2forMe]

What a terrible disservice to those students! If possible I'd probably encourage my student to take the tuition money to a different school. And I certainly wouldn't encourage any of my other children to attend there.

In Canada this is not really an option. The vast majority fall under provincial jurisdiction and so all colleges in the province had the educators on strike.

To the OP, it is my understanding that they are extending the semester and in the end they are looking at students missing approx 2 weeks of school overall. This might be more manageable... Depending on the program.

 

[NYCgrrl]

What a terrible disservice to those students! If possible I'd probably encourage my student to take the tuition money to a different school. And I certainly wouldn't encourage any of my other children to attend there.

The problem with that is how far into his degree he is. Easier to switch schools as a freshman when you haven't acquired many credits. Some of them frequently aren't transferable to another school even if it's in the same university.

 

[maddiel]

Colleges in Canada are not quite the same as in the US. I am assuming the OP is in Ontario where there just legislated teaching staff back after :

First, unlike in the United States, the term "college" denotes an institution that usually has a specific emphasis, such as vocational, technical or pre-collegiate education. While not entirely synonymous with American-style community colleges, the Canadian "college" is similar to this, and rarely offers a bachelor's degree. Another critical difference between Canada and the U.S. is that most Canadian universities are public institutions; in the United States, this is not the case.

I think if I were the OP, my advice to my son would depend on what particular program my son was in, what the duration of the program was, and how he was doing pre-strike. The shorter the length of the course, the more likely I would be to recommend a reboot.

In Canada this is not really an option. The vast majority fall under provincial jurisdiction and so all colleges in the province had the educators on strike.

Universities on the other hand (at least in NS/NB) have different faculty unions at each school, so their strikes are limited to particular institutions. I know a number of students who are facing a possible strike at Acadia U. in the next week. I hope they can come to an agreement before they strike.

M.

 

[luvsJack]

I am not sure how things work in Canada but if this was one of our students, I would suggest they get their money back and start again next fall.

For our students, a semester of bad grades can follow you and hurt for a long time. It's a lot harder to get that GPA up than it is to let it fall. You say he is not a strong student and that could be a lot of work in a short amount of time. There is no guarantee of leniency from the instructors and if he is in a program that each class builds in each other, they may not can be.

 

[tcufrog]

I know this is not the answer you want but I'm saying this as a former college librarian who met and informally counselled many college students. Is college the best choice for your child? Would another career path be a better fit for him? There's many other options out there other than traditional university and menial labor and one of those may be a better fit for your child.

 

[Skippy918]

That really sucks. I am surprised the school is not doing more for these students, like offering free tutoring to catch up or extending the semester over the winter break.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think if this were my son, I would encourage him to wait and start back in September. Yes, taking time off and working can end up meaning the person never wants to (or does) go back. Then again, working your tail off and then getting a demoralizigly low grade anyway can also cause that to happen (and with lowered self esteem and frustration to boot).

It sounds like, being a poor student, he needs and deserves to get the instruction being paid for. So wait until he CAN get that instruction; working in the meantime. IF it turns out he is successful in that intervneing 9 months without the degree and he doesn't wish to return in Spetember after all, maybe that just tells you he wasn't in the right place for him anyway.

And if what it means is that he is just delayed a year, so what? Life is not a race, the only fisnish line is death---no need to run towards that.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

Don't really have any advice, other than to say I would be royally peeved off if my school did that. I don't think I've ever heard of that happening. Sure they can refund, but it isn't going to make up the lost time. How frustrating!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Is he a freshman or sophomore? If the latter, how did he do last year?

Is there a Pass/Fail option for these classes?

I would be really upset with this as well.

 

[Nancyg56]

I am not sure the teachers "giving a huge pass" would be such a good thing; it could affect needed knowledge all the way through the rest of college.

I agree. I have never understood this mentality becuase it generally backfires when the students hit the next stage of their education.

OP- I am not sure I would encourage your son to power through. I returned to college later in life and was a strong student. I worked hard and I did well. My last semester my husband had a surgery on the day I was scheduled to return to classes. I had already contacted my professors and they were aware I was going to miss the first few days. Well, he had complications and I missed close to three weeks. I was taking some very difficult courses and it was a dog to catch up. I did, in all but algebra, which I never did well in, but it was no picnic. IF your son struggles under normal circumstances, how wil he cope with the stress of compacting so much in a reduced period of time? No one can determine the best course of action for your son but him, but if e is worried I wodul help him to begin again later on.

 

[Disney Ella]

Couldn't he just work on general education requirements and electives if the classes he needs for his major aren't offered in the spring?

 

[Tattylou]

Couldn't he just work on general education requirements and electives if the classes he needs for his major aren't offered in the spring?

This ^

Obviously, this depends on the kind of program he is enrolled in, but this solution is the best of both worlds. I expect it would work for most associates/bachelor programs. He can just stop for now/not cram. Then in January/spring he would take some gen ed classes and resume work on his major in the fall. That way he stays in the school mindset.
Now if he is not going for a bachelors (or even an associates) and is in a certificate program or something like that, which doesn't have many gen eds or will not accept classes outside the specific program, this solution might not work as well.

 

[AncientSoul]

If this was my son, I would wait until next fall. You stated your son is concerned he won't be able to cram it all in, and his concern alone would be enough for me to suggest he waits. And if your son is not a strong student, pushing through might be too much for him. You wouldn't want to set him up for failure, but ultimately this is his decision.

As other people stated, cramming 5 weeks of education into what little of the semester is left ----- it is a great disservice to the students. From a cost standpoint, you are being ripped off. You paid for those 5 weeks of instruction, and your son did not get those 5 weeks of instruction, yet he's forced to learn all of it in a compressed timeframe, in addition to the current material. It's plain as plain that he's being shortchanged, as are all the other students. Not a good value, I would want a full refund. I would feel cheated, almost defrauded even. Those professors are supposed to teach and instruct those students and for those 5 weeks they didn't.

I know college courses are fast-paced, but those students deserve to be properly educated and taught thoroughly --- not rushed --- with enough time to process, absorb, and retain all the material. Fast learners will be able to cram 5 weeks worth of material in their heads and independently educate themselves, but not everyone is like this. If everyone was like this, we wouldn't have much need for professors or tutors.

But if your son does decide to push through the semester, I hope he gets all the support and tutoring that he will need. You wouldn't want him to just squeak by.

 

[ronandannette]

I'd actually not heard that the colleges in Ontario were shut down - what an unlucky break for your son.

Having a DS of my own of a similar age who has also been hard to motivate, I'd say the odds are very high of him being unsuccessful at finishing the semester. And the distress of the heavy workload combined with a poor result would be enough to completely finish my kid. As nervous as you are about this disruption I think you've got to counsel him to wait until next fall.

Reading between the lines, am I correct that he wasn't super-passionate about this program anyway? We pushed our DS to enroll in something - anything - just to be in school because it was expected. It turned out to be a waste of time and resources. Maybe this break will end up positively by serving to refocus him or bring clarity to a change in direction. I wish you all well.

 

[Starwind]

What a terrible disservice to those students! If possible I'd probably encourage my student to take the tuition money to a different school. And I certainly wouldn't encourage any of my other children to attend there.

It was a province-wide strike of teaching staff at all of the community colleges in the province. The government allowed it to continue for 5 weeks before stepping in with legislation forcing them back to work.

 

[Starwind]

Couldn't he just work on general education requirements and electives if the classes he needs for his major aren't offered in the spring?

Canadian university and college programs don't generally work that way. There are few electives and almost no general education requirements -- those are met in high school, though some programs will have some. Most programs require certain courses to be taken in high school [depending on the program, more or fewer courses], and the GPA entrance requirement for Canadian programs can be quite selective.

I did a BSc in Canada and a BS (followed by graduate school) in the US. The two Bachelor's degrees were vastly different. In the US (Texas; state school) there is about 1.5 years of general liberal arts/general education courses that are required (by state law) for the degree, taken largely before the student really starts seriously into their major.

The BSc in Canada started immediately with the major and coursework required for it. There was no general liberal arts/general education courses, though first year was largely pre-reqquisite courses to the more advanced courses in later years [e.g. chemistry, required for the organic chemistry the following year, required for the two biochem courses in year 3]. Over 4 years there were 4 electives. The 3rd year biochem course I took in Canada used the same textbook and covered the same material as a Master's level Biochem course did in Texas: the whole program is shifted because it starts right away [or, the US program is shifted because it effectively starts later; whichever way you look at it, it is shifted]. Also, most Canadian universities offer 3 year and 4 year (Honours) Bachelor's degrees: the "Honours" has a different meaning in Canada than it does in most US schools.

Community colleges in Canada (aka "College") are generally designed for focused applied and vocational training, typically through certificate or one or two year programs. Coursework is often difficult to transfer to Universities -- the two are different streams with different purposes, although there are some joint or partner programs. This contrasts with, for example, a Junior College in the US where students may start, do their general ed courses, then transfer themselves and their coursework relatively seamlessly into a University program.

 

[Shanti]

Yes he has a part time job and could easily pick up more shifts. I guess I’m just worried about him losing motivation until Sept

Particularly if motivation is any potential issue, keep him in school. Lost momentum for academic rigor can be hard to regain, once you get used to the relatively easy life of just working low-level jobs. As other posters have suggested, the teachers will have to make allowances for the fact that their strike caused 5 weeks of school to be missed. They're not just going to say, "that's your problem, so deal with it", to all of the students who missed 5 weeks of instruction due to the teachers' choices. There will have to be compromises.

Even if his grades are slightly affected, it's better for him to stay with the program than to risk becoming a drop-out. That slope is more slippery than you might think.

 

[Starwind]

OP: the college should have a strike information page that explains exactly how the college is handling it, with dates, an indication if evaluations will be altered, etc.

for example, this is the strike info webpage form Algonquin College: http://www.algonquincollege.com/strikeinfo/

 

[crazymama]

I have no advice other than to commiserate. My friends' kids are caught up in the same dilemma. What a terrible fall for them!

 

[BLAZEY]

I would have you son restart in Fall 2018. If he pushes and tries to cram, not being a strong student, setting himself up for stress and failure may do more damage than waiting. If he has a job have him pick up more shifts if possible and save that money so that he has to work less next fall while in school. If the are any elective or general courses he can take in January have him do those. Even taking 1 or 2 courses keeps him in school, and busy.