Seneca College

One on One Webinar: A Year Into COVID

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

After a year of lockdown measures and travel restrictions, the third session in our One on One webinar series revolved around how institutions in different parts of Canada have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and what their outlook is for the future. Moderated by Husain F. Neemuchwala of the Canada India Education Council, points mentioned include:

  • Challenges institutions should expect to face as students return
  • Changes that educators have made to maintain the student experience
  • Steps that must be taken before institutions re-open and students are back on campus

One on One Webinar: Seneca College

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Our first session focused on Seneca College, located in Toronto, Canada and featured David Agnew (President), Keith Monrose (Executive Director, Seneca International) and Prashant Srivastava (Director, Regional Business Development, South Asia). As a top destination for international students they discussed what makes Canada, and Seneca in particular, an attractive overseas destination. Our speakers also addressed how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Seneca and what actions they have taken to ensure international students will be able to begin their studies soon.

Many Immigrant Students Lack English skills, but Achieve Comparable GPAs

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Seneca College via Academica

What role does an immigrant’s region of origin and English language proficiency have on their academic and employment outcomes? This is the question that researchers at Seneca College’s Centre for Research in Student Mobility explore in a new report. The study followed the pathways of 18,466 students (non-international) who entered Seneca College between 2010 and 2014 within five years of leaving an Ontario high school. The study found that Seneca students who were born outside of Canada were more likely than their Canadian-born peers to have highly educated parents, live in lower-income neighbourhoods, and to aspire to university. Despite having attended an ON high school, many immigrants come to Seneca with weak English-language skills requiring support in language proficiency, with 59% being placed below college level English, compared to 36% of Canadian born students. Despite this, however, these students achieve similar overall GPAs and graduation rates.

Mental Health Efforts Made by Toronto-based PSE Institutions

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Torontoist via Academica

The Torontoist has released an article highlighting how three universities and three colleges based in Toronto are working to support student mental health issues. The piece focuses on what programs and events the schools offer on top of existing counselling programs that are available on most campuses; it examines the efforts of Ryerson University, the University of Toronto, York University, Humber College, Seneca College, and George Brown College, as well as collaborative efforts between the institutions. Among these collaborative efforts is Mindfest, an event organized collaboratively between OCAD University, Ryerson University, and the University of Toronto that includes information sessions and a club night to help raise students’ awareness of the mental wellness programs available to them on their home campuses.

ON, PEI negotiate PSE agreements with India

CIEC Author

Source: Times of India via Academica

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and PEI Premier Wade MacLauchlan have returned from their 10-day trade mission to India and have negotiated new agreements for postsecondary institutions. According to a press release by the Ontario Government, the ON delegation participated in a signing ceremony announcing agreements involving Ryerson University, McMaster University [CIEC Academic Member], Sheridan College, Algonquin College, and Seneca College. According to Canadian Broadcasting Company, the University of Prince Edward Island signed MOUs with two Indian universities.